6. Our Douchebag Decree Delivers Weekly Excoriation of What to Avoid—and How to Push Back.
The Douchebag Decree began simply enough. It was 2008, the beginning of this site you're seeing now, and we were brainstorming content for the Bitch blogs. In addition to the positive features we had planned—spotlights on feminists from history, reviews of books and bands—we wanted a way to regularly call out the negative stuff that we saw in the news each week. You know: the sexist jerks, the offensive ads, the faux-feminist feature articles, the exploitative beauty products, the mainstream media—the sort of things that make feminists like us positively stabby. Since we were and still are in the business of providing a feminist response to pop culture, we knew there was plenty to talk about.
We thought long and hard about what to call the feature, and decided that of all the insults we could hurl at toxic enemies to women, the one that means an actual toxic enemy to women was the most fitting.
The only douchebag I've ever truly loved.
Over the past four years, the Douchebag Decree has become one of the most popular features on the Bitch blogs. Not because Bitch readers love douching—we know you don’t!—but because smart, savvy, feminist Bitch readers want to know when someone in the media steps out of line. Whether it’s signing a petition to stop the exploitation of girls or boycotting yet another "Just for Men" product, our weekly Douchebag Decrees let readers know what to avoid and what actions to take to push back. And let's just admit it—calling a douche a douche can be kinda therapeutic (and fun, too).
But these douche callouts aren't free. It takes time, research, resources, and sharp contributors (with strong stomachs!) to bring you Ye Olde Decrees each week. Combing through digitally altered Forever 21 catalogs and countless Trump tweets isn't a pretty job, but someone's gotta do it.
If you appreciate having someone there to call mainstream culture on its sexist behavior week after week, please consider showing your support for Bitch—and your disdain for douchebags everywhere—by donating today.