Ban Bossy... Another reason fundies will hate Girl Scouts

[hahe77]

Lean In and Girls Scouts have started a new campaign for females called Ban Bossy. It encourages girls to not be afraid to be leaders, to ask questions, be assertive and find positive female role models in books and movies.

http://banbossy.com/

As a mother to a girl and a girl scout leader, I can't be more excited by this new campaign. But I waiting for the backlash from fundies and tea party people.

[scc12]

Lean In and Girls Scouts have started a new campaign for females called Ban Bossy. It encourages girls to not be afraid to be leaders, to ask questions, be assertive and find positive female role models in books and movies.

http://banbossy.com/

As a mother to a girl and a girl scout leader, I can't be more excited by this new campaign. But I waiting for the backlash from fundies and tea party people.

yes,they would prolly be happy for GS to go back to the days where homemaking skills ruled.Now it's much more. :)

[MamaJunebug]

They're way too late to hope for homemaking-only!

One of my friends - my age or very close to it - credits Girl Scouts with having given her the skills, leadership training and self-confidence she would've gotten at university, had she been able to afford it. Her life has been a model of courage, shrewd risk-taking and leading. Cat's way out of the bag, barn door closed way too late to keep the cattle in! Girl Scouts has been a resource for girls and young women for decades!

ETA: my first impulse in replying was to wonder at the name of the program - "Ban Bossy" sounds to me like keeping the boss (leader) away. ???????

[snuggles911]

Sunshine Mary has already written a post about this: sunshinemaryandthedragon.wordpress.com/

How dare the Girl Scouts encourage girls to be leaders when we know that ALL women would prefer to be homemakers if it weren't for those evil feminists.

Ask yourself this question, reader: What might Sheryl Sandberg’s motivation be for saying that our country’s economic growth depends upon having women “fully engaged in the workforce� Why would she be so eager for married mothers to place their children in day orphanages and be concerned about their boss’ wants and needs rather than their families’ wants and needs?

[PennySycamore]

As the grandmother of a sweet little girl who spent the first two years of her life in an actual orphanage, I take offense at Shitstain Mary calling daycare centers "day orphanages".

I hope that my granddaughter will join Daisies next year when she turns five.

[16strong]

"Day orphanages"? Oh lord. This woman needs serious help.

[starfish]

Sunshine Mary has already written a post about this: sunshinemaryandthedragon.wordpress.com/

How dare the Girl Scouts encourage girls to be leaders when we know that ALL women would prefer to be homemakers if it weren't for those evil feminists.

Someone forgot to take their meds today

[guidedbybobafett]

Day Orphanages! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. The sweet, sweet hyperbole. SSM, you outdo yourself every day.

[MonkeyMomma]

Oh yes, "day orphanages!" Just like Abigail suffered through! It's so awful that my kiddo spends his days with his best friend, learning letters and numbers, playing in the sun, and eating home-baked treats for snacks! I'm a terrible mother. :cry:

[DGayle]

As the grandmother of a sweet little girl who spent the first two years of her life in an actual orphanage, I take offense at Shitstain Mary calling daycare centers "day orphanages".

I hope that my granddaughter will join Daisies next year when she turns five.

My area now starts with Brownies in 1st grade. No Daisies anymore, which is sad for my daughter who looked foward to getting to be one this year.

[hahe77]

Must be because the area has a leader shortage. Check into your daughter becoming a Juliette (or independent scout). I am changing my daughter to that in the fall as there is less headache and paperwork for this troop leader.

[NineLives]

I suppose babysitters are day orphanages too. :cray-cray:

[GolightlyGrrl]

I just bought a box of Thin Mints from my adorable niece. I'm glad she's in Girl Scouts, which helps her stay on a path that will keep her from being like SSM.

[FloraKitty35]

Day Orphanages sounds like something out of Dickens.

[PennySycamore]

I just bought a box of Thin Mints from my adorable niece. I'm glad she's in Girl Scouts, which helps her stay on a path that will keep her from being like SSM.

I bought two boxes to send to the troops. I want to help support the Girl Scouts and I don't need to eat those cookies. Next year, I won't be trying to lose weight.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I know this is slightly off topic since I'm not bashing the fundies here, but I really hate this whole "being bossy is being a leader" crap. Bossy is a term used to denote someone who is forcing others to comply to his or her wishes. Being a leader is being someone who inspires people to follow them. You're sending the wrong message by condoning bossy behaviors and vilifying the term for it instead of instilling true leadership skills.

[Full enough quiver]

This was on the news the other day, and I said the same thing. What's wrong with calling someone bossy? Some people, both male and female, are bossy, and that's bad. Some people, male and female, are leaders, and that is a good thing. I think it's not good to refer to every female with leadership skills as bossy. Let's teach kids the difference between being bossy and being a leader.

My younger boy is very bossy. He isnt a bad kid, but he is constantly ordering the other kids around. This is not a behavior that will serve him well in the real world. We are working on channeling that behavior into being a leader instead of a dictator.

[FloraKitty35]

I know this is slightly off topic since I'm not bashing the fundies here, but I really hate this whole "being bossy is being a leader" crap. Bossy is a term used to denote someone who is forcing others to comply to his or her wishes. Being a leader is being someone who inspires people to follow them. You're sending the wrong message by condoning bossy behaviors and vilifying the term for it instead of instilling true leadership skills.

To people like Shitstain Mary and Lunatic Lori, leaders are bosses, and bosses must always be the proud possesser of a penis (strap ons don't count), otherwise you are evil.

[Megan]

The Girl Scouts are arguing that the term is gendered and we shouldn't punish or shame girls for these behaviors because it negatively impacts them later in life. The behaviors characterized as "leaderly" in boys are framed as "bossiness" in girls.

It's like Hillary Clinton being butch, cold, unfeeling, frigid, etc. when she behaves like male politicians but crucified as emotional, weak, unstable, etc. if she shows emotion ("too feminine")

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

The Girl Scouts are arguing that the term is gendered and we shouldn't punish or shame girls for these behaviors because it negatively impacts them later in life. The behaviors characterized as "leaderly" in boys are framed as "bossiness" in girls.

It's like Hillary Clinton being butch, cold, unfeeling, frigid, etc. when she behaves like male politicians but crucified as emotional, weak, unstable, etc. if she shows emotion ("too feminine")

I've seen that argument all over facebook, it started with a stupid little meme someone created. But you know what, boys and girls have VERY different ways of leading their peers. Girls tend to give instructions that must be strictly followed, boys tend to dare each other or use other challenges. That's why girls are more often to be called bossy and boys aren't. BUT, boys can be bossy. It's just less likely based on their normal behaviors.

[louisa05]

I like the idea of this campaign--that we need to stop demeaning girls and women who are assertive. But I don't like it when we reduce a worthwhile concept like this to getting rid of a word. The first problem is that it doesn't get rid of the sentiment. People just replace the word. Playing language police never works. As a teacher, I can tell you from firsthand experience that when we ban a word or phrase, students replace it pretty quickly. I never banned words in my classroom. I often asked a student to reconsider words. As an English teacher, I attached it to how we learned about writing and would often just comment "you can do better at word choice than that" or point out to them that their words were not precise since we talked about using precise words when writing. When "gay" was a popular put-down for awhile (used for expressing negative feelings--in place of "bad" or "stupid"), I would use the same approach and when a kid argued that it was good word choice, I would ask if the thing in question was "happy or homosexual?". The answer was always neither--and after a little while I rarely heard the word.

[Full enough quiver]

I get that the term is more often applied to girls, and for behaviors that might be considered "leaderly" in boys. However, I agree that policing language is counterproductive. Wanting to stop the use of "gay" or "retard" makes sense. Those terms are insulting to what a person is, not how they behave. What's next, ban the words noisy, irritating, messy? Any of these terms are insulting, and shouldn't be used toward a child. I have heard all of these words used by friends to describe their little boys. Are these terms gendered because they are more often directed at boys? I'm not a fan of labeling or name calling children in general, but I don't see bossy as being any worse than any other terms.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I like the idea of this campaign--that we need to stop demeaning girls and women who are assertive. But I don't like it when we reduce a worthwhile concept like this to getting rid of a word. The first problem is that it doesn't get rid of the sentiment. People just replace the word. Playing language police never works. As a teacher, I can tell you from firsthand experience that when we ban a word or phrase, students replace it pretty quickly. I never banned words in my classroom. I often asked a student to reconsider words. As an English teacher, I attached it to how we learned about writing and would often just comment "you can do better at word choice than that" or point out to them that their words were not precise since we talked about using precise words when writing. When "gay" was a popular put-down for awhile (used for expressing negative feelings--in place of "bad" or "stupid"), I would use the same approach and when a kid argued that it was good word choice, I would ask if the thing in question was "happy or homosexual?". The answer was always neither--and after a little while I rarely heard the word.

As much as I agree with you, I dont think it solves the real problem here: that people don't understand what leadership is.

To be bossy is to be "fond of giving people orders; domineering." A bossy person is a commanding. A leader is inspiring, has resolution, takes risks, shares rewards with "subordinates", shares the blame with "subordinates" (something that is never a trait of a bossy person; a bossy person will blame others for failures), and doesn't tout accomplishments or become disappointed by failures. THAT is what we need to teach girls.

[louisa05]

As much as I agree with you, I dont think it solves the real problem here: that people don't understand what leadership is.

To be bossy is to be "fond of giving people orders; domineering." A bossy person is a commanding. A leader is inspiring, has resolution, takes risks, shares rewards with "subordinates", shares the blame with "subordinates" (something that is never a trait of a bossy person; a bossy person will blame others for failures), and doesn't tout accomplishments or become disappointed by failures. THAT is what we need to teach girls.

I didn't say the word is acceptable. But language policing acomplishes nothing. It certainly won't change the perception that women should not have the traits of leaders. And the broader conversation seems to be about language policing, not about the real problem. And, believe me, tell kids they can't call someone "bossy" and they will have a new word for the same insult in five minutes or less and still have no idea why we told them not to use the original one.

[Guest]

I have a younger brother who is elementary/middle school aged who I call bossy all the time. While I think the sentiment behind it is good, I simply don't see the word as gendered. My brother often "bosses" his friends when they're over to the point where they want to go home - that's absolutely a negative quality that we want to teach him is bad. I had a female friend growing up who did the same, she was simply bossy.

I think that girls need to be taught that they are qualified and able to be leaders all their lives, just as boys are. I wish that Girl Scouts would focus on that rather than putting all of the attention on one word. One word will not change the culture, but if we change the culture, we could possibly change the connotation of the word.