Who you calling a b*tch?

Earlier this month I tuned into the television to watch one of my favorite guilty pleasures: the re-union special for Basketball Wives. Lead by Shaunie O'Neal (Shaq's ex wife) the show airs on VH1 and features a bevy of women who have either dated, married or had kids with a basketball player. Trust me when I tell you these chicks are super entertaining and there is never a dull moment on the show. While enjoying the drama I couldn't help but wince at the numerous times the b-word was thrown around. Bitch must have been used over 200 times over the 2 hour finale.

When did it become socially acceptable to throw around the word bitch so freely?

I'm stating the obvious here but the definition of bitch is a female dog. The last time I checked my characteristics didn't mirror those of a dog. Call me uptight, saddidy or high strung but I just don't find the use of that word socially acceptable. I unfortunately don't find this word appealing nor do I view it as an affectionate term. I don't knock people that use it, heck there are a couple of people that I call that word to this very day. However I don't use this word in my everyday language and I certainly don't use it to refer to my girlfriends.

We can discuss at length hip hop's warped view on women. Jay-Z has repeatedly referred to his wife Beyonce as "his bitch" in several songs. As a matter of fact on his most recent album , Kanye and Jay have a song called "that's my bitch" which I suppose is an ode to the women in their lives. Dosen't that just scream romance? I'm sorry but I don't find that appealing.

Would it really be that terrible to use words that are encouraging towards each other instead of words that bring us down? Women bring life into the earth, we are often times providers of our families and we have at times literally shaped the world. So why do we continue to use the b-word to define who we are. Sister's let's uplift each other.

It's your turn to sound off, do you use the b-word? If so why? Or have you eliminated it from you vocab?

Thoughts?