Heartless Bitches International

Heartless Bitches International
Web address heartless-bitches.com
Type of site
 E-zine / community
Registration Optional
Owner Natalie P.
Created by Natalie P.
Launched 1996
Current status Online

Heartless Bitches International is a humorous website primarily targeted at women. It was started as a joke in 1996 by Ottawa, Canada software developer "Natalie P", satirizing the stereotype that all assertive, strong women are "heartless bitches". It is now a repository of thousands of articles, primarily dealing with the expectations and stereotypes that society tries to enforce on men and women, the problems they cause, and how to overcome them.[1][2][3][4][5]

The website particularly rejects "sappiness" and women considered excessively emotional.[6] Heartless Bitches International claims it does not celebrate being insensitive, manipulative, selfish, cruel, or man-hating; it celebrates the positive qualities in people, like assertiveness, self-reliance, and an unwillingness to be a martyr, which lead to them being stereotyped as "heartless bitches". Apart from admiring these qualities, Heartless Bitches International does not have a party line or rigid set of beliefs, preferring its members to be open-minded and to trust themselves enough to make their own judgments. The website uses "bitch" to mean the backronym "Being In Total Control Honey".[7]

It was one of the earliest websites catered specifically towards women at a time when the World Wide Web was largely a male domain.[8] It was nominated for a Webby Award in 2002 in the humor category.[9][10] In 2001 it had over 6,500 members and about 65,000 page views per week.[2]

Content

Regular columns

The majority of HBI's content is user-submitted, but there are a number of semi-regular writers and columns:

User-submitted

The majority of the articles on Heartless Bitches International are submitted by the readers, and are archived under the heading "Deal With It!"

The truth of the matter is that there are genuinely caring, compassionate, decent, fun guys out there who have NO TROUBLE meeting people, getting dates, and having relationships.

Unfortunately, many of the guys who DO have trouble, insist on laying blame and asserting that women don't want them because they are too "Nice". These people who call themselves "Nice Guys" can't see that THEIR OWN behavior is the problem. Whether it is targeting women who are troubled to begin with, or acting in a manipulative, patronizing or obsequious fashion, these guys sabotage themselves and blame others for their misfortunes.
The section is updated very frequently because of the large amount of mail received from "Nice Guys" who feel they are misunderstood, as well as people who have had to deal with them.

Pop culture

Examples of Heartless Bitchiness in popular culture.

Other

There is also a shop selling "Heartless Bitch Meanies doll" as well as clothing.[12][13]

Membership

HBI also has a membership section. Applying for membership requires an essay on why the applicant is a Heartless Bitch. Applications deemed particularly bad are publicly ridiculed in the Weak of the Week section.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ostrowksi, Julie (June 16, 2002). "No Whining on the Web — One tough cookie @ Heartlessbitches.com". San Francisco Chronicle. p. D-2. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Chonin, Neva (June 15, 2001). "The Call of the Bitches — Renegade pundits sound off on the Web". SF Gate (San Francisco Chronicle). Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ Ostrowski, Julie (September 3, 2002). "Web Site's 'Heartless' Critique Tackles Abusive Relationships". Newsday, Queens Edition. pp. A.24. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  4. ↑ Tam, Pauline (March 24, 2001). "These women are heartless". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2001-06-18. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ Speigel, Ian (September 12, 2000). "Heartless Bitchess International". McGill Tribune Volume 20 Issue 2 (student newspaper). Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ Amihod, Mitchell (February 11, 1999). "Who loves the sun?". Montreal Mirror. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ Figes, Kate (January 26, 2007). "Who are you calling a bitch?". The Guardian. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  8. ↑ Blair, Kristine; Takayoshi, Pamela (1999). Feminist cyberscapes: mapping gendered academic spaces. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 379. ISBN 1-56750-438-8. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  9. ↑ "6th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners". Webby Awards website. 2002. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Duncan (April 30, 2002). "War and peace challenge for web awards". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  11. ↑ http://www.heartless-bitches.com/rants/niceguys/ng.shtml
  12. ↑ http://www.heartlessbitches.com/store/stuff2.shtml
  13. ↑ Mara, Janis; Gruenwedel, Eric (2001). "A Stuffed, Heartless Bitch". Adweek. Archived from the original on 2002-06-03. Retrieved November 20, 2009.

External links

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