What do you think of terms like “boss babe”, “mom-trepeneur” or “she-EO”

I've never seen those terms used by genuine businesswomen just MLM tat sellers

It's very interesting to see how people remain in smaller and more homogenous groups than they realise when it comes to dialect and speech habits

It is not a matter of "remaining" in any group. I'm an ex English teacher. In school we teach children to be able to recognise the difference between dialect ( regional variation), colloquialism, and standard english.

Language reflects culture, and also shapes it. I don't accept that American culture is the same as British culture, nor do I want it to be. British language and the various regional dialects ( & languages) have grown out of specific historic, social and cultural events & experiences.

And while exposure to American language and culture is the norm in Britain, due to the shared use of the english language and through subsequent exposure to, and the sharing of, music and cinematic art forms, I certainly, for one, will always resist this kind of cultural colonisation as it just doesn't sit well at all, and therefore feels fake.

I run a business and I was approached at a trade show and asked if I wanted to join a “mumpreneur network of like minded business mummys”.

This was just after having a third miscarriage.

The recruiter wasn’t to know but what a load of patronising rubbish.

I can’t bear all the girl boss nonsense on Instagram either.

Anyone who speaksWelsh/Cornish/Gaelic

You're not serious are you? "Indigenous people" is a nonsensical concept in the context of the UK. I have heard it used by the very odd and very rare extremist but it's insulting to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas , Australia and New Zealand to appropriate it.

I’m pretty sure she’s not serious. I was talking about BIPOC in the context of US phrases / concepts that don’t work in the UK.

There was a thread a while ago about a British organisation using BIPOC in a job advert & some lighthearted speculation as to what indigenous would mean here.

Soccer is an unusual term in the UK. The OED agrees that it is more usual for the term football to be used here. Most British people are very proud of their regional dialectic and linguistic differences.

It's very interesting to see how people remain in smaller and more homogenous groups than they realise when it comes to dialect and speech habits.

Anyone who speaksWelsh/Cornish/Gaelic

You're not serious are you? "Indigenous people" is a nonsensical concept in the context of the UK. I have heard it used by the very odd and very rare extremist but it's insulting to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas , Australia and New Zealand to appropriate it.

"Soccer" for football is very rarely used. It might be used by commentators during international tournaments but no one talks about going to "the soccer"

The rest are Anglo-Saxon colonists!

I have never heard a UK person refer to football as anything other than football. Ever.

I use the term supper for the evening meal, got that from my parents. What meals are called varies massively across the UK.

People don't use heroine probably because at some point (old films from USA?) heroine came to refer to the pretty young probably scantily clad woman who got rescued by the hero. Right or wrong I suppose that's why shero. Having said that. As with actor being used for both sexes now. Hero works just fine for women and girls and it's used plenty on the news etc.

Our political discourse is shaped by many different issues and concerns, and by a different history. They are not inter-changeable with U.S discourse.This U.S take-over is almost like a form of cultural colonialism - largely mediated by American social media platforms and streaming services.

Agree - there is an assumption that we are like them because we speak the same language, so our left wing and right wing are equivalent to their left wing and right wing. This really harms political discourse.

I agree that some people don't use it, but it's a bit of a snare to think 'I don't so it must be an Americanism - see many threads passim about Mum/Mom and gotten/got)

Iit's a perfectly normal term for many. And it is indeed the parallel of rocket, as it is completely British originated term (dating back to the late 1800s) and still in common use, even if not in your circles; eg The Guardian uses it (but not usually the redtops) and it is dotted round all over the place)

"Mumpreneur" is the modern term for 'woman being poorly paid for piece work without the protection of employment law'.

And yes, people do still talk about soccer - not least Topps who make Match Attax cards

No, they really don't. I live in Liverpool and football is most definitely football, or just 'the game'

Same way that rocket is not arugala.

Why? Soccer is a British term, counterpart of rugger; used to distinguish association football from rugby football. Perfectly normal word

It is referred to as football in Britain, that's why. Nobody refers to football as soccer. Same way that as rocket is not arugala.

In my experience, it's fallen out of common usage in the UK- rugby is just rugby. I've never heard it referred to as 'rugby football'. We have the FA- football association, not the soccer association. The UEFA cup (Union of European Football Associations) not UESA. We play five-a-side football, not five-a-side soccer. No kid in the school I teach at has gone to soccer club or soccer practice. Nowadays, soccer tends to be used by Americans in the main, to distinguish their football (our American football) from the British counterpart

Its's the RFU Rugby Football Union - ka rugger or rugby

And the Soccer comes from the word 'Association' in UEFA.

It's to distinguish those two British games

And yes, people do still talk about soccer - not least Topps who make Match Attax cards

That, incidentally, is one of the reasons I quit social media myself. I wasn’t part of this #bossbabe community but I found myself getting caught up in the need for likes and comments, and caring more about instagramming my life than enjoying it. I deleted my accounts a couple of years ago and I feel so much healthier for it. I know that’s a slightly separate issue, but it’s related I think. It’s very easy to become consumed by the appearance of something over the reality.

@LolaSmiles good question. I think it can be quite intoxicating - there is a cultural aspect whereby other people (almost always women themselves) respond positively to social media content tagged with these terms, so there is the instant gratification of getting likes and comments from an apparently supportive group. But those likes and comments come specifically because it’s so easy to do, so beyond the initial serotonin rush of attention it’s very empty. I doubt many women obtain genuine long term empowerment (in the sense of financial security, respect, self-esteem, opportunities etc) from it. It’s all just artifice.

Awful terms OP, nothing like referring to a woman who is a doctor as a female doctor or a woman doctor.

KatyClaire
You've got me thinking on the empowering thing. Do you think women find them genuinely empowering or do you think they are presenting a fake image of female empowerment because they know they need to recruit and bully their down lines into exploiting more people on their behalf?

These terms are so often used with MLM and MLMs seem to sell themselves as female empowerment organisations but really they just gaslight vulnerable women and profit off them.

Now we have 'shero' which I find utterly absurd. If the feminine version of 'hero' is inferior to 'hero', why have we invented 'shero'?

It's absurd and shows a ridiculous disregard for etymology simply because of the coincidence of it starting with "he"

Although having read other replies it seems that these people who use ‘mum entrepreneur’ are selling for mlm schemes so I suppose it makes sense as they are marketing themselves to and trying to recruit other mums.

I dislike them, embarrassing. If you were really a CEO you’d never say anything like that. Or most successful entrepreneur would never call themselves a silly nickname to reduce their achievements. It also makes it sound in a way that a woman can’t be a regular entrepreneur/CEO etc.

The doctor one is a bit different I think. I have some bad health issues and if I ring my GP they often ask if I want to see the ‘lady doctor.’ I think it’s just because I have examinations and they want me to know I have the option of a female practitioner so I don’t mind that.

I totally agree. It does seem that some women are personally empowered by them, but as a rule I consider them unhelpful. They’re ‘othering’, and they give the impression of women playing at business rather than simply working. We don’t need to create the impression that women are doing a female version of a male activity.