This video is part of the #LikeAGirl campaign by Always, a brand of feminine hygiene products. The campaign aims to keep girls’ confidence high during puberty and into adulthood, since “like a girl” is often used as an insult for girls and boys, which negatively affects the confidence and self-esteem of girls from a young age and especially at puberty. This video highlights the limitations and boundaries that girls feel pressured to conform to, including the things they are expected to be able to do or not do because they are girls. For example, one girl talks about how she feels like she has been told that she cannot be brave, and another says that she cannot be the one doing the rescuing because it’s always boys doing the rescuing in stories. In the video, the girls are answering the production crew’s questions about these pressures, and are asked to write down one of the things they mentioned on the side of a white cardboard box. They are then invited to physically tear down these limitations, by breaking up or overturning the boxes. Throughout the video, messages such as “Always wants every girl to stay confident…so nothing can stop her” are shown. The video closes with the Always logo, and the message, “rewrite the rules,” and an invitation to join the #LikeAGirl campaign.
discussion
What limitations and expectations based on gender were mentioned or written on the boxes by these girls and women? What common themes associated with femininity or being a girl came up, and what does it say about masculinity and being a boy?
Do boys face similar expectations and limitations? Why does this campaign focus on girls?
What does it mean to do something “like a girl”? Are positive or negative things associated with it? Who is it said to and why?
What is the impact when someone tells young girls or boys that their actions are done “like a girl”?
What is significant about puberty, confidence, and self-esteem? How does this relate to gender expectations?
How did this video try and challenge gender norms and expectations? Do you think it was successful? Why or why not?
