Like a Girl

“You throw like a girl.” The classic, emasculating insult.

I watched this awesome “Like a Girl” video earlier this week and it got me thinking about the messages we send our children – messages we don’t really even mean to send.

My daughter is a golfer. Golf is not a terribly popular sport for kids, especially not for girls, but it’s something she’s passionate about and, frankly, really good at. The other day, we went into a large, national sporting goods store to find her a few new polo shirts for this summer’s golf camps. The first thing that struck me was the pure size differential between the boys’ and girls’ sections. Boys’ was stocked with a variety of apparel for a multitude of sports in many different brands. Around the corner, I barely managed to spot the scanty girls’ section, bedecked with a few different versions of the same running clothes (including sports bras, because, you know, every 8-year-old needs one of those) produced by maybe 2-3 different brands. And no, no golf apparel at all.

We asked one of the managers about girls’ stock on our way out and she mentioned that there’s not a whole lot of demand for girls’ sports apparel. Oh really? Wonder why that is.

Our little shopping venture served as its own message. No matter how many organizations try to promote sports and activities for girls, our girls will not receive the message if it doesn’t match their realities. Girls are not likely to stick with a sport – a sport that gives them strength and confidence – if they feel like society doesn’t support it. If we want to give new meaning to phrases like “like a girl”, we need to back up positive messages with positive actions.