A b*tch is more than a female dog. The word can be used in many ways, but there is one specific definition that stands out to me. The word b*tch can also be used as a nickname for the queen of spades in a card game. You must be thinking, “why does this particular definition matter?”. Well, it perfectly represents the one specific use of the slur that degrades women in power. In today’s day and age, women have taken back the slur, using it to represent beauty and talent, yet society still manages to overpower any message for change, by isolating women who have a voice of their own and making them out to be villains. If being a b*tch means being a woman who knows what they want out of life and never settles for less, I believe that the young women of my generation should aim to be the biggest b*tches of all. 

Let’s take a moment to talk about “ The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women'' according to Forbes magazine. There’s Kamala Harris, the first black woman to become vice president in American history, as well as Taylor Swift, one of the most popular female music artists of all time. These women are both different in many ways. One is a politician while the other is a singer. One is black while the other is white. One is 5’2, while the other is a whopping 5’11. The one thing they do have in common though, according to men who wouldn’t dare to share their power with the opposite sex, Harris and Swift are incredibly b*tchy. On October 7th, 2020, Harlan Hill, a republican political consultant tweeted “Kamala Harris comes off as such an insufferable lying b*tch. Sorry, it’s just true”. Hill received a plentiful amount of backlash from his comment, but he made it clear that he had no regrets towards his actions. In fact, he went on to deface Harris again by calling her abrasive, nasty, and rude. It doesn't take being a rocket scientist to know that politicians must be strong willed and harsh to their opponents in order to become top competitors. It has been this way for as long as politics have existed, in fact, Mr.Hill’s idol, former president Donald Trump, is known for saying some of the harshest things about his political opponents, such as calling them liars, disgraceful, physically flawed, and weak. So Harlan Hill, answer me this, why do you think Kamala Harris is a b*tch, when she simply played the same game, if not a better one, that Donald Trump did in order to win a place in the White House? Obviously you aren’t here to answer my question, but I don't need you to be. It is simply because she is a woman, one who showed the incredible ability to takeover one of the most male-dominated and anti-feminist careers. In fact, politics is such an anti-feminist field, that any woman who is successful in it can almost never be given full credit for their achievements. When asked about Kamala Harris, Steve Baldwin, a U.S politician stated that Harris has “slept her way into powerful jobs”, refusing to let the media believe that she fully earned her notable career.

Taylor Swift has also had her fame deemed unrightful due to claims that men have helped her achieve it. The most famous example of this is her rocky relationship with rapper Kanye West. Their trouble started when Kanye interrupted Taylor during her speech for winning the MTV best female music video award. West stated on live television that Swift did not deserve her win, embarrassing Taylor in front of millions of viewers. Kanye was shunned for his actions by the public, and although he apologized on multiple talk shows, he still did not have enough respect for Swift to do so personally. Why would a fellow artist, who knows how difficult it is to make it in the music industry, want to tear another musician down in front of the whole world? Would Kanye have been brave enough to do what he did if Taylor were a man? I say, no.

 After being rightfully angry for the incident, Swift took it upon herself to make amends with West, but a couple of years later, Kanye released a song called Famous where he stated, “I made that b*tch famous”, directed towards Taylor. This was harmful because it spread a message to the public that Kanye believed Taylor was a b*tch for simply standing up for herself during the course of their troubled relationship, which he had caused and she had every right to respond to. Also, Kanye absolutely did not make Taylor famous, as she had become a household name starting in 2004. Swift quickly became recognized as one of the few female musicians at the time, and still to this day, who wrote and directed her own music. 

The use of the word “b*tch” as a way to downplay the world’s most successful women has been a thing for years, and simply will not come to an end…unless the women of this generation decide that it will. Sure, you can't put tape over the mouths of those who choose to use the word that way, but you can start encouraging young women to see it as a compliment rather than an insult. Jennifer Fitta, writer for Swaay blog stated “Where there is power, there is a b*tch. Where there is a b*tch, there is power”. When we begin to reinterpret the word b*tch as a sign of strength, women will no longer feel as though they need to submit to the king pins of this male dominated world, instead they will aim to become the fascinating women that they admire. To all of the women listening today, I encourage you to strive to be the next Kamala Harris or Taylor Swift, in the sense that you will unapologetically question inequality and cross boundaries to make history. I hope you master the art of b*tchiness, positively making your mark on the world everyday.