“…a woman taking the lead makes people uncomfortable. So we call her ‘bossy’ to put her in her place, and to let her know she isn’t actually supposed to act that way… when little girls begin to show they know their own minds, they get put down for being pushy…”
Her argument is persuasive as she explains how ‘Ban Bossy’ is shorthand for thinking twice about how we treat assertive women. It really does make you rethink what words you use and who you use them to describe.
On the other hand, Caroline Corcoran argues that words are not the problem. In fact, she is incredibly supportive of any “campaign that tells young women they can lead in whatever field they choose.” But she does not believe that the word ‘bossy’ is the source of the problem. With the dozens of words available that could replace bossy, there would be a replacement found soon enough. And with words such as ‘bitchy’, ‘dominating’ and nagging’ out there, it’s likely the replacement would be worse. But I think the line that won me over was “The thoughts will still be there- it’s those we really need to change.” She has a real point here. Banning a word doesn’t change the thoughts in a person’s head.
So to conclude, (haven’t used that word in a while) while Ban Bossy is a much needed campaign, I’m not convinced that changing a word will change attitudes. Then again, Ban Bossy definitely makes for a memorable campaign title in a society of hashtags.