Even if 'bossy' could be banned, there are far better ways to boost girls' self-esteem | Hadley Freeman

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and Beyoncé want to ban the word 'bossy' as disparaging to women. It's a good start, but there's so much more to be done. Here are my top tipsThat growing numbers of girls suffer from issues of self-esteem during adolescence – ones that can be carried over into adulthood – is not up for debate. What is debatable is what should be done about this. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of the bestselling feminist-ish book Lean In, has come up with her own typically high-powered and certainly well-intentioned solution: to ban the word "bossy". "When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a 'leader'. Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded 'bossy'," she writes.It will come as a massive surprise to no one to learn that I was called bossy quite a lot as a kid, and still am (although I wouldn't have to be bossy if people would just bloody well do as I say). Yet it's never bothered me, mainly because I grew up idolising Miss Piggy and Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts, and never saw bossiness as anything other than a wholly commendable quality. But for those unacquainted with the mighty pig, Sandberg has made a video featuring herself, Condoleezza Rice, Beyoncé and others, arguing that the word "bossy" should be "banned" (in the self-censoring sense, one suspects, as opposed to the, you know, legal one) because it's a way of telling confident girls to shut up.Insults are often gendered – in adulthood at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber scoops graphic novel adaptation of Reynolds' Long Way Down

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-23 23:49:47 UTC ]
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Fleet to publish Kathleen Stock's Material Girls

Little, Brown imprint Fleet is to publish Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism by Professor Kathleen Stock, exploring ideas around gender identity and biological sex.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-23 16:54:44 UTC ]
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Hong Kong book bans are 'extremely concerning', says IPA

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-19 23:19:42 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury signs Bergdorf for six figures after 11-way auction

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-17 03:05:04 UTC ]
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Fourth Estate buys Candy's guide to mothering teenage girls

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-16 16:51:35 UTC ]
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Wildfire triumphs in seven-way auction for psychotherapist's guide to desire

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-16 06:45:30 UTC ]
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Borough Press wins three-way auction for Danforth adult debut

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'Know your audience and be direct,' Black Girls Book Club founders urge M&P delegates

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-08 06:40:23 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-07 21:39:52 UTC ]
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Lacy Crawford’s ‘Notes on a Silencing’ is a haunting exploration of the systematic ways assault victims are ignored

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[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-05 08:02:09 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 02:13:59 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-25 18:03:17 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-25 11:27:10 UTC ]
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[ Book Riot | 2020-06-24 10:35:20 UTC ]
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Cover Reveal: LONG WAY DOWN: The Graphic Novel By Jason Reynolds

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[ Book Riot | 2020-06-24 10:35:20 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 12:20:04 UTC ]
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Lively memoir ‘The Watergate Girl’ tells a prosecutor’s story

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-18 21:48:36 UTC ]
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