When I used to surf on Blog Explosion and other similar sites I noticed an interesting trend. There were a good number of blogs that had the word bitch in the title. Furthermore, I also noticed in several blogs that the writer would often refer to herself as a bitch.

This phenomenon is of course not exclusive to the blog world. Just as I've seen numerous T-shirts with the word "Princess", "Cutie", or "Brat" emblazoned across the front, I've also seen a lot of "Bitch" T-shirts over the years. And a search of books on Amazon turned up titles such as Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women, Getting in Touch with Your Inner Bitch, and You Say I'm a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing.

I'm a little confused. Did I miss something? Since when has referring to oneself as a bitch become so commonplace, positive, acceptable, and cool?

Merriam-Webster Online defines 'bitch' as:

1 : the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals
2 a : a lewd or immoral woman, b : a malicious, spiteful, or domineering woman — sometimes used as a generalized term of abuse
3 : something that is highly objectionable or unpleasant
4 : COMPLAINT

Similarly, Dictionary.com defines 'bitch' as:

n.
1. A female canine animal, especially a dog.
2. Offensive.
1. A woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing.
2. A lewd woman.
3. A man considered to be weak or contemptible.
3. Slang. A complaint.
4. Slang. Something very unpleasant or difficult.

v. Slang bitched, bitch·ing, bitch·es

v. intr.
To complain; grumble.

v. tr.
To botch; bungle. Often used with up.

n.
1: an unpleasant difficulty; "this problem is a real bitch"
2: a woman who is thoroughly disliked; "she said her son thought Hilary was a bitch" [syn: cunt]
3: informal terms for objecting; "I have a gripe about the service here" [syn: gripe, kick, beef, squawk]
4: female of any member of the dog family v : say mean things [syn: backbite]

Finally, Urban Dictionary defines 'bitch' as:

1. n. Female dog
2. n. (vulgar) Woman who for one reason or another deserves a good bitch-slap
3. v. To talk or act as such a woman
4. n. (coarse) Woman who sleeps around

(1) Word used to describe the act of whining excessively.
(2) Person who rides specifically in the middle of a front-seatting only car meant for 2 passengers or less.
(3) Modern-day servant; A person who performs tasks for another, usually degrading in status.
(4) Term used to exclaim hardship.

I repeat my question: With this word as the carrier of so many negative meanings, why do some women insist on referring to themselves in this manner?