Ban Bossy

About a year ago I watched the video for the Ban Bossy Campaign. It’s message rang true for me and hit me hard because as a little girl I was oppressed with words like bossy. I think that this campaign really applies to our class. Take a look at the following information and I think you’ll understand why.

Their Campaign Pitch: “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. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.”

Their Video Outreach:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dynbzMlCcw[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1q1CiuCET8[/youtube]

Thank You, Sheryl Sandberg

Interesting blog from a stay-at-home Mom in response to Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In.  She speaks powerfully of the joys of mothering, its importance in her life, and her conflicted feelings about leaving her career behind for a while.  While I can’t say that I agree that, as she states, “socializaton and forced gender roles have nothing” (emphasis mine) to do with the joy she experiencing in her children, this doesn’t take away from the depth or the authenticity of the feelings.  Just because we’re socialized in a particular way doesn’t make our joys and sorrows associated with that socialization less authentic.

I think this also points to the need to value choices to parent, work, or a combination of these equally, regardless of the sex of the parent.  All three roles are vitally important personally and at a societal level.

The True Cost of Leaning In

Click here for an article that breaks down how much money a couple would need in order to afford for a woman to “lean in” to her career.  The author blithely concludes that if a couple is careful enough, they can save this money in advance, without appearing to recognize that her and her partner’s higher paying jobs allow them the opportunities to save that others don’t have, or that not everyone who wants to move ahead in their careers is interesting in having their children in daycare while they work long hours either.