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Don't Ban “Bossy”

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Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#21

Post by Tohhou »

pigDisgusting wrote: post #20
Tohhou wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What's next - calling everyone who disagrees "sexist"? If you disagree then you are automatically labeled as one of the obvious sexist rapist rape apologist pedophile neckbeard supremacist spermjacked nerd sperglord virgin libertarian losers. They can't possibly be wrong, so if you disagree you must be one of the hell bound sinners of the most dire nightmare. >"Avoid editing what you want to say in your head, and tr…

You forgot "creepy stalker", you closed-minded male chauvinist ape.

That's female chauvinist ape, shitlord!

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#22

Post by jk4930 »

corin_ wrote: post #8
wyager wrote: post #4

I'm immediately extraordinarily skeptical about anything that suggests solving a cultural problem by changing language. That's like trying to solve a math problem by changing the value of pi.

There is at least a theoretical logic to banning words like this: if being called bossy is causing girls to lose leadership skills then maybe stopping this artificially (even if people still think it without saying it) could lead to less girls being affected, and therefore in the next generation the stigma has disappeared. Obviously it's not that simple, and I have no idea to what extent, if any, this actually works,…

"if being called bossy is causing girls to lose leadership skills"

... then they aren't leaders anyway.

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#23

Post by gametheoretic »

corin_ wrote: post #8
wyager wrote: post #4

I'm immediately extraordinarily skeptical about anything that suggests solving a cultural problem by changing language. That's like trying to solve a math problem by changing the value of pi.

There is at least a theoretical logic to banning words like this: if being called bossy is causing girls to lose leadership skills then maybe stopping this artificially (even if people still think it without saying it) could lead to less girls being affected, and therefore in the next generation the stigma has disappeared. Obviously it's not that simple, and I have no idea to what extent, if any, this actually works,…

If the history of Preferred Medical Term(s) for Mentally/Physically-Challenged Individuals is any indicator, that theory is lame.

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#24

Post by Dewie »

calibraxis wrote: post #10
growupkids wrote: post #3

That's funny, I actually heard the word used when I was a military cadet in high school. It was used to teach the difference between being a a leader, or just, well bossy. Don't be a boss, don't act bossy, and so on. Bossy people, we were taught, boss people around by using their rank. No one wants to follow them, they just have to. That's the worst kind of leader, we were taught. don't be bossy was good feedback. A…

In Sandberg-style liberal feminism (which preserves inequality except for the more well-off white women and therefore doesn't help all women), I can imagine they want to improve subordination to female bosses. So you should be ready to follow her imperatives like you would Zuckerberg's. In corporations, boss subordination is so complete that "bossy" only applies to someone who isn't actually literally a boss. So I ca…

> However, more serious kinds of feminism directly attack the existence of bosses, since many more women are at the bottom of hierarchies than the top.

That's how hierarchies tend to be structured. :)

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#26

Post by vanderZwan »

Dewie wrote: post #24
calibraxis wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sandberg-style liberal feminism (which preserves inequality except for the more well-off white women and therefore doesn't help all women), I can imagine they want to improve subordination to female bosses. So you should be ready to follow her imperatives like you would Zuckerberg's. In corporations, boss subordination is so complete that "bossy" only applies to someone who isn't actually literally a boss. So I ca…

> However, more serious kinds of feminism directly attack the existence of bosses, since many more women are at the bottom of hierarchies than the top. That's how hierarchies tend to be structured. :)

I think the implication was relative to men...

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#27

Post by ben0x539 »

wyager wrote: post #4

I'm immediately extraordinarily skeptical about anything that suggests solving a cultural problem by changing language. That's like trying to solve a math problem by changing the value of pi.

I think a better comparison would be changing an aspect of the mathematical notation you're using to work on the problem space because it's impeding progress for whatever reason.

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#28

Post by vacri »

wyager wrote: post #4

I'm immediately extraordinarily skeptical about anything that suggests solving a cultural problem by changing language. That's like trying to solve a math problem by changing the value of pi.

This simile is utter nonsense from the outset. Pi doesn't change. It's the same regardless of who you are, whether you're a human, a dragonfly, or a rock; it's the same whether you're measuring in planck lengths or astromical units.

Language is the utter opposite - it constantly evolves and changes, with new words entering every year and grammatical patterns changing over time as well. The only way to stop a language changing is basically to stop using it.

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#29

Post by vacri »

Tohhou wrote: post #19
jedmeyers wrote: post #5

I understand that this is a touchy subject, especially on HN, but come on: "Avoid editing what you want to say in your head, and try not to worry about being wrong." This is straight from their Leadership Tips for Girls pdf. They are encouraging girls to just say whatever comes to mind. What's next - calling everyone who disagrees "sexist"?

>What's next - calling everyone who disagrees "sexist"? If you disagree then you are automatically labeled as one of the obvious sexist rapist rape apologist pedophile neckbeard supremacist spermjacked nerd sperglord virgin libertarian losers. They can't possibly be wrong, so if you disagree you must be one of the hell bound sinners of the most dire nightmare. >"Avoid editing what you want to say in your head, and tr…

Calm down with the flamebait.

Re: Don't Ban “Bossy”

#30

Post by gaius »

I love the delicious lack of self-awareness with which these things are delivered. Like people who pay $50,000/year for college to study a subject of no practical use telling me to "check your privilege".
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