I was trying to get the gender aspect out, because the crux of the issue is "it's just an insult, except X group of people are offended by it because it's obviously meant to assault that group of people 100% of the time"
Obviously.
The issue is that the inferred subtext can be interpreted as one of general disrespect. This is a tough idea to convey succinctly, but as an example, here's something that I've heard white people I know growing up use to summarize their position on black people they don't like.
"I don't like that guy because he's a nigger. Now, I'm not saying that all black people are niggers, but that guy is. A lot of them may very well be good people, and I wouldn't levy 'nigger' at them. Ergo, I'm not racist."
Hearing this, even as a young kid, I could see that they were certainly
trying not to come across as discriminatory towards a whole race, but something about it made me a bit uneasy.
Now, back to the word 'bitch', I understand that the situation is a bit different. In its case, it's used much more causally for many more circumstances. Therefore, I can understand some confusion in regard to its usage, as there's an argument to be made that it's lost a lot of its edginess. However, some of its bite still remains, and some take offense towards it. Personally, as stated earlier, I'm not all that invested one way or another about the policy the site
should take, as I understand the arguments for and against.
It's a copout, but I'll just concede that it is what it is and call it a day.