Watching young women, some of them clearly competent athletes, throw their arms and legs around on the spot and worry about their hair when asked to 'run like a girl'; seeing a young boy flounder when he was asked if his impression of girls throwing might have insulted his sister - 'no, like yeah, I mean girls, but not my sister'; seeing a young girl, when asked if she found being told she does something like a girl offensive, pause and then reply that she didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing but that it sounds like you were trying to humiliate someone. All of these things strengthen my conviction that every one of us has a role to play in changing norms and there is just no excuse not to.
Phrases like, 'you...like a girl' or 'stop being such a girl', and, on the other side, 'man up' or' 'get some balls' are used to humiliate both men and women. But the language these insults use, sends a strong message to both girls and boys. Being a man is better than being a woman. It associates being a man with being strong and being a woman with being weak; one is desirable and the other is not. And I know a lot of very strong women. As the final line in the video says 'why can't run like girl also mean win the race'.
In some ways the issue here is very clear: the language and common day phrases we use send a clear message to young girls and women by equating females to negative qualities and males to positive qualities. As a result, women continue to be second class citizens. Furthermore, attempts to achieve equality have focused on women becoming more like men, both in terms of trying to adopt 'male' qualities and taking on traditional male roles. We need to end the message we send that women are weak and lower class citizens and that the only way they can be equal is to be more like men. It is damaging for women and men.
Then we can move on to the important matter of breaking down the stereotypes and appreciating that they are just that -stereotypes, so not everyone fits in them.
Breaking stereotypes will not only benefit women but men too. It involves going beyond the simplistic notions we currently have about female and male qualities, characteristics and dispositions. Of course there are differences between men and women. Some are biological, but many have been imposed by society and social culture. It involves learning to value a greater diversity of characteristics and roles, and then allowing men and women to be equally valued for whatever characteristics and strengths they hold.
Within that discussion are issues surrounding the qualities we value in people and what qualities we traditionally see as negative and positive; what kind of society we want; the roles we value in society; and the language and rhetoric we use to discuss roles in society.
Whether we intend it to or not, we all do impact this issue. So think about the impact you have.
Phrases like, 'you...like a girl' or 'stop being such a girl', and, on the other side, 'man up' or' 'get some balls' are used to humiliate both men and women. But the language these insults use, sends a strong message to both girls and boys. Being a man is better than being a woman. It associates being a man with being strong and being a woman with being weak; one is desirable and the other is not. And I know a lot of very strong women. As the final line in the video says 'why can't run like girl also mean win the race'.
In some ways the issue here is very clear: the language and common day phrases we use send a clear message to young girls and women by equating females to negative qualities and males to positive qualities. As a result, women continue to be second class citizens. Furthermore, attempts to achieve equality have focused on women becoming more like men, both in terms of trying to adopt 'male' qualities and taking on traditional male roles. We need to end the message we send that women are weak and lower class citizens and that the only way they can be equal is to be more like men. It is damaging for women and men.
Then we can move on to the important matter of breaking down the stereotypes and appreciating that they are just that -stereotypes, so not everyone fits in them.
Breaking stereotypes will not only benefit women but men too. It involves going beyond the simplistic notions we currently have about female and male qualities, characteristics and dispositions. Of course there are differences between men and women. Some are biological, but many have been imposed by society and social culture. It involves learning to value a greater diversity of characteristics and roles, and then allowing men and women to be equally valued for whatever characteristics and strengths they hold.
Within that discussion are issues surrounding the qualities we value in people and what qualities we traditionally see as negative and positive; what kind of society we want; the roles we value in society; and the language and rhetoric we use to discuss roles in society.
Whether we intend it to or not, we all do impact this issue. So think about the impact you have.