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

[LittleRa]

I saw this post shared on Reddit and got me thinking about the use of these terms. Totally agree with what she is saying.

I think it's kind of due to two things

• The way women are expected to behave even in professional environments is interesting. I think most men and women don't notice the dynamic it's so ingrained. While men can just make points, give an opinion, disagree etc. When women, especially young pretty ones do that, the men are taken aback. It's all this aggressive Vs assertive stuff. So you see a lot of women make their points more gently and with, it's just a thought, I could be wrong, that's really good but maybe we could try it like this etc etc. Smile smile. I'm older now and men react much better to me being opinionated direct etc then they did when I was younger.

Very related is that women aren't supposed to be ambitious, single minded hard nosed business women when they are at home with kids/ etc. There are threads on here all the time even from other women having a go at working mothers.

So all of these fucking stupid names are to soften it.

Yes I have started up a business from home while looking after children and I work hard and it's really successful but (smile smile) I'm a mumpreneur!

It's that sort of dynamic. Many women tread a fine line between getting on and not being seen as, well. Not maternal, feminine. Stepping out of their box.

They are shit terms. Minimising the success of hard working, entrepreneurial women. So as not to make men feel challenged or insecure or frankly a bit worried.

Girl boss is the one I really loath.

Yeah, they piss me off too.
Mum'preneur?
Boss babe?!
Er, nope how about just entrepeneur or Boss.
Seriously annoying, doesn't get said about blokes, seems oddly patronising.

🤢

Boss babe is terrible

It is absolutely a way to say well I may have a successful business and have male employees but don't worry! I still know my place.

Do women really call themselves boss babe?

How would sexual harassment work?

Alright babe!
Don't call me that please.
It's your title

I’ve never heard anybody use any of those terms about themselves, or about any other woman, who wasn’t running an MLM. They use them as a kind of faux-feminism to encourage other women to believe that running an MLM is in some way similar to owning your own business.

So I agree that those terms should not be used but sadly the only people who use them are the very people they are targeted at.

Completely cringeworthy and vomit inducing.

Unfortunately a local business has 'boss babe' plastered on some of its furnishings (beauty industry), so it is used by some. I did a double take as I walked by the window.

@NiceGerbil

Do women really call themselves boss babe?

How would sexual harassment work?

Alright babe!
Don't call me that please.
It's your title

I don't think anyone actually calls themselves it as such (I hope not anyway lol) I've only ever seen it in tabloids of the like of the DM or mags spotlighting "mumpreneurs" or MLM types on social media hashtagging their posts with #bossingit or #bossbabe or whatever Kind of a girl power thing at a guess lol Just no

They used to have an ad on the tube (pre covid feels like another lifetime) that referenced 'girl boss'.

I suspect it was designed by chaps.

Sounds cringe and unnecessary

“The way women are expected to behave even in professional environments is interesting. I think most men and women don't notice the dynamic it's so ingrained...”

This is very true in my experience too @NiceGerbil

I am guilty of saying all of those phrases you mentioned and putting across my opinions ‘gently’ at work, also another one I say is “if that makes any sense.”
I used to just think it was due to being a shy person, but then I stop and think - it’s too much of a coincidence that plenty of the young women in my workplace are very similar. (Whereas the young/junior men are less likely to doubt their opinions in my experience)

Anything that begins with “she” like “she-ro” and “she-EO” reminds me of “she-wee” (the thing you’re meant to take camping to be able to do a standing up wee)

Fucking hate these terms, so twee and patronising.

On a similar note I also hate the term 'empowered' or 'female empowerment'. It implies that women need to be 'given' the power first rather than already having the inherent power to do what they want like men. I've never heard of male empowerment.

Isn’t the female version of a hero a heroine?

Yes, LittleRa. At some point it was decided that the word 'heroine' was either unnecessary or inferior to 'hero' (yet another example of anything feminine being considered 'lesser') and it stopped being used as much. Now we have 'shero' which I find utterly absurd. If the feminine version of 'hero' is inferior to 'hero', why have we invented 'shero'?

If, actually, it is useful to have a word for courageous women as distinct from courageous men, what is wrong with 'heroine'? I consider JKR, Keira Bell, Maya Forstater etc. to be heroines.

If we could also stop using the word 'balls' as a synonym for 'courage' (on a feminism board!) I would also be happier.

Finally, terms like Boss Babe, Mumpreneur etc. are so cringe worthy. I see them used by women trying to push their MLM wares. Apart from anything, MLMs create salespeople, not entrepreneurs. Nobody who is in an MLM owns shares in the company, decides on branding strategy or anything like that. What is a shame about MLMs is that they target hardworking mothers and exploit them. There is a whole well of untapped potential out there, women who are willing to work hard from home, who are overlooked by credible employers.

None of the women in senior management at my workplace would ever describe themselves or be described as a 'boss babe'. It would be ludicrous.

@LittleRa

I saw this post shared on Reddit and got me thinking about the use of these terms. Totally agree with what she is saying.

@LittleRa I think "Sh1te it's an MLM hun! Run for the hills!"

I agree with you all that they are daft and reductive, and I think NiceGerbil is spot on with her observations (it took me a long time to realise I was guilty of this ‘softly softly’ approach at work too)

But I think there is something else at play too- and that is how currently being a mum is so de valued that women feel they have to also have a career to be seen as worthy of respect.

Anyone else sick of the increasing incursion into Britain, of American language, American culture and American political discourse?

Everyone is watching American streaming channels, and the BBC and Channel 4 now routinely interview or feature U.S led stories. The guardian now caters to an American audience too, and has U.S journalists writing pieces.

@Justhadathought

Anyone else sick of the increasing incursion into Britain, of American language, American culture and American political discourse?

Everyone is watching American streaming channels, and the BBC and Channel 4 now routinely interview or feature U.S led stories. The guardian now caters to an American audience too, and has U.S journalists writing pieces.

I don’t think this is a recent thing, but do you have particular examples of it and how it annoys you? Obviously the “boss babe” example that my OP is about, it could be seen as an American-isation that has infiltrated, but I don’t think it necessarily is and plenty of British MLM types use these terms. Maybe I feel differently about because my mum is Canadian but has lived here for nearly 40 years so we have an element of North American culture, customs and vocabulary in our family, but I don’t see this as a negative this. For a lighthearted example my mum called the evening meal “supper”, whereas here supper is a light snack children have before bed. One day when my brother was playing outside my mum called “Time to come in for supper!” and his little friend exclaimed “Supper! I haven’t even had me tea yet!” (Northern town where tea is evening meal). We also had Halloween parties with decorations etc in the 80s which was very unusual and novel amongst our classmates, my Mum would make stuff that would’ve been available in the shops back home in Canada at the time, which is now available here. I’d be interested to hear examples that you’re sick of though.

@Justhadathought

Anyone else sick of the increasing incursion into Britain, of American language, American culture and American political discourse?

Everyone is watching American streaming channels, and the BBC and Channel 4 now routinely interview or feature U.S led stories. The guardian now caters to an American audience too, and has U.S journalists writing pieces.

I don't mind generally, tbh. Though it did irritate me when a CBeebies cartoon I saw referred to football as 'soccer' throughout.

I don’t think this is a recent thing, but do you have particular examples of it and how it annoys you

I'm far from alone. In fact the one other forum I post on has been discussing this very issue in recent days .

The examples I gave are fairly self explanatory. Just because we share a language with the U.S doesn't mean that we share the linguistic colloquialisms; often which have their roots in local, regional and national culture and custom; and which have evolved through time.

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.

Those phrases such as 'Mom'trepreneur' come straight from the Disney Channel playbook. Don't get me started on Disney.

This trend seems to be accelerating at present. As mentioned - BBC news, Channel 4 , the Guardian etc......

@Justhadathought

This trend seems to be accelerating at present. As mentioned - BBC news, Channel 4 , the Guardian etc......

I presume that's because they're widening their audience base. Americans can watch BBC America, read the Guardian and watch Channel 4 shows- The Great British Bake-Off is quite popular over there, although it has a different name. Makes sense that they'd design content to cater to that (very large) potential audience.

I presume that's because they're widening their audience base. Americans can watch BBC America, read the Guardian and watch Channel 4 shows- The Great British Bake-Off is quite popular over there, although it has a different name. Makes sense that they'd design content to cater to that (very large) potential audience

Yes, the Guardian in particular is now becoming quite dependent on this U.S readershipbase for its survival. The alignment of the woke British left, with the so-called 'progressives' in the U.S is another manifestation. Even the term 'progressive' has started to be used in Britain in a way it has never featured before.

The focus on identity politics is causing great schisms in U.K politics, and supplanting former priorities and allegiances. Identity politics of this kind. Inter-sectionalism is U.S originated. It doesn't sit so well in British culture.

BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of colour) doesn’t work in the UK. Indigenous makes sense in the US or Australia, for instance, but here it means... what? People who can trace their lineage back to the tribes who were around before the Roman Conquest?