Fashion Backwards Blog: The Badder the Betch, the Better the...?

By Emily

...what? No but seriously, the better the WHAT?

Over the last decade or three (respectively), the rise of the female boss lady has seen some great triumphs, of course not without tribulations. And what seems to have aroused from such amazing social change, is something I personally find a little disturbing: The notion of being, or striving to be, one "bad ass bitch." But I dare to ask why? Why do we have to be "bad bitches?" Why can't we just be....oh I don't know, "nice people" maybe? Good, kind but still powerful women, getting things done. Because for every, "He's the man," there seem to be five more "bad bitches" born every 3 minutes. (Statistics not backed scientifically, but still pretty accurate, don't you think?)

I began noticing this bad bitch phenomenon* (patent currently not pending), ironically in an organic fashion...by not realizing it in the very least. First in movies, circa 2004, Mean Girls got it right (thanks Tina, we love you!) And in no chronological order, in television references, most recently depicted on the Project Runway spin off, Under the Gun, where celebrity stylist judge Jen Ray referred to one designer's look as that of a "bad ass bitch." In other news, good ol' fashioned print media Conde Naste conglomerate, Glamour magazine, ran an article last month titled, "Could You Go A Week Without Bitching?" And then of course is the ever so popular social media stir up, "initiated" this time by actress and writer Rashida Jones. And I quote the word "initiated" because quite frankly, she spoke the truth.

Now all of these bitch references sway in every proverbial direction, from supporting the bitch phenomenon, to kindly asking us to refrain from so much bitching. Ever since the FCC let up on its bitch rule, things have gotten...well, pretty bitchy. From the action of bitching, to the act of being a bitch, arriving at the twisted resolution of striving to become a bitch, all in order to succeed in this world as a leader. Even our fave Nasty Gal wild child CEO #girlboss, is portrayed by both herself and her fans, as a bad ass bitch. But what I see, is a role model who worked hard and rose to amazing entrepreneurial success. So why can't we just say that? Why do we have to call her a bitch? And does becoming said bitch mean we are entitled to no longer be a nice person? Because if at the top my choice hinges on either being a bad-ass bitch or just a nice person, I think I'll choose a nice-ass nitch* (patent maybe pending).