You probably watch commercials every day, but do you really pay attention to them? Some of the commercials bring up or stand against very interesting problems in this society nowadays. 'Always' is a company which points out some of the negative stigmas that come along with being a girl. The “Always #LikeAGirl” commercial is a clip that embraces young girls to feel and be comfortable with their actions. A group of girls are told to throw, fight and run “like a girl” which is then followed by feminine actions. It is a subconscious thought for these girls to portray their actions the way they did due to society's standards set within the categorizations between female and male, also called gender binary. Not only are girls taught that being a girl is a negative thing but a young boy is also introduced in the video with the same views as them. However, their views are later changed when the girls are told to throw, fight and run the way they do, rather than how society wants them to. The girls stand up for who they truly are!
This commercial challenges the negative stigma which coexists with the the term “like a girl” which, unfortunately, exists within our society. The awesome part is that this view was clearly changed throughout the video. What started out as a negative view on girls ended as a positive view. I know you don't usually look into the deeper meaning behind a certain commercial, however if you do for this video, it's influencing girls that “like a girl” is more than an insult. That they shouldn't allow this to affect how they go about certain activities in their life like throwing a ball or running. If what you're doing is scoring goals in a game or earning the fastest running time then that's what matters; block out what everyone else says. No one should be ashamed of being “like a girl”.
I personally think It's truly interesting in this commercial how they also included a few guys views as well, showing both sides of the situation. The entire commercial is showing girls how society has changed their minds to think that being a girl is weak. What's even more interesting is that they first show how older girls view the term “like a girl”. They fought and ran weak. But when young girls were asked to run and fight like a girl, they put their heart and soul into it. They were strong and tough. These young girls have a positive connotation with the phrase “like a girl” because they haven't been influenced by society yet. While young, these girls are very susceptible to society's standards, creating their mindset for when they are older.
It's kind of amazing while also interesting what you can comprehend when looking more deeply into certain commercials. I give acknowledgment to Always for creating a commercial such as this. By the end of the clip, there is no doing things "like a girl" but rather a "you do you" sort of concept. Always is influencing girls to fight as hard as they can, never downplay your abilities just because its not typical of a female. Keep the mindset that girls can do anything that boys can do!
