Always Aims to Turn #LikeAGirl Into Positive Affirmation
Doing anything “like a girl” has long been a harsh yet common insult to girls and women. Think back to grade school P.E. class or recess – the term was probably thrown around too many a time during those lovely, enriching games of dodge ball or kickball.
Always brand, owned by Proctor & Gamble Co., partnered with Lauren Greenfield, a director and Sundance Film Festival award-winning creator of “The Queen of Versailles,” to make a video. The viral YouTube video shows how the term “like a girl” becomes engraved in women’s minds as they change and grow to become young adults. Fighting, running and throwing “like a girl” becomes an insult that is a certain part of our collective consciousness as women.
Always Brand Director Amanda Hill’s idea in launching this campaign was that it would build loyalty to her brand and just the beginning of changing what “like a girl” means.
Self-confidence is a crucial, golden quality that pushes an individual to take a leadership position – to feel qualified for it, prepared and powerful in that role – and this is an indisputable fact regardless of gender. When girls and women are led to believe they are weaker when performing even the simplest acts – how will they feel confident to work towards an important role as a high powered individual, leader or mentor?
Changing what #LikeAGirl means is the start of an empowering movement.
Working to fix the confidence gap between girls and boys early on is a way to ensure that both genders feel qualified to take on professional positions. Doing something #LikeAGirl can be a positive and great thing.
Forgetting the old and sexist gender dynamics that began to take hold early on – and recognizing how they hurt and set us back – open the possibility for an entire redefinition of what it means to do something #LikeAGirl. So tell Take The Lead… what do YOU do #LikeAGirl? I bet it’s awesome.
About the Author
Alejandra Hamel is a recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College and Arizona native turned New Yorker. She graduated with a degree in English Literature with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in Spanish. Her passion for writing is also linked to a deep interest in advocating for women and girls and women's health and choice.