Why are people so angry about the ‘Ban Bossy‘ campaign? Facebook’s CEO Sheryl Sandberg, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez spearheaded the idea. The goal is a simple one… encourage girls to feel more confident and comfortable as leaders. Sounds like a good thing to me… but holy hell… as SOON as the campaign was released all I heard was negative backlash.
“I mean… how can you ban a whole word?? Is banning the word bossy really going to help girls?” I heard on the radio on my way to work.
My twitter feed was FULL of op-ed articles of people bashing the concept. “Well, if my daughter can’t handle being called bossy, she has way bigger problems.”
I saw a lot of people commenting that this campaign encourages a ‘victim’ mentality. (since the term is not exclusive to females)
Did any of these people actually read what the campaign was about? It encourages girls to lead. To get the conversation started. There are fewer female leaders out there, and the issue with that starts young.
According to the Ban Bossy website, there are more male heroes in children books. In classrooms, girls are called on less often and get interrupted more. Also, between elementary and high school girls’ self-esteem drops 3.5 times more than boys.
I’m an executive producer at a top 20 market TV station. As a manager in a male dominated field, I can tell you it’s not easy. I have been treated differently for doing the same thing a man has done, only because I am female. I have been called bossy and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe they should have called this the ‘Ban Bitchy’ campaign? I wonder how that would have gone over with 7 year olds? But I never cared about what people called me, because I was raised to be confident in myself.
That is the main point of this campaign, which is what people would see if they weren’t so caught up in the freaking title of it. The site suggests young girls try to speak up more in class, to take on things that seem challenging, trust your inner voice, and to stop apologizing before speaking. (this is the best piece of advice, I think a lot of grown women in the workplace say sorry way too much!) It also has great suggestions for parents and teachers.
If you want to think there is no difference between men and women in the workplace you are wrong. So why don’t you get angry about THAT people… instead of getting so upset about the name of the latest public service campaign that addresses it.
Hi,
This came up in my twitter feed in perfect timing. Thanks for making this post.
I completely agree with cause for the campaign but am not that fussed by the "banbossy" tag line.
In response to your question: "Did any of these people actually read what the campaign was about?" – probably not. But the thing is in reality most people don't, and here is where the problem lies.
A lot of people will read the title and take what they will from it, and all you need is one person to tell two people and…
Therefore I think it misses the point. In reality I have no feelings about the word "bossy" I think at times it definitely has it's place (gender neutral) and sometimes it's completely inappropriate but we don't want to lose site of the real goal here, which is definitely something worth supporting.
There definitely needs to be more action taken towards equality in the work place. As a female academic I can really relate, but the name of the campaign is the first thing anyone will see and in reality though you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover it happens everyday and that tag line might be the make or break of this campaign.
Hi Thea,
Thanks for your comment!
I totally agree with you about judging a book by its cover. However, I have a feeling that no matter what this campaign was called, people would have had issues with it. There are those who don't want to believe there is a difference in the way men & women are treated.
Have a wonderful day! Lauren
You know this is sooo interesting. When you initially hear about ban bossy, (at least I thought) that it meant girls can't be bossy. Then I read the campaign message and got it. Girls should be empowered to be leaders! I love your blog tagline btw!
I think they were trying to get attention with a so-called catchy campaign name, but I think it kind of backfired on them, unfortunately. There are some really good messages for young girls there. (teachers & parents, too!) Thank you for reading!! 🙂
I think you nailed it here. Unfortunately I think only those that read Lean In and or experience the essence of what the "ban bossy" campaign is about understood and supported the cause. I was behind it 100% because I feel the differences between men and women in the workplace and I am in higher education where you would think they would do a better job of balancing. I read so many ill-informed responses to the campaign it made me sick. One of my neighbors posted about how you can't ban a word and if her daughter is being bossy no one is going to tell her not to reprimand her for it. It made me sad.
Yeah, I think the effort to make something memorable with a catchy name backfired, really for no reason. I mean what else could they have called the campaign? Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! 🙂