Rule #1
on January 11, 2016 at 12:01 amIt’s a pretty neat trick how I’m more upset at Head Alien’s gendered epithet here than I am at him murdering Sal’s parents a few strips ago.
It’s a pretty neat trick how I’m more upset at Head Alien’s gendered epithet here than I am at him murdering Sal’s parents a few strips ago.
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Not to defend head alien or anything, but I don’t think he meant anything gender-specific there. That’s just what you say when someone’s whining
…if you’re a complete tool
It is a gendered insult, though, even if it’s can used toward a man the gender on the word is supposed to be part of the insult.
I use it on EVERYONE
Good for you, ma’am.
To elaborate on what Axel is saying here: many people use the word for both guys and gals, but I have rarely, if ever, heard someone use it in a way that was truly gender neutral.
The word is different when it’s used for men than how it is when used for women. A woman who is one is too assertive, too loud, bossy, or just generally a jerk. This sounds fairly gender-neutral until we compare it to how it’s used on men. A woman who is one might be whiny, yes, as seen here. But a man who is one is too effeminate. He is whiny in the extreme, weak, complacent, unmanly.
This isn’t true of every use of the word. But when I think back to all the examples of it I’ve heard, it’s clear to me that the use of it is overwhelmingly gendered.
It’s insulting regardless of the gender of the person being insulted, beyond the scope of its intended meaning, because the added insult is that being female is a bad thing–one isn’t just a dog, one is a FEMALE dog. It’s like “you throw like a girl” (even if said to a girl), because the implication is being a girl is a bad thing.
Of course it’s a bigger deal. Every villain murders a hero’s parents or loved ones at some point, some even do it multiple times, no need to make a big deal out of it. The gendered insult though, that’s low.
to be fair, whiny hound sounds like discarded Elvis lyrics* BUT WE CAN MAKE IT WORK IF WE WORK TOGETHER
*YES I KNOW ELVIS DIDN’T WRITE HOUND DOG just sayin’
If this were the “Dumbing of Age” version of Head Alien, he would’ve called her a “Bongo.”
+1
I need to add “bongo” to my vocabulary. Just not sure where, since I don’t use “bitch” very much, if at all.
Here’s an idea:”Are you alright? You took a beating more than a bongo”.
He said the B – word!
But he killed people a couple pages ago…
Yeah, but at least he wasn’t discriminating between the parents.
ugh I know!! this is Jarring.
Lately I’ve noticed that I use the word “bitch” almost exclusively to refer to men. I’m not sure if this is an improvement or not.
It isn’t. It’s like teens saying things like ‘that’s gay’; even if it they aren’t thinking about anyone’s sexuality at the time, it’s less than ideal. Imagine if people said ‘Sergei’ in the same situations you say ‘bitch’, even if it’s not directly about you, it’s gonna get old fast.
it is used as an insult for men “to be like a woman, a specific kind of woman who is submissive in a sexual way.” even if it’s mostly men who are called bitch, it is deeply misogynistic to have one of the worst insults for men is to say they are sexually submissive women.
Well, kinda. Most people I hear using it nowadays use it mostly as an intensifier instead of an insult; the word “bitches” in “I’m back, bitches!” is as meaningless as the word “hell” in “hell yeah!”. My previous point stands, however.
It’s sorta pointless trying to take it back, tho
LET’S GET CREATIVE, WHY DO WE NEED THE SAME OLD SHITTY WORDS WHEN FUCKNUGGETS EXIST
SJW concerns aside, it just doesn’t really seem like an H.A. thing to say. He’s usually more about the “why you suck” monologues than just shooting off charged epithets.
Well, this is a flashback. Maybe he got better at it.
Or Sal (or whose-ever memories these are) remembers H.A. more misogynist than H.A. actually was.
Tossing around the term SJW kinda troubles me, because the people who seriously rant about evil SJWs tend to use it as more-acceptable shorthand for “Uppity ” — just talking about the problems you face as a marginalized person can get you labeled such.
I think the issue (if not what Kernanator said) is that killing Sal’s parent’s accomplished something for HA, but using gendered insults is only happening because the author wanted to use a gendered insult. It doesn’t reflect his character (yes, I would say it feels OOC for Head Alien), it doesn’t advance the plot. It’s pointless, except as a slap against women.
Or it could be seen as any writer’s greatest fear when looking back at earlier work: that Little Willis thought saying “bitch” was edgy.
Rule #34!
Oh wait…
Britta: I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at animal cruelty.
Shirley: You can excuse racism?!
while HA’s choice of insults is questionable, the whole situation is giving me very bad shivers. i mean… he’s pining her down, pointing out how helpless she is, and then calling her a bitch, which can sometimes mean a woman who is aggressive but most often means a woman who is sexually submissive. the whole situation makes “bitch” a lot worse.
“then calling her a bitch, which can sometimes mean a woman who is aggressive but most often means a woman who is sexually submissive.”
Funny, I’ve actually never heard ANY of those definitions for bitch before…
The most common use of the word is for a person who either complains a lot, or is cruel. It used to be only for cruel women, but today it’s equally used on both women and men. And it REALLY means a female dog.
The only thing similar to the definition you mentioned I’ve heard, is in prison situations concerning male prisoners, never about a woman.
“make me a sandwich, bitch”
SO I MADE HIM A SUB LOLOLOL
(insert dominatrix photo where I forgot to note such a thing)
What, nobody commenting on HA’s amazing size changing hovercraft?
I’ve never understood why calling someone a female dog is an insult, dogs are wonderful!
why is “pig” an insult
because people
Rule #4: Never bet against an Alien when death is on the line!