A bitch is a bitch, except when it is not. A few weeks ago rapper Lupe Fiasco reopened the dialogue about the use of the word “bitch” when referring to women in his song and video, “Bitch Bad.“ It’s the type of song many of today’s popular artists avoid because it locks them into behavior that makes them accountable for their words, leaning on a false pretense of “free speech” to defend misogyny. So the only ones who bring it up are those who don’t use it, creating a “preaching to the choir” effect that leaves the discussion feeling empty.
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But every so often a song inspires some thought, or at the very least a questioning of the status quo. We’re not sure Q-Tip stopped using the N-word after recording “Sucka Nigga” but at least the song exists as a bookmark for those of us who wish to engage in debate about its use. While we won’t count on Kanye West recording a retraction to his Kim Kardashian ode, “Perfect Bitch,“ the mercurial artist has at least considered the impact of his words for a change.
In a series of Tweets Mr. West posed several questions about the use of the N-word and the B-word without coming to any real conclusion. But the exercise spurred plenty of reactions.
I was recently questioned about the use of the word BITCH in my music and initially was offended by anyone questioning anything in my music—
Kanye West (@kanyewest) September 02, 2012
“I usually never tweet questions but I struggle with this so here goes… Is the word BITCH acceptable?,” he began. “To be more specific, is it acceptable for a man to call a woman a bitch even if it’s endearing? Even typing it in question form it’s (sic) still feels harsh? Has hip hop conditioned us to accept this word? Do we love this word as much as we love the word NIGGA in an endearing way?”
No. Maybe. Possibly. Nope. The word bitch is not acceptable in most forms of written and verbal communication but that hardly stops us from using it–or a bunch of other unacceptable words. If the woman doesn’t mind being called a bitch by her man (or woman) as a term of endearment that’s between the two of them (ask your boy, Hov about that). There may be far more nefarious words being used to express love/lust between consenting adults than bitch. It’s the other words they’re NOT using (like ‘thank you’ ‘I paid the mortgage’ or ‘the kids are with my mother’ ) that couples should be concerned about.
As for typing bitch, that could never be as harsh as saying it. Typing is passive. If you really are about that “bitch” life say it to her face and live with the reaction. However, I don’t think women in hip-hop are prepared to defend bitch with half as much zeal as men have fought for the word nigger/nigga.
“Correction, Here’s the age old question, would we refer to our mothers as bitches? Would’ we call our fathers niggers or better yet NIGGAS?”
Of course not…doesn’t stop some of us from doing it though.
“If nigga is such a positive word, why do we feel so uncomfortable for white people to say it, even with a hall pass?”
Because it’s not. The word was not created for positive use. It was created to demean a specific group of people. Nigger has specific history. Nigger has an arrest record. Nigger has game tape. Nigger has dental records. So even when Nigger puts on different sneakers to be cool, you know that nigga when you see it. When the white guy at the Made In America Fest is screaming, “These niggas can’t hold me back!” during the Rick Ross set, yes I still give him the side eye.
“Is it ok to use bitch as long as we put BAD in front of it? Like you a BAD BITCH. Perhaps the words BITCH and NIGGA are now neither positive or negative. They are just potent and it depends on how the are used and by whom?”
They both still have positive and negative implications, again, depending on who and how they are used. If you read that Kanye was a “bitch ass nigga” vs “that nigga Kanye gets all the bitches” it would evoke two very different emotions in you. We may apply new meanings to words tomorrow to serve our purposes (Remember the dark days when “guts”=”vagina”?) but Bitch also has history. Bitch has a FICA score. Bitch has two forms of ID and college transcripts. Bitch has been everywhere and is going nowhere. But call the wrong woman a bitch and you could be calling Tyrone, Jacoby AND Myers.
“I was recently questioned about the use of the word BITCH in my music and initially was offended by anyone questioning anything in my music. Stevie Wonder never had to use the word bitch to get his point across.
But Miles Davis made a “Bitches Brew.” Prince called a woman a “Sexy Motherfucker.” Stevie’s “Golden Lady” is the name of a strip club now. So holding up The Great Mr. Morris as a shining example of a bitch-free artistic existence is a little disingenuous.
“I will admit that I sometimes go back an omit cursing from my records. I like to use profanity as a tool and not a crutch. I’m not tweeting to say what we need and what we don’t… I just wanted to think out loud with you guys today…”
Well, thanks Kanye. Questioning your art is never bad and allowing others to finally question it is even better. It’s a sign of maturity. But we’ll see what your next song sounds like to see what fruit this bears…if any.
Watch our interview with Dwele where he talks about working with Kanye West and if he’d record with his “Perfect Bitch.”
Kanye West “Thinks Out Loud” About The B-Word On Twitter was originally published on theurbandaily.com
