“Omg, you’re literally such a girl.”
“He’s so annoying, I swear he’s such a girl.”
“Don’t be such a girl, you’re acting like such a chick right now.”
I’m sure people have heard these phrases (and many variations) as they partake in day-to-day activities. Sayings such as these are not just harmless comments that can be brushed off. By using “girl” in such a context, women are seen as the “weaker” sex. Women are portrayed as the ones who feel too much, who are too sensitive, and who are not as strong.
Not only does this have a negative effect on women’s self esteem, but it also tells us we have to hide our “feminine” characteristics. Speaking from my own personal experience, there have been so many times where I behaved less feminine to be taken more seriously (ladies that hate pink, am I right?) I used to dislike pink in my younger age to relate more with the guys. But, after realizing that pink it literally only a color mixed with red and white, I saw how much it did not make sense to dislike a variation of a shade.
Or what about those times when girls were called tomboys because they enjoyed sports? Or because they liked math and science? There have been instances where people have honestly told me that they forget that I am female because I do not “act like a girl”. The definition of their standards: I do not conform to what they believe a girl should be acting or thinking like (i.e., I drink beer and they can talk to me easily).
Can we also take a second to talk about the damaging effects these statements have on the males of our society? There is already so much pressure on male youth to bottle up their emotions and “act like a man”. By placing further pressure and fear of being looked down upon for expressing themselves, gendered double standards are then problematic to both the males and females of our society, to say nothing of the damaging effects on individuals not in the gender binary.
Women are strong. Women are smart. And women should not have to deal with their gender being used as an insult. The next time someone tells you that you’re acting like a girl, show them why that’s actually a compliment.
And here’s Always’ campaign addressing this: