Bossyrants

There's a movement afoot among many women to ban the word "bossy." The reasoning is that the word only gets used to describe women, and primarily for behaviour that would hardly be noticed coming from men. Women have long complained of subtle double-standards in how we perceive behaviour.

I can understand where they're coming from. We shouldn't have double standards, in language or elsewhere. But there's one aspect of this that I don't think they've considered: they've assumed that because the behaviour is acceptable in men, that it should be acceptable in women. But couldn't it also be the other way around: behaviour unacceptable from women shouldn't be acceptable from men? Perhaps no one should act in a way that could be considered bossy.

So I propose that instead of banning the word "bossy," let's expand its use to include men. That co-worker who tells you how to do your job? Call him bossy. The politician who tries to micromanage the entire government? Write a letter to the editor calling him bossy. The coach who bad-mouths one of his players in the press? Phone in to sports radio and call him bossy.