Oh, goody, another drive to censor everyday speech. In this case, it’s the “Ban Bossy” movement. The idea seems to be that the word “bossy” somehow stifles little girls, and thus should be banned from use.
When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up.
Whenever I’ve seen “bossy” being used, it’s not been with respect to “asserting oneself,” but instead “being fricken’ pushy and overbearing.” And that is *exactly* what kids do. Go to a store, and you won’t see a kid assertively saying “I think you should but me this toy,” you’ll see a kid bossily saying “buy me this toy.” And then pitching a fit when denied.
Kinda like pitching a fit to hector people into not using words you’ve chosen to take issue with.
Guess what: if you want to get rid of a word, trying to badger or force people to stop using it… ain’t gonna work, y’all.
