@Tiny
Yes, I did read the links and what several of them spoke about was how deeply ingrained the negative associations with Bitch and the N word are in our culture.
This is why I don’t think that any amount of reclaiming can erase that, hence the examples I cited. No matter how comfortable a group of blacks or gays are using the words amongst themselves, the moment an outsider chooses to use it with ill intent, all the ugliness of the original context rises in full force.
It doesn’t matter how much reclaiming is done, the moment a hostile person hurls it as an epithet, all the hurt associated with it resurfaces.
Except that now the hostile dimwits have another justification for using it.
Well, if them rappers can say nigga so can I.
In the case of Bitch, I think it’s particularly unfortunate that in addition to groups of women trying to reclaim the word for altruistic reasons, there is the parallel usage of it in the rap community basically to make a buck. And regardless of all the bling and booze and trappings of wealth depicted in many of those videos, the treatment of their “bitches” is as demeaning as ever since they are little more than props for the male ego.
And if you’re interested in how young black women (not their Mothers or Grandmas) feel about it I can tell you they aren’t thrilled. At least the representative sample of young black women college students weren’t.
There were several in depth discussions on Oprah following the Imus situation which branched out from that to include discussions on the rap industry’s depictions and choice of language. These young ladies were certainly less than thrilled at being referred to as bitches (regardless of all the reclaiming nonsense).
Like someone mentioned previously, I think all the reclaiming stuff just muddies
the waters needlessly and serves to desensitize too many and makes it easier to fall off the tongue in a demeaning manner.
I think that when someone hurls the word Bitch or Queer in anger it will still be as hurtful to the recipients as if it had never been reclaimed.