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 ]
News tagged with: #curtis sittenfeld #elizabeth gilbert

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


Random House E-book Change May Pave Way to IBookstore

In an unexpected about-face, publisher Random House announced on Monday that it would adopt the agency model for ebook sales in the U.S., beginning March 1... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #agency model #ebook sales


Jamie top, while Faulks boosts fiction

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 16:01 Sales of Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s 30-minute Meals (Michael Joseph) fell 22% week-on-week, but its 39,118 sale in the seven days to 19th February is easily strong enough to ensure it spends another week (its 17th in total) at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Newsweek Redesign on the Way?

Days after Newsweek and the Daily Beast officially merged, reports come that a redesigned Newsweek is about to make the rounds among ad buyers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad buyers


R&J titles receive a big boost

Written By: Caroline Horn and Philip Stone Richard and Judy’s children’s book club initiative, which launched a week ago, saw average sales across the 18 selected titles grow by some 226%. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big boost #caroline horn #week ago #average sales