The B Word

In the Weeds

When my daughter was eight years old, she came home one day and announced that she "knew what the B word was." But she was confused: why was a word for a female dog - the most awesome of creatures, in her mind - also an insult for girls and women?

Interesting, I thought. What did this insult say about our relationship to animals, to dogs specifically, and about the gendering of that relationship? What did it say about how our culture connects animals and women?

These questions sparked a series of conversations - with linguist Eric Russell, feminist Josephine Donovan, comedian Adam Oliensis, my high school BFF, Jennifer Lynch, and, finally, with dog trainer Jamie Ianello.

Following the path of these conversations, this episode explores how language works and what it says about our relationship to other animals, as we examine the shifting uses and meanings of the B word.
Thank you also to Stephanie Kovacs Cohen and Stacey Bone-Gleason from Arc Stages who read the Shakespeare parts and to Adam Bernier who recorded my interview with Adam Oliensis.
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