england-and-wales
Is it hate speech or otherwise illegal to call a woman a bitch or a whore?
<p>These epithets are somewhat particular to female subjects, and so I can easily see them being seized on as sexist or misogynistic. However, I think they also have  particular meanings that are not expressible in gender neutral parlance, apart from which I don't think language should be policed with a presumption that gender neutral expressions are inherently preferable to richer gendered expression.</p>
<p>Anyway, the particular meaning of bitch is a female who acts mean, but in particularly feminine manners.</p>
<p>While a whore is specifically used to deride someone who acts in an unprincipled manner or who is essentially willing to sell their integrity and principles for something like money.</p>
<p>In neither case is the woman being derided for being a woman, but rather for their own unsavoury behaviour. They are merely being punished in a linguistically gender-appropriate way for their undesirable behaviour.</p>
<p>Any way that this type of language could come back to bite one legally?</p>

<h2>No</h2>
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<p>Gender classification (generally - see below) are not covered by anti-hate speech statutes.</p>
<p>Any communication which is threatening or abusive, and is intended to harass, alarm, or distress someone is forbidden if it is about that person's colour, race, disability, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origin, religion, gender reassignment, or sexual orientation. So, those words are fine if the person still identifies as the same gender they were assigned at birth but not otherwise.</p>
