#LikeAGirl, Why it Matters

If you had a chance to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, then chances are you saw the Always commercial for #LikeAGirl. Just in case you missed it, watch below.

Personally, I love this commercial and I’ve loved it ever since I saw the extended version of it on YouTube. However, it’s sparked a lot of controversy. Everything from people just saying that it’s stupid and unnecessary, others commenting that men are superior which is why “like a girl” is an acceptable term for when someone does something poorly, to the hashtag #LikeABoy trending on Twitter. These things are why this commercial, and this campaign, matters.

When you’re young you don’t see the dichotomy that exists between boys and girls. You don’t always see something as being inherently male or female. When you play soccer in gym class you have both boys and girls on your team and you see them as equals. Some children will be taught that certain behaviors or things are associated with a particular gender based on what their surroundings tell them. (This could be their parents but it could also be taught in school through teachers or their peers.) This is why the younger girls in the video think that being told to do something “like a girl” means that they should do the best they can. No matter what that is referencing. However, the older girls and the boy have been taught that girls are inferior, or that they can’t do things the same way that boys can. They’ll never measure up. The younger girls haven’t been taught any different. And I pray that they never are.

There are so many problems with the way we look at the phrase, “Like a Girl.” Even as a woman, I hear it and subconsciously think of it as having a negative connotation. Should I? Heck no! But women hear phrases like this all the time. We also hear similar phrases. My “favorite” one being, “You ____ well for a girl.” Meaning that, because I’m a woman they naturally don’t expect me to be able to do it very well, or maybe even at all. I’ve heard this a lot in reference to computers, technology, and coding but I know other women have probably heard it referenced for medicine, science, engineering, construction, or many other male-dominated careers and activities.

But have you ever stopped to realize that we don’t do the same thing for men?

Let me explain.

As a society, we seem to be surprised when women are able to do something that we presume only men can do. Or only men can do well. So we praise them for it. But when a man does well at a profession or skill that is commonly associated with women (i.e. cooking, teaching, nursing, etc.) we don’t tell them, “You do that well for a boy.” We just give them credit where credit is due. Eventually, that profession becomes seen as gender-neutral. But only if it started out as a “women’s profession” first.

We are surprised when women are CEOs of tech companies, but we don’t bat an eye at male chefs. Male OB/GYNs. Male fashion designers. This needs to change.

I don’t want to be told that I “code well for a girl.” Just tell me that I code well. The same way you’d tell a man, no matter what it is that he’s doing.

But let’s get one thing straight, I don’t do things “like a girl”, I do things like a member of the human race. But #LikeAGirl is a good place to start.

Originally published at marisahendrickson.com on February 2, 2015.