Normally I don't pay much attention to the poo flinging in GD:P, but this is an interesting thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3683568&mesg_id=3683568I'm far from the world's biggest HRC supporter, but I find the language that is used about her sometimes disturbing. The Reich Wing has been calling her a "witch" for going on fifteen years now, but people defend SNL when they do it because it's "just" a comedy show. As a subscriber to Bitch Magazine though, and a bit of a pop culture junkie, I think that if we look at pop culture through a feminist lens, it can tell us a lot about where we are as a society.
It seems that every time a woman "misbehaves" according to the standards of the hetero Christian patriarchy, she is called a witch. It's very similar to the dyke epithet, in that it is used to police women's behavior--step too far out of line, grab a little too much power, and you can bet the "W" word will be thrown at you.
And there really isn't a male equivalent (of course). What's especially interesting to me is the way people will use it as a substitute for bitch, if the "B" word is considered too vulgar. They're interchangable. I think it's telling.
This is why I'm one of those Pagans who is not afraid to use the word and reclaim it. Women's power was once something to be admired, to be sought out for how it could help--the healer, the priestess, the cunning woman of the village. Why is women's power so feared in our society?
Edit: I forgot to mention that my DU handle is a Romani word derived from Armenian that does in fact mean "witch".