I hate how people feel they can say their options so quickly. I recently went to a wedding with my boyfriend, and we took a picture; my grandmother pulled me to the side and said jokingly you look fat next to him. I think you should lose some weight to look more attractive. I was very offended but never said anything because I should respect my grandmother. I didn’t particularly appreciate how my grandmother said that; that day, I felt such self-contusions; instead of feeling pretty being all dressed up, I felt sluggish and disgusting. After the wedding, my family, boyfriend, and I were on our way back home, and in the car, my dad started talking about how I needed to lose weight and that I will have a hard time in the future. He even stated I overeat and need to control my food intake! He said that when I decide to have kids, I would be so “fat” after like he is disgusted by fat people. I felt so embarrassed because my boyfriend was in the car. What was he thinking of me? It’s one thing for my parents to believe that I was fat, but my boyfriend thinking I’m not perfect, would hurt my soul like someone shooting me in the arm. Although I have gained quite a bit of weight since I moved to Maryland, I am still able to walk 5 miles without stopping, and I am still able to do everyday things. I don’t think it is fair that people are so quick to judge when someone doesn’t like something about someone. I have a lot of confidence problems with my body now.

An analysis on the reclamation of the word bitch, and if it’s doing more harm than good.

In class we spoke about the British mental health movement, the “Mad Pride Movement”. In which participants reclaimed the word “mad”, a word commonly used against people with mental illness, to take back control and empower themselves. In relatively recent times the same could be said about the word “bitch”, an insult commonly thrown at women. Its increased usage being perceived as taking power away from the word and reappropriating it as something endearing or empowering. But is this true? Can bitch truly be reclaimed? Is it really empowering?

Firstly, we all know the history of the word “bitch”. It is the term for a female dog, but most commonly a term used for an argumentative, slutty, stuck up, weak, or normal woman. Bitch is thrown at everyone, regardless of age, race, or gender. It’s within the group of insults making reference towards women or women’s parts, such as “pussy” or “whore”. The word has probably been thrown at you, and it’s probably stung. For a while it was common knowledge this was a disrespectful and belittling word, a word mostly hurled at women to keep them down.