"Like a Girl"

In the summer of 2014, when I was in an advertising class, I saw the Always #LikeAGirl commercial and immediately loved it and was moved by it. I have gone back to it a few times to use as an example in classes, and when I came across "You Play Like a Girl," by Elena Bertozzi, it reminded me of the campaign and why I am so passionate about the issue is confronts.

Here is the commercial:





I have been told several times in my life that I hit like a girl, or run like a girl, or tackle like a girl, or whatever.  When I am being emotional I have been told that I am being a little girl. When a family member is being affectionate they call me their little girl, but when I have been admonished I have also been called little girl.

I have heard men called names that women are referred to ( baby, princess, little girl, or even bitch) used to emasculate a man as an insult, implying that women are weaker, and by acting like a woman he is weaker that the men that surround him.

This was confusing for me, and I'm sure most woman who grew up with this, too. For a very long time I was acting inferior to men, and playing in to gender roles and stereotypes associated with the media, because I didn't know what was happening.

I first realized this is a gender based society in a psychology class, and since then have retouched the subject in another psychology, advertising, and a few journalism courses. This last time, when I read "You Play Like a Girl" it offered an angle that I hadn't considered before.

"You Play Like a Girl" considers that one of the first influences of gender roles comes from how children are taught to play, usually with toys or involvement in activities and sports that enforce gender stereotypes.

When it comes to traditional games women enjoy playing, but play less and are usually pitted against because natural gender groups form, and there are more men that play games. Women also played less in digital video games, that is until sex, gruesome violence and morally unsound games were replaced by new and groundbreaking games like World of Warcraft and SIMS, that took out much of this from their game, and added a social and societal aspect. Then, women started playing video games almost as much as men, but men played the new games just as much too, proving that they don't need the sex and violence aspect to enjoy the game.

In physical sports, men are taught early not to hurt women, or be aggressive towards women at all. Truthfully, women have proven several times that they can hold their own in competitions against men, even at a professional level.

In play, men use typical girl descriptions to put down other boys. Men admit that they are more embarrassed or upset when beat by a girl, and in online video games there is even a norm of men belittling and threatening women who beat them. Why is it so bad to be beaten by a girl?

"You Play Like a Girl" hits it right on the head of the nail, however, when it says that women who try to "cross-gender play" are really in a catch-22. If a woman takes a feminine role she falls in to the stereotype and is limited; but, if a woman takes the more traditional male role, or participates in male activities or sports, she is seen as threatening, a "ballbreaker," or is put down for her manly role.

I know this first hand because my freshman year of highschool when I was a competitive cheerleader and tumbler for 10 years, was participating in football workouts with the boys every morning at 5 a.m., and trying out for the power lifting team the next year, I was not respected by the boys for being masculine. My nickname all of freshman year was "The Bus," and the boys thought it was the most hilarious thing on the planet.

Several studies prove that widely accepted stereotypes about minorities affect performance in certain situations. This is why it is important for us to start creating content, spreading information, and acting socially, on gender based ideals and social norms. It starts as early as a child playing.

Teach your child what it means to truly play. Each person on a playing field is a threat that should be treated equally and fairly (according to the rules), including and especially those little girls. Start them early so that they grow up to be better than our parents were, and then we will be! It's important.