I like swearing. It feels entirely natural for me to pepper conversations with words you’re not allowed to say on television – so much so that my toddler said “shit” before she’d managed to grasp “thank you” properly. So female pop stars having dirty mouths was not something I ever anticipated worrying about.
But according to a new study, there’s a significant rise in female performers using specific – arguably sexist – language. The study by Startle, an audiovisuals firm, found that the use of the word “bitch” has almost doubled in the past two decades in the UK’s top 100 chart listings. Words like “pussy” and “hoe” have also increased.
Since I have a filthy mouth I want to dismiss this entirely as Mary Whitehouse pearl clutching or – more likely – just another way to police how women talk about themselves.
The artists cited in this discussion include Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Beyoncé – feminist icons who would, I’m sure, tell you that they’re reclaiming the words that they use. And let’s face it, the general public likes nothing more than an excuse to flay one or any of those women for their behaviour.
The actual reason these artists are using explicit language in their songs varies. Beyoncé seems to be reclaiming it; Ariana seems to be confronting the aggression of the world head on; and Taylor uses it in quotation marks, as if it’s something a bystander is saying about her.
But no matter how hard I’ll fight to defend the right of a woman to use whatever language she wants, the more I look at the facts, the harder that position becomes to defend. Realistically, the complexities of the use of these words, legitimate as they are to the writer, might be lost when the songs are on in the car or our headphones.
Maybe I know why these women are using those words, but I’m a chronic overthinker and professional feminist. Might other people who don’t spend their entire lives obsessing over the way that words are used simply hear the word “bitch” and think that’s an acceptable way to talk about women?
In Mean Girls, Tina Fey, as Ms Norbury, tells the female students: “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It only makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores”, and while I wish she were wrong, she probably isn’t. Normalising calling each other bitches makes it, well, normal. And unfortunately the research seems to suggest that misogynistic language has real, tangible outcomes in terms of violence towards women and girls.
Language app Babbel commissioned a study into the link between sexist language and real world sexism. Giving an overview of the data, Jennifer Dorman, a sociolinguistic specialist, explained: ”All over the world, the first assault often comes in the form of language. By recognising this fact, it is possible to increase social awareness about the issue and, consequently, contribute to less violence. Language plays an important role in efforts to move towards a place where violence against women is no longer considered inevitable.”
square REBECCA REID
Having three children is now the ultimate status symbol
Read MoreSimilarly, a paper titled “‘An Empirical Exploration Into the Measurement of Rape Culture” by Nicole Johnson and Dawn M. Johnson explores (with some very helpful diagrams) how “sexist talk and rape culture are intrinsically linked. Sexism, objectification, and the restrictive nature of traditional gender roles all feed into a culture of misogyny that create a barrier to women achieving equality – and perpetuate violence.”
In short, sexist or misogynistic language is only a little step at the bottom of the ladder, but the ladder ends in women being murdered, so it’s a pretty bad ladder to be on at all.
When you look at the studies, it’s hard not to wonder why on earth any of us started using that kind of language in the first place. Why do I – a card carrying feminist – call my girlfriends bitches in casual conversation? Traditionally if you start using a slur it’s an act of reclaiming – think “dyke” or “queer”.
But in my case I’m not sure it’s as powerful as that. I think it’s more a little act of rebellion. I’m a fairly posh white woman and especially now I’m a mother, I am seen as pedestrian. Boring. Vanilla. Perhaps calling myself “c***y” or addressing other women (jokingly) as “bitches” is a tiny act of rebellion intended to demarcate myself as a little bit less boring than you might assume. But then, if it is that, then honestly that’s a bit sad.
So, do we really need to stop calling ourselves bitches?
Annoyingly, I think we probably do. It’s not fair, or right that we should have to moderate our behaviour to try and improve the increasing levels of misogyny. It’s not fair that it always seems to be up to women to fix the problems of which we are victims. But then, misogyny isn’t fair.
That’s kind of the point. And if it’s going to have even a whisper of a positive impact on the world that the next generation of women inherit, then regrettably I am going to have to refuse to any longer be a member of a WhatsApp group called “SLAGS”.
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