As many of you know, the USWNT won the World Cup this past summer and, now, you can hardly go to the store without seeing "Morgan" or "Wambach" on the back of every little girl's shirt. While you may be annoyed by the sight of Carli Lloyd in every sports ad, it's undeniable that a new era of role models for girls has been born and, if we are being completely honest, it's about time.
Women's soccer is getting more recognition than ever before. With recognition comes responsibility and the chance to be influential. The USWNT has handled the opportunity flawlessly, with campaigns such as "Play Like a Girl" and "She Believes." It has used the women's success as a platform to not only be a positive role model for young women, but also to promote equality on various other platforms.
I'm not trying to imply that the fight is over and women's soccer is where it needs to be because, unfortunately, that's not the case. The USWNT— the 2015 World Cup champions— were paid one quarter of what the men's team was paid for simply finishing in the round of 16. Additionally, they were forced to play on turf, rather than real grass, a luxury afforded to those competing in the Men's World Cup. This leads to far more injuries and makes aspects of the game, such as slide tackling, painful.
Not only have they remained positive role models in the lime light, but they have also dealt with the ridicule with grace. Alex Morgan is criticized for her lack of curves and flat chest one day and Sydney Leroux is criticized for her overly curvy figure the next. Needless to say, one thing has remained the same— they respond with positivity, never ceasing to deny the societal standards for women's bodies and prove that strength is beautiful. If this doesn't speak volumes as to why they should be every little girl's heroines, then I don't know what does.
Day in and day out, these women prove that you can still compete in the Olympics after having children. A pony tail doesn't make your goal any less amazing and, lastly, that there is nothing unladylike about strength. I feel a little better about this generation of young women, knowing that they wake up for school and throw on their Abby Wambach jerseys like clock work, learning every day to feel a little more comfortable in their own skins.
Keep your eyes out for the U.S. women's soccer team because it is bringing a whole new aspect to gender equality that has never been seen before, and doing so with toned legs and class. So, if I were you, I would invest in a company that makes jerseys or buy stock in Nike because this is one "fad" that is actually raising a stronger generation of young women. That's definitely not something that I'm praying will end anytime soon.
