Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Ban "Bossy"?

There is a huge debate regarding the campaign started by LeanIn.org and Sheryl Sandberg in partnership with the Girl Scouts, called Ban Bossy. A number of highly visible women have joined Sandberg, including Beyonce, Condoleeza Rice, Jennifer Garner, and Jane Lynch. (See this video introducing the campaign.) And, the discussion has included the beneficiaries themselves, young girls. (See video.)

The campaign is centered on the belief that boys are praised for asserting themselves, but young girls are branded as “bossy” for doing the same thing.  The heart of the campaign is encouraging young girls that leadership and leading is not something to be ashamed of, but something to be encouraged and celebrated.

Instantly the criticism began to roll in, much of it from other women. Examples include a Huffington Post article entitled 5 Reasons I will Not Ban Bossy, Time Magazine’s I Don’t Give a $*%& If you Call me Bossy, and Slate’s Bossy Doesn’t Have to Be a Bad Word. A She Knows blog entry titled Like a Boss had a different reaction, and chose to interview girls about the word “bossy” in order to explore what this concept really means to young girls.

I have discussed before how much I appreciate Sheryl Sandberg’s efforts and I personally applaud the campaign.  Any effort aimed at encouraging young girls to assert themselves, raise their hands, and lead is a win-win in my opinion.  Whether we should or should not remove the word “bossy” from our vocabulary is missing the point. From where I stand, any way that we let young girls know that the adults around them are encouraging them to assert themselves and lead is a great and important message.

What do you think?