Friday, February 6, 2015

#LikeAGirl

The MWPC and its surrounding community is buzzing today with thousands of proud football fans outside of the office cheering on the New England Patriots in their victory parade. This year's Superbowl was the most viewed television event in U.S. history, with 112 million viewers tuning in to watch. However, even as important as the game itself are the commercials; many of which come with a hefty price. A 30 second ad during the Superbowl costs a whopping $4 million, a price that many companies are willing to pay for airtime with such a large audience. Perhaps the most exciting part is the new trend in Superbowl commercials that tug at your heart strings and even address key social issues.

One of this year's most talked about commercials was an advertisement for the feminine hygiene company, Always. The commercial brought light to the phrase, "like a girl," particularly for its common use as an insult. The commercial spoke volumes about the ways society has grown to disempower women, girls and their skills and abilities. When asked to do something "like a girl" such as run, fight or throw, teenagers and young adults responded by acting out the movements in a weak, pathetic manner. In contrast, when young girls were asked to perform the same actions "like a girl" they responded by completing the tasks with all of their strength, power and energy.

The lesson: When we use this phrase, we teach girls that they are incapable and weak; that they are not as strong or as capable as their male counterparts. Eventually, they start to believe it, especially when they hear it during their more vulnerable years (from ages 10 - 12), as they try to find themselves.

Immediately after the commercial, social media buzzed with the hashtag #LikeAGirl, serving as an outlet for women to share what makes them strong.
Here are a couple tweets that serve as great examples of the hashtag:





























To read more, click here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/03/why-like-a-girl-is-so-important_n_6598970.html
Posted by MWPC at 3:37 PM