THE BU BIDDIE IS AN OFTEN-SPOKEN -OF CREATURE, BUT THE TERM AT BU HAS AN AMBIGUOUS AND DEROGATORY DEFINITION. Merriam-Webster’s idea of a biddie is the most conservative and arguably the most hilarious. The word allegedly became a common term in 1601, though bandage skirts, vodka sodas and first-year college students definitely did not play into the original definition. “A young chicken,” read the first entry. “A hired girl or cleaning woman,” read the second. The anonymous Urban Dictionary contributors have a different idea. Entries vary in both grammatical correctness and general meaning. Some mention specific schools. “A biddie, while difficult to define accurately without avoiding confusion, is a college-aged female who falls under some, most or all of these,” the highest-voted definition declared. Following the general description is a list of characteristics, including short and/or petite, obsessed with yoga pants, gullible and only interested in becoming a “desperate housewife.” Different still is BU’s own definition of a biddie, which changes drastically depending on whom you ask. Most cannot even decide if it should be spelled with an “–ie” or a “–y.” An anonymous survey of BU students yielded results ranging from “drunk, slutty freshmen” to “stupid sorority girls” and back again. A few commonly used adjectives to describe a biddie include promiscuous, drunk, loud, unintelligent and freshman. A majority of these characteristics most likely have been applied to many BU women at one point or another (save for the lack of
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intelligence, of course). People often criticize biddies for going out often. But isn’t that what college is for? One survey respondent (CAS ’15) said how one spends his or her free time should not determine intelligence or work ethic. “I think that in some ways, women label other girls as biddies to make them feel better about themselves, even if they too are considered a ‘biddie’ sometimes,” the student said. “To me, it’s kind of like the term ‘bitch.’ Girls use it offensively towards other girls, but also throw it around casually with their friends.” The idea is reminiscent of the scene in Mean Girls when Tina Fey gives her pep talk. “You guys have got to stop calling each other ‘sluts’ and ‘whores,’ ” she said. “It only makes it okay for guys to call you ‘sluts’ and ‘whores.’ ” We use “biddie” the same way we use “bitch” or “slut.” It is derogatory when aimed at women we don’t know and a term of endearment when used in a group of friends. Some people do benefit from the existence of biddies—namely men. Male respondents’ opinions were positive. “I kind of admire them for being themselves,” one male student (COM ’17) said. “I think I’m glad to live in a world with biddies.” Ashley Mears, an assistant professor of sociology in CAS and a former model, focuses on the separation of gender in the modeling and fashion industries in her studies. She recently wrote “Who Runs the Girls?” in The New York Times, which provides an in-depth account of the Manhattan club scene. Male club owners train models to make appearances and party with male clientele— all in exchange for drinks, “networking opportunities” and other favors.
There seems to be a sad parallel between the “models and bottles” concept and biddies. People don’t want to be friends with them, but guys want them at their parties. The same phenomenon often happens at fraternity houses—not just at BU, but also all across the country. Brothers walk around house parties with handles in their fists and only let certain “acceptable” girls party with whichever Greek letters hang from the balcony. “As a fraternity member,” one survey respondent (SMG ’15) said, “I love [biddies].” Mears said she first heard of biddies when she arrived at BU six years ago. “I heard the word ‘biddie’ when I talked to someone about the Final Club parties after seeing The Social Network,” Mears said. “I know some people at Harvard who did explain that, yeah, women get brought in on trucks, and it is called the ‘F*ck Truck.’ There, biddies are drawn in contrast with the ‘RUHG’—the ‘Regular Ugly Harvard Girl.’ ” The word separates groups of BU women from the rest of Boston’s college crowd. Their personalities, actions and even their clothing options turn invalid and shameful. BU women are alone in this—that’s how the rest of Boston sees us. “BU women are thought to be more suitable for parties, more attractive, less intellectually or academically oriented than Harvard women,” Mears said. It is a hard fact to choke down, but the stereotype of a “BU bitch” that exists in endless quotations of The Social Network makes it tough to refute. With Harvard and MIT across the river and the rest of the Ivy League schools a short drive away, it’s not surprising that BU falls into the ranks of slutty, attention-seeking middle sisters of the academic world.