Bitch: a sexist insult or a sex-specific insult?

[FrozenNorthPole]

Am just debating with DH whether to call a woman a bitch is explicitly sexist, or whether it is a sex-specific insult? I know, it's an odd thing to be discussing.

My perspective is that bitch, whore, slut etc. are all discriminatory and sexually derogatory terms that have specific non-feminist implications.

His perspective is that bitch is rather different to the other insults listed above - he equates it to 'bastard' as a sex-specific male insult. He agrees the other terms are sexist.

I told him you'd probably know Am I right or is he?

[DontCallMePeanut]

In practise, no. But if you look at how the word is derived, it's the basic definition.

[TrillianAstra]

bitch

?noun
1.
a female dog.
2.
a female of canines generally.
3.
Slang .
a.
a malicious, unpleasant, selfish person, especially a woman.
b.
a lewd woman.

?verb (used without object)
5.
Slang . to complain; gripe: They bitched about the service, then about the bill.

?verb (used with object)
6.
Slang . to spoil; bungle (sometimes followed by up ): He bitched the job completely. you really bitched up this math problem.

[TrillianAstra]

It also means dog, but the meaning of the word when used about a human doesn't appear to relate to dogs at all.

[DontCallMePeanut]

It derived from the word for female dog. The use of the word Bitch to describe a female dog started in 1000 AD. The use as an insult to a woman started in 1400. We've watered down how offensive we find it over time. To Bitch came into use some time later, possibly around the 1930's. To me, it's just the act of making a verb out of a noun. It has the same connotations, and to me, is still making that comparrison to a female, being oppressed by society, who will animalise females as part of it's misogyny.