Bossy Is More Than A Word To Woman Summary

Tannen’s essay “Bossy” is More Than a Word to Women shows that calling a woman bossy can often harm their mental fortitude. The reasoning behind this is because when girls are playing together, they often use language that shows that no one girl is better than the rest, and when a girl tells the other girls what to do, she is often shunned from the group. This leads to a fear of being excluded, which could explain why “bossy” is such a sensitive word with women.
I, personally, have both been called bossy and a leader, although I am not called either of them very often. When I was called bossy, I thought, “Okay. That’s nice. Now do what I told you to do.” I didn’t feel anything, except maybe irritated that the person wasn’t listening. Part
of this could be because I’m usually angry or irritated when I’m bossy, and I am usually apathetic during these moments. When I was called a leader, I felt apathy again, but I wasn’t angry or irritated. Being a leader isn’t something I feel like I should be doing, so I thought, “Why doesn’t this more qualified person be the leader instead of me?” I think my gender affected other people’s perceptions because, as a male, I should be bossy and I am expected to be a leader, according to Tannen’s essay.
The article Why It Matters That a Woman is the Lead in Star Wars mentions that having the lead role in a major motion picture like Star Wars is important because it shows that females can have leadership roles without being bossy. I think this is part of a great movement, in which females will be able to have the leadership roles they want without being ridiculed and without being told they don’t belong there.