'Word Police'
After reading through countless articles and user comments, saying things like, “I think we are searching for reasons to be whiners” bashing this campaign, it’s a shame to see that, not only did everyone miss the point of this campaign, but everyone decided to jump on the bandwagon without thinking twice about it. It’s ironic that some are claiming to go “against the grain” by teaming up with the rest of the world in going against this campaign. You’re not going against the grain if you’re just agreeing with everyone else and joining in. This campaign is, in no way, suggesting that women should sit back and wait for things to be handed to them because women are seeking pity; it’s actually quite the opposite. This campaign was aimed towards women so that we could empower each other to become something great. The claim in many articles that are against this campaign is that the women who feel the need to “ban bossy” are too emotional and have a need to “be shielded from the hurtful effects of language” (http://nypost.com/2014/03/14/sheryl-sandbergs-ridiculous-campaign-to-ban-bossy/). Being shielded from the world can be disadvantageous as it gives you a false sense of reality; however, I don’t think that’s the effect this campaign was intended to have on women. This campaign isn’t about everyone becoming overly protective of women’s feelings, but having women change the way they perceive words like 'bossy.' |
The author of this article from the NY Post claims that women should be proud to be called bossy if their aim is to “be the boss.” The difference between ‘being bossy’ and ‘being a boss’ is simply the negative effect that being called ‘bossy’ has on a women versus the positive effect that being called a ‘boss’ has. This difference is significant in that it demonstrates why this campaign isn’t simply about being called ‘bossy,’ but about the negativity associated with the word when used to describe a female.
Many articles missed the point of this campaign in believing that is was about the literal banishment of a word. The fact that definitions were stated and the history of word banishment was discussed (http://time.com/16735/ban-bossy-sheryl-sandberg-banned-words/) goes to show how many people took this campaign the wrong way. This campaign was not intended to keep the ‘word police’ alert and ready to attack anyone who dares to utter the word ‘bossy.’ Instead, the purpose of banning the word ‘bossy’ is to change the negative effect that being called bossy tends to have on women. We choose the effect that words have on us so, by encouraging women to look past negativity usually associated with the word ‘bossy,’ women will then be able to feel more confident and independent. |