How to Be a Difficult Bitch: Claim Your Power, Ditch the Haters, and Feel Good Doing It

So you want to be a Difficult Bitch.

One of the most empowering things you can do as a human being is to figure out who you are and be that person unapologetically...but sometimes, that’s easier said than done. How to Be a Difficult Bitch is here to help you join a long line of people who have been called “a difficult bitch” in some form or another, from suffragists to Rosa Parks to Greta Thunberg.

Difficult Bitches are agents of change. They’re heroes who don’t wear capes (or maybe they do, and that cape is fierce). They annoy people. They threaten the status quo. All of this is, of course, in the name of self-love, confidence, and the greater good.

Difficult Bitches Shall:

Stand up for themselves

Love themselves

Be themselves

Ask for help when they need it

Be empathetic

Break boundaries for a better world

Stand up for what they believe in

Stand up for others

Embrace diversity

Be imperfect

Do their best

Halley Bondy is a professional freelance writer, journalist, editor, producer, and mom based in Brooklyn. Her articles have appeared in NBC News, The Balance, Contently, Digital Trends, Bustle, Romper, The Outline, MTV, and more. She has written six books for Zest, including #MeToo and You: Everything You Need to Know about Consent, Boundaries, and More and Speak Up: A Guide to Having a Say and Speaking Your Mind.

Mary C. Fernandez is a business consultant and writer based in Durham, North Carolina.

Zara Hanawalt is a writer and editor based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan.com, Parents.com, Seventeen.com, and US Weekly.

Sharon Lynn Pruitt-Young is a freelance writer and author. Her work has been published in various publications including USA TODAY College, Persephone Magazine, Afro Punk, and Black Girl Nerds. She is based in Maryland.