Do cute titles like “SHE-EO” and momtrepreneur do more harm than good?
I recently read a thoughtful article on Fast Company about “cutesy titles” like She-EO, girlboss and girlpower that harm women more than they empower them.
I think the article is an important one because as women, it’s vital that we’re aware of the language we use. And not just for ourselves, but for our society and perhaps especially for our kids.
The article has certainly made me more aware of the existence of a disempowering language that many of us use. But it also calls into question when it is okay to use titles that we as women feel empowered by.
And while I completely agree that hashtags like #girlboss, #girlpower, #girlsintech are disempowering when used by women, I’m somewhat conflicted by how I feel about girls using these same hashtags even though I realize they are no less disempowering when used by them.
In a perfect world, gender shouldn’t qualify our success or even the subjects we choose to pursue. But in the non-perfect world that we live in, gender is holding women back and it’s holding our girls back.
And here I wonder, if “cutesy” titles like girlboss, or girlpower, or girlswhocode that may make our girls feel a little more confident about being a leader, feeling independent and confident and comfortable doing stuff girls on the whole are still not conditioned to be doing – are we harming them more than helping them?
I don’t know the answer.
I tend to think the middle ground is the answer, because I don’t believe in absolutes. And I think that the intentions of the user matters more than the meaning the beholder attributes to it.
What do you think? Do you think cute titles empower or disempower? Do you think they matter? And why?
