In case you haven’t heard about it there’s a new movement afoot: A campaign to open up the leadership potential for young women by banning the word “bossy.”
Sheryl Sandberg is COO of Facebook. Anna Maria Chavez is COO of Girl Scouts USA. They’ve launched “Ban Bossy,” a high-profile so-called “public service campaign.” They’ve got the White House onboard. Also Beyonce, and Victoria Beckham. Plus a willing media including a spread in the Wall Street Journal, where Joanne Po writes, “The word ‘bossy’ has carried both a negative and a female connotation.”
“Behind the negative connotations,” Ms. Po continues, “lie deep-rooted stereotypes about gender. Boys are expected to be assertive, confident, and opinionated, while girls should be kind, nurturing and compassionate.” We expect boys to lead.
The idea here is that being called “bossy” stunts the growth of little girls and keeps them from achieving their goals. Supposedly, calling a girl or young woman “bossy” makes her stop trying to be a leader.
Victimhood has long part of the feminist shtick. But women are far from victims. This anti-“bossy” campaign came into being supposedly as a first step to leveling the playing field for women.
Leveling the playing field? Really? In many arenas, including getting bachelors and masters degrees, women are doing better than men. And they’re bouncing back faster in the economic recovery. Modern feminists like Sheryl Sandberg and Anna Maria Chavez may have been called “bossy” when they were young. But they’ve done pretty well for themselves. So why are they using their platforms and influence to cultivate feminine oversensitivity?
Girls need to know that the same principles that help men get to the top also apply to women. And they don’t include banning words from the English language. Ladies — if you’ve got an edge to your personality or a “poor me,” always offended mentality, it would behoove you to work on those or try to keep them under control. Hone your communications skills and cultivate ways to respond diplomatically to perceived slights or insults in a way that doesn’t make you seem whiney.
In fact, here’s an idea: Rather than banning the “word” bossy, why not turn it into a compliment!
One blogger, at Redstate suggested instead of banning “bossy”, ban crybabies. She’s got two daughters and she wrote, “I’m not going to teach my girls that words should be stopped. I’m going to teach them that WORDS CAN’T STOP THEM.”
We’re going to hear words we don’t like. And we’re going to say things that are politically incorrect, that offend some people. Things like marriage is between a man and a woman — or — it’s good to wait for sex until marriage. (Now there’s a concept that will really empower young women.) Banning speech, banning words is a tool of the Left for control. We don’t need a movement or a government to tell us that bossy, or any word is not allowed.