One day, I was at the park with my little two year old friend. There were two, maybe 8 year old, boys playing catch and the ball had gotten away from one of them, landing close to wear I was playing. The boy who had missed the ball, letting it get behind him, commented to his little friend that he "threw like a girl". I took this as an opportunity, picked up the ball and asked the boys if they "were ready" for me to throw it back to them. They nodded and I proceeded to throw the ball way over their heads and half way across the grassy park (12 years of softball will do that to you). I told them, "that's how you throw like a girl kiddos"........
Why, and when, did doing something "like a girl" become a bad thing or have an inferior connotation? Using "like a girl" as an insult is hugely disempowering and a hard pill to swallow for any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty's really no picnic either, it's easy to understand what a huge impact it can have on a girl's self-confidence. And once a girl in puberty loses her confidence, it effects her for the rest of her life.
It is up to all of us as adults (both male and female), to deem this phrase used negatively unacceptable, and redefine it's meaning to adolescents because these are the kinds of learned ideas that they carry throughout their lives. We want to empower both boys and girls. We need to raise kids free of stereotypes and biases, and instead teach them about rights and justice and help them to understand that we are all equals.
Always is changing the meaning of the phrase "like a girl". Instead of an insult, it's to mean only amazing things. It is really interesting how the teenage girls gave into stereotype and acted out doing something "like a girl" in such a way that would be insulting- flipping their hair while they ran or awkwardly throwing a ball. However, the young girls weren't aware of these stereotypes and instead acted out each action fiercely and to the best of their ability. Then to hear how negative stereotypes effect them as young girls was really quite sad and frustrating.
We need to all work as a collective local and global community to not raise the voices and self esteem of young girls, but educate raise our boys to view women in an equal and bright light.
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Women
