A bitch is a female dog (any kid on the playground can tell you that) or a female human who, like a dog, will whimper, growl and occasionally bite back. When someone calls a woman a bitch, the message is that she is straying from the quiet, obedient, "feminine" ideal. She is uppity--and needs to be controlled.

First used to describe lady dogs in 1000 A.D., "bitch" was applied to humans about 400 years later. The term has endured the test of time and is still a big favorite for putting a woman in her place. The modern twist is applying it to men. A male bitch is seen as "womanish": weak, whiny and submissive (and more than likely gay).

Like some other really sharp putdowns, "bitch" has been picked apart lately in an effort to remove its sting. In the early '90s, for instance, riot grrl bands like Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear scrawled the word on their skin, screamed it out in song and openly embraced other "bitchy" behaviors, like shouting at their fans. They gave "bitch" its own ironic twist in an attempt to "reclaim" it.

Around the same time, with male hip-hop artists like N.W.A. calling women bitches and hos in their rhymes, female hip-hop artists worked their own magic to diffuse the bitch bomb--most notably Queen Latifah, who demanded to know: "Who you callin' a bitch?" Lil' Kim turned the word on its head once again and proclaimed HERSELF the "Queen Bitch."

Want to embrace your own bitchiness? Read "Getting In Touch With Your Inner Bitch" by Elizabeth Hilts.