Whether you agree or disagree with it, you have probably heard about the #BanBossy campaign. The idea behind the campaign is to ban the word ‘bossy’, which is deemed to send a negative message to young girls who aspire to be leaders. Despite a large following, the campaign has Islington women disagreeing with this controversial hashtag.
Created by Sheryl Sandberg, author of bestselling book “Lean in: Women, work and the will to lead” and Facebook Chief Operating Officer, #BanBossy has received backing from the likes of Beyoncé, Condolezza Rice and Jennifer Garner, among other big names.
“No, it’s ridiculous to think that a word would have such a bad impact on girls. It’s making more of an issue by saying that you can’t use certain words to describe females!” said Sarah Warsham, 27, “I can appreciate the sentiment but it has only become so big because of Beyoncé getting involved, otherwise it wouldn’t have probably been such a big deal,” she said.
The campaign has been founded by LeanIn.org, created by Sheryl Sandberg and in partnership with the Girl Scouts of USA “to develop leadership tips and activities to encourage all girls to lead.”#BanBossy has spread across all major social networking sites such as Instagram and Facebook, with more than four thousand pictures uploaded under the hashtag “BanBossy”.
The #BanBossy website says: “When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.”
The campaign pledges to encourage girls to be ambitious and to be brave; however there has been criticism over the celebrated censorship of words and scientific fact behind the campaign leading to a debate on the social media site Twitter where the hashtag became possible.
Lijana Bartowski, 34, bar attender, said: “I don’t think it is bad to call anyone bossy. I have been called bossy before and it has only made me want to show them I am hard working, you know? It is just silly name calling, I don’t see why boys would do any better just because you call a girl bossy.”
#BanBossy has released posters with promoting facts such as: “by middle school, girls are 25 percent less likely than boys to say they like taking the lead, while 92 percent of girls believe anyone can acquire the skills of leadership, only 21 percent believe they currently have most of the key qualities required to be a good leader. Between elementary school and high school, girls’ self-esteem drops 3.5 times more than boys.”
Miss Bartowski added: “If girls are letting things like this stop them, it isn’t about the words used but it is much deeper than that. By banning the word bossy people will just start to use another word like controlling.”
Beyoncé Knowles, singing superstar, was featured in the #BanBossy campaign video saying: “I’m not bossy. I’m the boss” alongside Jane Lynch, Glee star, also appears in the video that says: “I think the word bossy is just a squasher.” Other celebs have shown their support including fashion designer Diane von Fϋrstenberg and Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR champion.
Former Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham tweeted: “#banbossy Encourage girls to lead. Join me today: x vb” and is a featured in one of the posters for the campaign saying: “It is thought provoking that a man in charge may be described as commanding, however a woman in the same situation may be called bossy.”
Emma Simmons, 21, sales assistant, said: “It wouldn’t personally affect me to be called bossy, and I don’t think you would do any less well in your job because someone calls you bossy. I get where they are coming from but it is just labeling girls as precious, that they need to be mollycoddled and you can’t say certain things without upsetting them.”
The campaign promotes that the word bossy will hold girls back and that “girls are twice as likely as boys to worry that leadership roles will make them seem “bossy.” Miss Simmons said:” If you teach girls that they should react to certain words then they are going to, but if you teach them to embrace the words that could offend them then that is more empowering I think.”
Much like the women in Islington, The Good Men Project published an article in opposition of the campaign’s beliefs entitled: “It’s Not Okay to Be Afraid of a Word: This Father Will Not #BanBossy.”
Despite the criticism and skepticism the campaign has received the website has useful information about encouraging young girls. Mrs. Warsham said: “Any help about how to avoid having such a bad impact is useful, obviously, as my youngest can be so quiet sometimes, so I think in that sense anything that helps girls get involved more is good. But completely banishing a word is the wrong way to go about it.”
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