Despite this being an advertisement by Always, I actually really like the message here and found myself getting a bit emotional. Perhaps it’s because I was that young girl once whose abilities and skills were downplayed – not purposely, but due to the underlying sexism in our society. Even now as an adult I still find myself eager to prove my strength and intelligence.
What always irks me about videos like this are the comments in the comment section. A quick skim and I can see hostile rants:
“Was this even a problem?”
“Damn feminists don’t get it. We say things like this to boys so they man up. Of course a girl runs like a girl, people shouldn’t be so sensitive.”
“Little girls are weaker than grown men”
“This video is cancer”
Why are men so intimidated by female empowerment that they need to seek out and attack a video made by a menstrual pad company? They are definitely missing the point of the issue though. The trouble begins when “being a girl” is associated with something negative. This problem continues even after childhood. Grown men insult each other with words like “bitch”, “pussy”, “fag”; all words that hold a negative, yet female connotation. Men and boys are also told to “man up” or “grow a pair” when they show emotion or display behavior that others find uncomfortably unmanly. These insults, even something as innocent as “like a girl”, still give the message that to be a female is bad.
This language is toxic to both that little girl and that little boy on the receiving end of the insult. It’s lose-lose for everyone. It continues to reinforce some ridiculous expectations in our society. The intelligence and abilities of women are constantly undermined, and men that don’t fit the narrow expectations are made into targets. I think it’s time to strive for a change, and it really does begin with our language and values that we share with children.
I’m sorry this isn’t my usual type of post. As the oldest sibling of two sisters, I just needed to rant about this for a moment.
PS. I can speak from experience that little girls are as tough as nails.
I think it's the first time I see someone who understands the meaning of insults at much as I do.
I don't mean that people don't get it, but it's a thing that became so common in our society that people don't fully understand that the insult does not only hurt the one it's directed to, but also the one you took a "bad quality" from to insult another person,,, it's like calling someone "gay"… since when one's sexual preferences is a way to insult someone else? it's not like it's supposed to be used in a negative way… it's just a word to describe sexuality preferences. but today it's doesn't matter if it's only a word, an adjective and what's not… everything is being used as an insult and not as a way to describe personality traits, for good and worse.
Thanks for your support Britta! I've read somewhere before that the comments on a feminist article justify feminism, and I definitely believe that it's true.
I just realized how awful that looks with the font of my blog. ♥ There, that's better. 😉
Thanks Mel! Love and miss you! <3
well done for writing this post! The only way we can change things is by speaking out about how we feel. I also have a huge problem with the comment section of this kind of article/video. The hatred and misogyny out there can be really frightening…but I will continue finding the women and men who support feminist issues and are ready for change.
Love this. Thanks so much for sharing your voice with us! Love you, big sis!