Gendered representations in swearing : bitch and bastard in the spoken BNC2014

Sha, Yuze and Vallery, Robin and McEnery, Tony (2026) Gendered representations in swearing : bitch and bastard in the spoken BNC2014. Discourse Studies. ISSN 1461-4456

Abstract

This study examines how bitch and bastard construct gendered identities in contemporary British English conversation. Using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of the Spoken BNC2014, it examines collocational patterns and “ be + bitch / bastard ” constructions to trace how gendered meanings are enacted across speaker and target sexes. bastard predominantly targets men, representing masculinity through moral evaluation, functioning as a discursive resource for policing fairness and integrity. BITCH constructs more variable representations: it is frequently used by and about women to regulate interpersonal and emotional conduct, yet can also mark assertive femininity or position men outside socially recognised norms of masculinity. These patterns highlight how moral and relational discourses intersect in the linguistic representations of gender, sustaining long-standing associations of masculinity with public morality and femininity with emotional virtue. The findings show that derogatory language remains a critical discursive site where gendered identities and hierarchies are reproduced, contested, and occasionally re-signified in everyday interaction.