Frequent MB contributor Rachel Kramer Bussel just clued us into a really odd instance of censorship at the NYT: their refusal to publish the name of op-ed contributor Jennifer Shahade's book along with her name. The book's title? "Chess Bitch."

It also, weirdly, left off the title in a Sunday Styles piece called "Sex and Chess. Is She a Queen or a Pawn?" This is the same section that ran a piece on the joys of perma-baldness back in September. I am not referring to the visible baldness of men.

Shahade's publishers decry the NYT's squeamishness over the word, but Rachel is confused:

But a quick search of the word in the Times search engine shows 732 uses of the word, including mention of the anthology The Bitch in the House (including one dated December 4th, 2005 - Shahade's Op-Ed was published November 29th). What's interesting is that in both titles, Chess Bitch and The Sexy Bitch's Guide..., "bitch" is being reclaimed in part as a term of power, not as an epithet.

"Bitch"ing at the New York Times [Lusty Lady]

Audio Bitch:
The Bitch is Back [Elton John]
Cold Hard Bitch [Jet]
Queen Bitch [David Bowie]
Baby Bitch [Ween]
Bitchin' in the Kitchen [Shock Treatment]
Bitch [Meredith Brooks]

UPDATE: Oh, hilarious: I just listened to these clips after being vaguely surprised that I could find them on Wal-Mart.com in the first place. Funnily, the word "bitch" is untouched in the Elton and Jet songs, but cut out of Meredith Brooks (Ween is, unsurprisingly, not available at Wal-Mart and the Bowie snippet doesn't include the word). So - it appears that Wal-Mart, too, is okay with the word "bitch" when applied to a woman but not with its use by a woman. Well, at least they saved Christmas!