St. Thomas Law Review
First Page
281
Document Type
Article
Abstract
For over six centuries, bitch has been used as a term of contempt toward women. Originally, bitch referenced a sensual or promiscuous woman, and later evolved to include a woman considered angry, spiteful, or malicious. Today, the term includes a woman deemed aggressive, competitive, or domineering. Despite its definitional nuances, bitch remains an unequivocal expression of hostility used to denounce, harass, and insult women who, by acting outside of their prescribed gender roles, threaten the established paradigm of power as an inherently male characteristic. Part I of this article examines the animus behind the bitch epithets levied against women in politics, an arena typically reserved for, and overwhelmingly populated by, male participants. Part II discusses the consideration of bitch when part of unlawful hostile workplace behavior in Title VII sexual harassment cases. Part III examines the legal and cultural shifts that must occur to dismantle the gendered hierarchical power structure existing in the realms of work, politics, and society at large.
Recommended Citation
Yvonne A. Tamayo,
Rhymes with Rich: Power, Law, and the Bitch,
21
St. Thomas L. Rev.
281
(2009).
Available at:
https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol21/iss2/7