# B\*tch or sl\*t, which is worse. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2004, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614 "2004-05-05T10:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/21 "2004-05-06T00:59:20Z")
Bitch- :o Slut- :eek: Cunt- :mad: I cannot even speak the word **cunt** , so my roommates and I thought of a clever alternative when wanting to use the strength of the word without having to say it- we would say… see you next tuesday. I know, weak, but we thought it was brilliant and sly. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/22 "2004-05-06T01:24:55Z")
I remember when I was in junior-high school, and some of the girls thought it was cool to call me “dick”. They didn’t think my calling them “cunt” in return was nearly as cool. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/23 "2004-05-06T15:22:40Z")
> [@Nvme77](#): > > Bitch- :o > > Slut- :eek: > > Cunt- :mad: > > I cannot even speak the word **cunt** , so my roommates and I thought of a clever alternative when wanting to use the strength of the word without having to say it- we would say… see you next tuesday. > > I know, weak, but we thought it was brilliant and sly. Alright **Nvme77** thanks for share’n, I’ll see you next Tuesday… 😛 I’m sorry I don’t really mean that. I just couldn’t resist. I’ll go stand in the corner now… I actually like that code phrase. I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/24 "2004-05-06T16:12:48Z")
\ > [@Lissa](#): > > It’s only derrogatory if you think the femal genitals are an inferior thing. Posessing said equipment, I can say that it’s vastly superior. Hey, maybe it’s a compliment! 😃 Have you read the [Pussy Manifesto](http://www.bitchandanimal.com/pussy.html)? It’s all about how the female genitalia is a fabulous thing and how ‘pussy’ should be used as a compliment. \ -Mosquito ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/25 "2004-05-06T16:55:35Z")
The weird thing about “bitch” is that it has two opposite meanings. It can mean a powerful woman: “Watch out for that bitch.” Or it can mean someone who’s weak and easily dominated: “I’ll make you my bitch.” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/26 "2004-05-06T16:56:07Z")
> [@Tastes of Chocolate](#): > > Mid-west USA checking in here. Here is what I see. > > Bitch has pretty much been redefined to apply to an attitude. Bold/brash/opinionated. The “I’m a bitch, and proud of it” statements are a way of saying that you are willing to express an opinion, usually loudly. > > Slut is a comment on sexual promiscuity, or personal habits related to it (ie choice of clothing or makeup) I’ll second what TOChocolate says. A lot of powerful, tough girls I know refer to themselves as a Bitch. One girl I knew had a bumper sticker that said “i am THE bitch”. A female manager I worked with referred to her tough no-nonsense management style as being a bitch. Slut, on the other hand refers to someone being easy. I know some sluts but I don’t know of any girls that like to be called that. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/27 "2004-05-06T18:16:43Z")
I don’t think “slut” should be considered an insult. Nothing wrong with girls who like sex with many different guys. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/28 "2004-05-06T19:00:06Z")
“Slut,” is by far the more evil word. The first girl whose breast budded in Jr. High became the school slut. The unhappy girls and made themselves sexually available to uncaring males, or girls who simply goofed up sexually, were called sluts, too. It was a vicious word used by sexually frustrated boys and girls, like chickens singling one of themselves out and pecking her to death. As Dan Savage pointed out, every non-athletic boy was labeled a “fag,” and every working-class girl a “slut.” I’ll use “bitch” under my breath, for behavior that would evoke “prick” from a male. But only under my breath, to tell myself “hey, I don’t deserve to be treated like this,” but not out loud, since, as noted, bitches and pricks tend to be proud of their behavior (so what? the Nuremberg rallies were mightily self-impressed, too). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/29 "2004-05-07T08:06:30Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > “Slut,”…was a vicious word used by sexually frustrated boys and girls, like chickens singling one of themselves out and pecking her to death. I think the vast majority of times a girl is labelled as a slut, the labelling is being done by other girls. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/30 "2004-05-07T15:01:36Z")
I have no problem with Bitch. I don’t find it demeaning to women because there are many comparable words for men which don’t apply to women. Also, I’ve been known to call certain men Bitch. Slut on the other hand is highly offensive. It implys that if a woman sleeps around, she is dirty and bad and isn’t the kind of person you want to be around. A man who sleeps around is cool. His friends want to be like him. BUT, if a female sleeps with him, she’s a slut while he just becomes cooler. I’ve never heard a word for a man that even came close to Slut but even if it did, would they really be offended if someone called them by that name? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614/31 "2004-05-08T03:32:25Z")
The Meredith Brooks song “Bitch” certainly helped liberate the word. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-tch-or-sl-t-which-is-worse/243614.md?page=1)