In 2014, Pantene introduced a commercial that pictures women apologizing for silly little things, such as stealing covers off of the bed or resting their arm on a chair. It was a really interesting commercial, one that I never saw on television but heard so much about, so I needed to view it for myself. You can watch the commercial below.
In light of this commercial, there has been a new study which shows that women tend to apologize more than men. Women apologize for the smaller things more frequently than men do. The main argument that comes from the study is, if women stop adding those weak-sounding words into their speech, such as “sorry,” they might be more successful. Removing "sorry" and "just" from every day conversation will make women sound less fragile in comparison to men. This, of course, depends on the person and their point of view, but it is a valuable point to think about.
"Sorry," "just," "like," and "I feel" are not bad words and are not only for women. Men say them all the time as well. However, after this commercial, it makes people wonder, why do women apologize more than men? And why should women apologize for the little things? The little things, as described in the video, are actions we all do every day, men and women alike.
I've had similar experiences to those shown in the commercial, like walking into an office and the first word out of my mouth is "sorry." I do not know why, but I always apologize for barging into a room. "Sorry to bother you," or "Sorry, do you have a minute?" When in reality, I should not apologize for visiting a professor's office for example. Office doors are opened to welcome people in who have questions. Same goes for a professional office. You should never be sorry to ask a question or to talk to another person.
In no way am I a feminist, but after watching this commercial, I was curious about the culture surrounding women, especially working women. Maybe there is a point to this commercial, rather than just strong hair. Maybe the company is trying to promote more than just their product. Either way, they do a great job of making viewers think and reflect upon their own actions. In my opinion, the point is that nothing should hold you back; everyone is strong in their own unique way, and you should never apologize for that.
