What's wrong with being a Boss?
Posted on 03/14/2014 7:13:38 AM PDT by Academiadotorg
A bunch of aggrieved women led by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg launched a high-profile “public service campaign” this week to “ban” the word “bossy.” Sandberg, Beyonce, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham and first lady Michelle Obama have joined femme forces to combat this phantom menace. In their rarefied world, it’s a “very negative experience” and a crippling act of gender discrimination to be called bossy. “This isn’t a word we should use,” Sandberg complained on National Public Radio.
To which I say: Oh, buck up.
The key to female empowerment doesn’t lie with wheedling word police. It lies with girls and women finding the courage to speak and act on their beliefs and principles without regard to their detractors’ opinions.
My message to girls, including my own 13-year-old daughter, is not: “Ban Bossy.” My message is: Be Bossy. And that means first being the boss of you.
Here is my own little story. Over the past 20 years, I have gained a reputation as mouthy, aggressive, overbearing and, yes, bossy. I’ve barreled my way through interviews on “The View” and the “Today” show, arguing over Joy Behar and Matt Lauer. I’ve battled with some of the biggest blowhards in politics, media and Hollywood.
But I wasn’t always this way. In grade school, I was shy to the point of verbal paralysis. I failed a speech class because I was terrified to stand up in class with 30 sets of eyes staring at me. I was a doormat and a wallflower, not because I was afraid of being labeled “pushy” or “bossy,” but because I was afraid of owning my own thoughts, beliefs and work.
What changed? In college, I got sick of other people — especially, ahem, of bossy liberal white women — pretending to speak for me. I learned to say “no” when everyone around me expected and demanded “yes.” I learned to cut my own path and not give a damn whether anyone followed. I wasn’t held back by how others perceived me. I was held back by how I perceived myself.
Sandberg and her friends think “bossy” (which she calls “the other b-word”) is worth ginning up an entire media campaign over — even enlisting White House officials and cabinet members. But women with unpopular ideas and opinions face a daily barrage of unprintable c-words, f-words, s-words and w-words that are far worse. If we launched media campaigns to ban every ugly word that comes our way, we wouldn’t have time to get anything else done.
It is a blessing to be able to make a living exercising the First Amendment. It would be an absolute waste of those precious free speech rights for any woman to pull her punches for fear of, gasp, an adjective.
Girls, here’s the truth about the Ban Bossy campaign: It’s being spearheaded by a privileged group of elite feminists who have a very vested interest in stoking victim politics and exacerbating the gender divide. They actually encourage dependency and groupthink while paying lip service to empowerment and self-determination. They traffic in bogus wage disparity statistics, whitewashing the fact that what’s actually left of that dwindling pay gap is due to the deliberate, voluntary choices women in the workforce make. This includes which industries women enter, how long they stay, what levels they attain, and when and how they decide to start a family.
The supposedly abhorrent unequal outcomes that “progressive” women want to eradicate don’t always come down to sexism. It’s not just a gender thing. It’s a freedom thing.
I want young girls and young ladies to know that whatever adversity you might face, there has never been a better time to be an American woman. You have more educational, economic and entrepreneurial opportunities than generations of women before you. You have more flexibility, more choices and more ways to spread your messages and make yourself heard than ever before.
Don’t just be bossy. Be your own boss. When I started two Internet companies, I didn’t ask for anyone’s permission. I didn’t let anyone stop me. I didn’t wallow in self-pity about the odds stacked against me or the derision that greeted me. And when times were tough, I didn’t blame The Man. I woman-ed up.
Gals, you don’t need the sensitivity brigade to protect you from criticism or attacks. You need to learn from them and rise above them, not censor them. And if anyone tells you to tone it down, do the opposite: Crank it up and don’t look back. That’s an order!
Depends on the meaning of “bossy”...I think those without integrity and intelligence and information (most libs) are bossy. ..jmho
I don’t think they did read the same article. If they had they would have noticed the main points Michele made about this new feminist campaign: “here’s the truth about the Ban Bossy campaign: It’s being spearheaded by a privileged group of elite feminists who have a very vested interest in stoking victim politics and exacerbating the gender divide. They actually encourage dependency and groupthink while paying lip service to empowerment and self-determination. They traffic in bogus wage disparity statistics, whitewashing the fact that what’s actually left of that dwindling pay gap is due to the deliberate, voluntary choices women in the workforce make. This includes which industries women enter, how long they stay, what levels they attain, and when and how they decide to start a family.”
The new Bossy Campaign is just another vehicle for the Left to bash men and make women into victims. Meanwhile, the Left gets to attack anyone from the Right who criticizes a woman on the Left such as Hillary or Michelle O. As in, “They are only criticizing them because they are strong women.”
Careful. Loss of “right” to possess firearms could be levied upon one that engages in acting in such a manner. ;>}
Moochelle is bossy (we won't dwell on this particular irony....) when she says "You should eat your Peas." "you should recycle to save the planet" "You should keep the thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer" and so on.....
OTOH, I've worked for a number of women who did fine. Were able to assert themselves and finish what needed to be done, but weren't difficult about it.
:)
Hell my wife embraced that philosophy years ago ... she’s way ahead of the curve. ;o)
Most assertive women think being the boss is all about attitude. They’re wrong. It’s a skill. Some women have the people skills and confidence to be a good boss. Most don’t. Generally the only place women make good bosses is within the family. Hmm. I wonder why.
What's wrong with being a Boss?
Now these young females assert themselves and are told "don't be bossy." I see this as confusing messages to young girls.
Bossy women are annoying!
Yeh, men turn into monsters, too. Just look at Congress to see how the whole power thing works.
‘The key to female empowerment doesn’t lie with wheedling word police. It lies with girls and women finding the courage to speak and act on their beliefs and principles without regard to their detractors’ opinions.
The key to gettin’ by with bein’ bossy is knowin what the hell yer bein bossy about ...one of life’s hardly ever understood lessons is....
YOU CAN BE LOUD AND SMART BUT YOU CAN’T BE LOUD AND STOOPID.......
IF YOU FALL INTO CATEGORY #2 odds are somewhere along the line you get yer A$$ handed to ya’ ......justifiably ....
Word up to yo momma...
Part of becoming a man is learning how to work around and in spite of bossy women. Manliness also teaches us not to marry bossy women. They are better off left alone and lonely. Nothing can psychologically cripple a young male quicker than a bossy mother, so men should avoid breeding with bossy women. It is not unmanly to run from a bossy woman for fear of shrinking gonads.
Decided they could play restaurant as we had a great seating arrangement.
All on their own....The girls went to the kitchen, got dishes etc and set the tables. Half the boys started cooking and the other half prepared to serve. All the girls took their seats first and were served by the waiters...which included a towel (napkin) over their arm.
In other words...maybe giving a broad instruction can overcome the detailed demeaning instruction of a power hungry "leader".
The young leaders in the group led and were complimented by their assistants. Amazing.....
I love liberal women who are openly bossy. It tells me who to avoid like the plague.
People with the choleric temperament are needed to get people moving. They have:
1) the firm control when others are losing theirs
2) the cut of decision for foggy minds
3) the grip of leadership to head us to the good
4) the willingness to take a chance in a doubtful situation
5) the confidence to hold true in the face of ridicule
6) the independence to stand alone and be counted
7) the road map to life when we've gone astray
8) the urge "to take up arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them."
"If you disagree with anything Hillary says you're a sexist"
As sure as the sun's going to set in the evening, the national "conversation" is starting to shift.
I haven’t used the word “Bossy” in years. But now it is my new Word of the Week. I will try to use it as much as I can.
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