#LikeAGirl: Our View on Women

"You threw that ball like a girl." It is a common phrase that is used everyday. But why do we say this? What does "like a girl" mean? Always, a feminine hygiene product, decided to see if they could find an answer. Always interviewed both boys and girls of all ages asking them to demonstrated how to do various activities "like a girl." Somewhere between childhood and young adulthood our views on girls and what they can do gets warped into a false viewpoint. From this we know that as girls grow up, they are taught that to do something "like a girl" is different to do something like a man.

We have entered a "new age of human history," but we are still have a long way to go before our world is perfect (Gaudium et Spes 54). Women in our culture are still not on an equal level with men. This video is a small representation of how our culture unfairly puts women down. Being "like a girl" is an insult. But as a girl, everything I do is technically as a girl. Me being a female should not mean that my work or actions are somehow inferior. The problem with how girls are viewed is not just a problem occurring in the United States; the treatment and views of women in most countries and cultures is not very respected. If you look at Yemen, women are considered half a witness, meaning their word is only equivalent to being half of a person. If you look at Saudi Arabia, women cannot vote and are not allowed to drive. Women are not respected and treated fairly. To be a girl means to be less than others. This viewpoint needs to change. Women now make up more than 50% of the population. Women are not just caregivers and subservient doers, they are an equal and worthy part of our society. Rachel mentioned how Barbie and other dolls have influenced our views on our bodies in "Barbie Body."  Barbie has been making strides in recent years to be a positive influence in young girls lives and to stress the fact that girl can be whatever they want to be, we just have to "imagine the possibilities."

Our culture is slowly changing. Now women "work in almost all spheres [so it] is fitting that they are able to assume their proper role in accordance with their own nature" (Gaudium et Spes 60). We can see it everyday when we see amazing women being commended for being the "first woman" to do this or that. Regardless of your political views, this election was going to be historic either way for women. If Hillary Clinton had won, she would have been the first women President. But Donald Trump won making his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to successful run a presidential campaign. Or if you turn to pop culture, look at Jessie Graff, a stunt woman who is changing the way we look at femininity. Who says girls cannot be feminine and strong? Jessie Graff became the first women to get past the first stage at the Nationals for American Ninja Warrior.

But like I said this is a slow process. The fact that we can count the number of women who have done something speaks volumes. We have to keep fighting for change. We need to keep going and speaking up, especially for those that cannot. In Gaudium et Spes, the Council wrote that "[f]rom day to day, in every group or nation, there is an increase in the number of men and women who are conscious that they themselves are the authors and the artisans of the culture of their community" (Gaudium et Spes 55). We need to remember that. We are the authors of how our world will be. God is there as a watcher and creator, but it is up to us to change the life of culture here on earth. The change in the culture of how we view women and their abilities starts with each one of us.