I absolutely despise that word and hate when it's used to describe me or anyone else. First of all, I am not a female dog. Second, I find nothing about the word "empowering" at all. If someone were to call me a name, or I call them, I much prefer "whore" or "cunt". Actually, I quite like the word "cunt" and I think it's rather lovely.
But I completely HATE the word "bitch". Ever since I was VERY young, my mother would put me down with the phrase "you little bitch". Constantly. She still says it to this today... not in connection to me, but whenever she gets pissed about something. Every time I hear that word, I want to bash the sayer in the face and knock their teeth down their throat (I think it's obvious to say that I have mother issues). I will not allow anyone to call me "bitch" for any reason (even in jest)... if they do, trust me, it stops right then and there.