Lady. Babe. Girl.
These are three of my favorite words,
but some of my fellow feminists believe I should expunge them from my vocabulary.
Yes, I am a feminist, which means I believe in the equality of the sexes, which means I want equal pay, equal opportunities, and equal respect.
This does not mean I want society to pretend I am not female.
Earlier this year a widely read blog for female creatives wrote a eulogy for the popular hashtag “#girlboss.”
“Would a man ever call himself a boy boss?” the writer asked.
Probably not. But who said I was trying to do business like
a man?
A reader of my own blog, SeeJaneWrite.net, took offense recently when I called myself a lady writer and referred to my personal notebook as my lady journal.
Look. I get it. I understand that “girl,” “lady,” and “babe” are all words sometimes wielded against women as a verbal weapon to put us in “our place.” But it was when I decided to reclaim and redefine these words for myself that I found the courage to take my place. I found the courage to take a seat at the table and, with all my girl power and lady might, flip the table over.
I don’t call myself a girl boss so I will be less threatening to the male ego. I call myself a girl boss because I want you to know I can take your job while wearing pink and flipping my hair, if that’s what I choose to do.
This is why I won’t shut up about being a girl.
I’m also not going to shut up about being black…
Read the entire article at B-Metro.com.
