The Bitch Manifesto Through my Eyes

The main focus of this piece is to discuss how society norms are different for women compared to men. The article I chose reflects how it is acceptable for women to be called negative terms when they are not doing anything wrong. In the article The BITCH Manifesto, Joreen talks about the ironic term “bitch”. She defines in the article how we use this term so loosely. A few of the characteristics she described are behaviors that aren’t acceptable for women in society. For example, some of the characteristics she stated were “independent, blunt, achieving” and more. However, these same characteristics are expected from a male in society. Males are supposed to be an achieving and confident figure, however, if a female acts confident or proves that she does not need anyone to support her then she is considered a “bitch.” The characteristics that Joreen expresses for women are not considered wrong for men, in fact men don’t have a name when they “clomp upstairs and have a loud mouth.” This infers that these double standards come from us as a society, we make these private rules that every female has to follow in social spaces. Women are expected to sit with their legs crossed, not shout, and they need to be dependent on a powerful figure or else they are underestimated. This is also a “unconscious” process because when we observe someone, and they do something that doesn’t fit the set of private rules, we begin to judge them. Unfortunately, we do it so often that it becomes natural and we don’t even realize that were judging the gender and going against equality. These set of rules are taught to us from social institutions such and are practiced every day.

I am a young Brooklyn college student and my physical characteristics clearly show I am South Asian. I had a personal encounter with a student as the City College of Technology where I took my Introduction to Poetry class. At the end of the semester, all students were required to share a piece of poem that they had written. I shared my poem on hijab, and I felt very confident. Since I am a Muslim I am very passionate about the cultural and religious values of the hijab. A classmate felt uncomfortable and asked to step out. The professor did not give permission and it resulted in a heated argument. The classmate began to talk about the negative stereotypes that were associated with the hijab. I had to defend the hijab and make sure to explain to him that he was wrong, and the stereotypes were not true. The classmate began to feel offended and called me a “stuck up bitch.” I was appalled on how loosely he used the term in front of everyone and if he would have done the same if I were a guy. He was uncomfortable of me being confident and passionate about a topic he was informed of. I was trying to explain to him the information he heard regarding the hijab was misleading, but he did not want to hear anything.

Being a Brooklyn College student, I learned that being objective means to not allow my opinion or personal belief on a certain theory or idea. Historically, before science individuals would base scientific knowledge on religious beliefs but gradually everyone learned certain things take place naturally. I am objective treating everyone the same regardless of their gender, ethnicity or race. I keep my interpretation, prejudice and stereotypes to myself and I make sure not to imply any personal opinions by talking to an individual. As an intern I do not judge a student’s intelligence based off their grades or capability of understanding the material. As a daughter, I can’t let my personal emotions for my family get in the way of judging my family members for who they truly are. I have to be objective in every role I play as a female in this society.

-- works cited --

Joreen. “The BITCH Manfesto,” 1969. https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/bitch.htm.