When we were kids, being called a 'girl' or 'girly' was an insult. To be called a girl was to be called weak, boring, not cool. Every little boy strives to be as tough and as cool as he can be, and every little girl strives to be just like every other little boy, in fear of being looked at as 'girly'. Even as I grew up, being called girly was always pretty insulting, I never wanted to be seen as a girly-girl, someone who always played with her dolls. I wanted to be the cool girl, the girl that could play in the mud and mess up her clothes and not care. I wanted to be just like one of the boys.
When did being called a girl become an insult? Why does it carry such a negative connotation? This phrase is used to tell someone that they are weak, to tell them that they are not as smart or as competent as others. A commercial for Always asked the same question of why being called a girl, or saying you do something like a girl is an insult. It asked older boys and girls to run like a girl, fight like a girl, and throw like a girl. They were all shown to act in a weak way, in a way that would be considered somewhat pathetic and with no effort. However, when they asked the younger girls to fight and run like a girl, they all put as much effort into the action as they could, acting strong and confident.
Being called a girl should always be considered a compliment. To be called a girl is to be called strong. To be called a girl is to know that you have to fight harder and longer to prove yourself to the rest of the world. Young girls understand that being called a girl shouldn't be seen as an insult, so why does the rest of the world think this way? In making it an insult, we only push girls self-esteem farther down, causing them to not believe in themselves, to not pursue all the opportunities available to them.
If I have a daughter, I want her to see herself as strong and independent, able to do anything she sets her mind to. I want her to fight as hard as she can, to push herself beyond her limits and not be stopped by any personal or societal boundary. I want someone to call her a girl, and her to know that she is strong and courageous because she is a girl. I want being called a girl to be a compliment, not an insult.
Should being called a girl mean to be weak, or to be strong? Should being called a girl mean to be dependent on others and pathetic, or to be independent and sure of yourself? Being called a girl should be a compliment, something that young girls can pride themselves on, knowing that they are strong and can achieve anything they set their minds to. Being called a girl should never be a bad thing.
Being a girl is pretty awesome, and we have to embrace that.
