Am I being too sensitive or would this bother you?

@snotathing as. a. joke!

...but I’m sure he doesn’t like the insinuation that you think he thinks you’re a bitch.

Talk about twisting things. He called her a bitch but she's in the wrong for 'insinuating' that?!

That’s how it can start though, isn’t it? One joke.

I simply wouldn’t be interested in anyone who thought misogyny is something to joke about and they clearly wouldn’t know me at all to think I’d find it funny.

Honestly? It sounds like he’d accept the banter!

Ive called my partner lots of silly names over the 25 years we’ve been together. So has he. It’s a joke. We laugh, sometimes it escalates into a banter match, sometimes it stays as one witty comment that we both bring up later and laugh.

Weve never once insulted each other seriously (to each others face, anyway). I would never swear at him in a horrible way, I love him. But we joke. We laugh.

Sometimes life can be lighthearted. Perhaps OP and her boyfriend are in different pages.

@asrl78 no, it’s not necessary to be perfect. But she’s made her feelings known to her partner, she’s called him out. Now what?

It’s gone from a poorly received joke to a LTB thread, with people insinuating that it must mean he’s a misogynistic, good for nothing, sexist pig. When he made ONE joke which could arguably seen as funny.

He was having a laugh. He obviously doesn’t think you’re a bitch OP or he wouldn’t be with you. You’ve mentioned no other times when he’s been disrespectful or unkind. He’s said he didn’t mean it seriously and presumably your relationship is otherwise good. So to drag this on and make it something it wasn’t intended to be will only damage your relationship. You may not have liked the joke, fair enough, but I’m sure he doesn’t like the insinuation that you think he thinks you’re a bitch. This is one of those situations where you can relax and let it go, or you can make it into a bigger deal, risking all the good things to prove a point that no one was intending to make.

@Comtesse maybe an apology is in order, yes. It’s always a good idea when you upset someone. But equally I think OP needs to chill and stop taking things so seriously.

I think some men can't resist riffing on the 'bitch' theme when a dog, a literal dog, is referred to. It's immature and sexist not witty wordplay.
However, only you know if he's generally better than this and has learnt not to say that sort of thing to you again or whether it reveals the real him, in which case dump him.

Is he a bit antsy about your dog anxiety?

It depends if this kind of thing is out of the ordinary or not. DH and I are both very sarcastic and we banter a lot and roasting each other has always been part of out relationship but if this is not normal for you then I can understand why it pissed you off. I don't think it's a LTB situation though.

Dump him. Misogynistic jokes aren’t funny.

If this is the case, then address it (tell him and get assurances it won’t happen again) and move on. Good relationships are always a work in progress and many men are too!

If he ticks all your other boxes given him a chance to learn from this and be a better person.

Yes, him apologising and saying “yeah sorry” would be a good start though, no?

I agree - from experience.

this is EXACTLY the time line for someone to begin to let the mask slip. he is showing you who he is, and the female dog vs bitch is just as bad.

This was a test of how much crap you will be taking from him. he will do more in the future, it' only a year, it's nothing in the scheme of things, bin him off and don't settle for anything like this again.

Has he been that unpleasant before? What’s he like if you row? I think that’s a really shitty comment to have made. I can’t 8magine s9meone who loves you making such a remark, it’s weird.

I think that his response, to how you responded to his comment, is important. If he said "I'm so sorry. I meant it as a joke and I completely misjudged it" that's one thing. If he said "It's a joke! You're taking it the wrong way", that's another thing entirely. One response acknowledges that HE is in the wrong. The other shifts the blame to you.

I'd give him a chance if he accepts blame and sincerely apologised. I'd dump his arse if he blamed me for his nasty comment.

Witty?? Seriously?

It wasn’t funny or clever and it was pretty rude.

He called you a bitch. End of story. Dump him. That's how he sees you, and probably all women.

I sometimes joke that I am the biggest bitch in the house - we have several female pets - but its the kind of thing which is only ok if you say it yourself. So no, it is not ok. Although a lot of people refer to women as bitches habitually - is he one of those?

There is no way a man who really likedl and genuinely respected the woman he was with would say such a thing.

Misogynistic twats love testing the ground with what they can say and get away with.

This won't be the last time you get a flash of who he is.

Up to you how long you want to waste your time on someone low class.

I'd be teempted to give him the benefit of the doubt although I wouldn't like that comment to be made about me either.
We've all said something we regret

This. Dump him, you can do better.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. This isn't. It's nasty and misogynistic. If he can't see that it's an offensive thing to say and hasn't apologised, he's not a keeper. Even if he's does apologise, it's questionable.

Absolutely this.

There is a reason some women end up with twats and some don't.
I have met both.

There is no coming back from that remark IMO.
Sorry OP.
An unbelievable remark to make.
Decent guys don't say shit like that.
Twats do.

I can't imagine any nice, decent, kind person would even consider this is to a remotely funny 'joke' or not understand how something like this would offend someone.

I'm a police officer and the only time I've ever been called a bitch is by awful, horrible, nasty individuals who are trying to upset me and degrade me and generally have a low opinion of women.

I have never been called a bitch by any of my partners who are meant to love and care for me. Even as a 'joke'. Think on that OP.

A bitch is a female dog.
Dogs are seen as wonderful companions for people and some view them as superior to people.
If dogs are seen as intelligent wonderful loving animals and a bitch is a dog, why is calling someone a bitch an insult?