Beyonce Wants You to Stop Saying ‘Bossy’
She isn’t being a diva about it, but Beyoncé really wants people to stop using the word “bossy.” For a new Lean In campaign called “#BanBossy,” the boundary-pushing pop singer has teamed up with celebrities like Jennifer Garner, Condoleezza Rice and Jane Lynch to call for a ban on discriminatory words discouraging strong-willed women from assuming leadership roles.
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“Being labeled something matters,” says Garner in the minute-long clip above, while Lynch targets the campaign’s titular term: “I think the word ‘bossy’ is just a squasher.” Toward the end, Beyoncé takes charge, looking dramatically into the lens and pleading with young girls to “be brave” and be themselves. before ending the video with the perfectly Beyonce-esque declaration, “I’m not bossy. I’m the boss.” Those interested in showing their support are encouraged to “take the pledge” at the Ban Bossy website.
Besides releasing incredible music (like her acclaimed surprise LP from last December) and seductive music videos, Beyoncé has been especially vocal on feminist matters as of late: Back in January, she penned a thoughtful op-ed for The Shriver Report about workplace gender equality. “Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes,” she wrote. “But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change.”