"I run like a girl because I AM a girl!"
The phrases “You run like a girl” or “You throw like a girl” are common insults that you may have countered at some point in your lives. But how harmful is the impact on your self-confidence?
Always, the leader in global feminine care, found the start of puberty and the first period, marks the lowest moments in confidence for girls.
Always have partnered with award-winning documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, to conduct a social experiment to see how people of all ages interpret the phrase “Like a Girl.”
The video starts off by asking a number of older girls to act out phrases like "Run like a girl" and "Fight like a girl." We see a number of exaggerated movements along with goofy facial expressions.
Interestingly, the younger girls, aged between 5 and 13, reacted completely different to the questions. Launching into fearlessly karate kicks when asked to throw, run or fight “like a girl” showing that they know how to handle themselves.
Always have declared its mission to redefine the phrase "like a girl" as an expression of strength and to feel proud and confident when they do things “Like a Girl."
Speaking about the campaign, Lauren Greenfield said: “In my work as a documentarian, I have witnessed the confidence crisis among girls and the negative impact of stereotypes first-hand. When the words ‘like a girl’ are used to mean something bad, it is profoundly disempowering. I am proud to partner with Always to shed light on how this simple phrase can have a significant and long-lasting impact on girls and women. I am excited to be a part of the movement to redefine ‘like a girl’ into a positive affirmation.”
With this new campaign, Always continues to champion girls’ confidence by taking a stand to turn “Like a Girl” into a phrase that represents the strength, talent, character and downright amazingness of every girl. Always is raising awareness about the confidence plummet that happens to girls at puberty, spurring conversation to help rethink and redefine the common words and phrases used in society that imply girls are weak or inferior.
Key Always Puberty & Confidence Study Findings
CONFIDENCE
- More than half of girls (about 1 out of 2 or 56 percent) claimed to experience a drop in confidence at puberty.
- Lowest confidence moments for girls were when puberty started and when they got their first period; a close second were starting middle and junior high school.*
- Hispanic females cited the largest drop in confidence at puberty (60 percent), while fewer African American girls (50 percent) claimed to have a drop in confidence than Hispanic or Caucasian girls.
- Girls who saw a drop in confidence during puberty are more likely to claim they started puberty either before or after their friends.
- The advice most females would give to their younger selves is “you’re not alone” and “you’re not as awkward as you feel.”
LIKE A GIRL
- The majority (89 percent) of females aged 16-24 agree that words can be harmful, especially to girls.
- Only 19 percent of girls have a positive association toward the phrase “like a girl.
- More than half (57 percent) of females think there should be a movement to change the negative perception of the phrase “like a girl.
- Four in five (81 percent) girls would support Always in creating a movement to change the negative perception of “like a girl.
Always is inviting girls and women everywhere to join the movement and share what they proudly do #LikeAGirl. Tweet, take a picture, shoot a video or send a message to take a stand and show young girls everywhere that doing things #LikeAGirl should never be used as an insult - that it means being strong, talented and downright amazing.
Tagged in GIRLS Confidence