Ban Bossy: Feminist initiative pushes for elimination of stigma

For Josephine Olson, being called “bossy” is a badge of honor.

“If being bossy means being assertive, knowing what you want and being able to tell people what you think should be done, then being bossy shouldn’t be a bad thing,” said Olson, director of Pitt’s International Business Center.

Beyoncé, Jane Lynch, Condoleezza Rice, Diane von Furstenberg and Jennifer Garner would disagree.

These celebrities and world leaders are promoting the “Ban Bossy” campaign, started by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, and Anna Maria Chávez, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Sandberg and Chávez wrote in the Wall Street Journal last month that they started the campaign to promote leadership among young girls and bring attention to the negative connotation of the word “bossy” when referring to female leaders.

Chávez referenced the Girl Scouts Research Institute study “Change it Up,” which compiled information from a 2007 online survey that asked questions about leadership among young people. The institute distributed the online survey to more than 4,000 boys and girls between 8 and 17 years old.

According to the survey, 29 percent of female respondents — versus 13 percent of male respondents — considered seeming bossy as a barrier to leadership. Female respondents surpassed male respondents in other categories about leadership deterrents, including the fear of making others mad and being disliked or laughed at by others.

By banning the word bossy, Sandberg, Chávez and partners, including Pantene Pro-V, Teach for America and Always, hope to reduce such statistics.

According to the campaign’s website, the campaign has promoted a series of press releases, ads and merchandise, including mugs, iPhone cases and kids’ clothing, that discourage the use of the word bossy, as well as suggestions for teachers and parents on how to promote leadership skills among young girls.

For some, vernacular could influence attitudes, after all.

Scott Kiesling, a linguistics professor, agreed that hearing the word “bossy” could negatively affect young children.

“Even if it’s not used against you, it would make you think about whether or not you should be strong, assertive and things like that,” Kiesling said. “Or if you call someone else ‘bossy,’ it shows that you think about the world in a way that girls aren’t supposed to be strong.”

Olson, who’s been working at Pitt for more than 40 years, said she’s had a share of moments when she felt singled out as a woman.

“When I came, I was the only woman in my department,” Olson, also a business professor, said. “I always had people asking me for a ‘woman’s opinion.’ I was constantly teaching classes entirely of young men. I once had a man apologize to me because he was ‘just not used to working with women.’”

The sentiment that men are not used to working with women is well-supported, for women comprise a small percentage of U.S. Congress and federal department heads as well as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Aisha Upton, a graduate student studying sociology, said the elimination of the word “bossy” won’t change the disparities between men and women in the workplace, but rather, a deep structural change is needed.

“Gender inequality is built into our structures. Banning the word bossy won’t change our systematic ideas,” Upton said.

Upton drew a comparison between the fights against gender inequality and racism.

According to Upton, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People attempted to “bury” the N-word in 2007.

“It’s now 2014, and people are still saying racist things. Burying the N-word didn’t save anybody. Bossy works in a similar way,” Upton said.

While preventing people from saying what they want is difficult, Kiesling said the campaign could still spark a discussion.

“Bossy flies under the radar. Is stopping the word gonna change the way people think about things? Probably not. But if the goal is to raise awareness, then it is a very clever [campaign],” Kiesling said.

A deeper consciousness for the power of language could be another result of the campaign.

“People take the words they say for granted, and they don’t necessarily connect those words with consequences,” Nicole Osier, a graduate nursing student, said. “Words do have an impact on people, and being labeled with certain words will change someone’s behavior.”

But for others, crusading against the B-word isn’t worth the hype.

“There are worse things a girl could be called,” Olson said. “Because, yes, bossy is negative, but it also shows a girl that knows her mind.”