The organization known as Always created the movement #LikeAGirl to create a platform for young girls to feel confident in themselves.
I recently watched two videos, one was about about how young girls view themselves, the other video asked people what they perceived “Like a girl” to be.
An emoji is a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion while online. When these young ladies were asked what’s wrong with these emojis, the girls specifically said they were stereotypical of a girl’s profession, interest, or how they look. When asked what they see when looking through the categories, they see the girl emoji continuously having blond hair, blue eyes, and is wearing pink. “Why not girls?”
Girls should grow up knowing they are capable of their dreams, no matter what they are stereotyped to be like or become. Emojis are used to represent how you’re feeling or express yourself, when all sports and profession emojis are boys, a young girl’s confidence can decrease to believe they are in the wrong.
The second video I watched focused on the question, “show me what it looks like to run like a girl..fight like a girl..throw like a girl..” Each girl, even two boys, distinguished a girl to be weak and incompetent.
When a young boy was asked how he would feel, saying this to a girl’s face, or if that was said to his sister, he responded as if he was unaware it was a negative action or comment.
These two videos were created by Always to show how a young girl’s confidence can fall apart during puberty due to the social standards and stereotypes that come with being a girl. Always wants to change that. That’s how #LikeAGirl came into play, in order to empower young woman to be themselves and conquer the stereotype of “like a girl”.
This campaign spoke wonders to me; being able to give women everywhere the courage to stand up for their dreams and continue to develop their passions, even if that means going against the “normal girl” stereotype. The hashtag #LikeAGirl, generated 85 million views on Youtube.
“Prior to watching the film, just 19% of 16-24 year olds had a positive association toward “Like a girl”.
After watching, 76% said they no longer saw the phrase negatively.
Furthermore, two out of three men who watched it said now they’d think twice before using the phrase “Like a girl” as an insult. – http://www.dandad.org/en/case-study-always-likeagirl/
Click here to see the videos of #LikeAGirl by Always