We always wince a little whenever we see the well-intentioned statement, "Fight Like a Girl". Why would a grown woman, or even a young woman, want to do that? Sure, we understand the term "girl" is just a stand-in for saying "female", but in reality a girl is typically a female of adolescent or pre-adolescent age. And let's face it, most young females don't know how to fight properly.
We recently saw this article by Elizabeth Licorish on Bustle.com and had to say to ourselves "thank you". We echo the sentiment exactly - women should do things LIKE A WOMAN. As the writer suggests, only girls should do things like girls - flailing about joyously using impefect technique, but a woman should aspire to better objectives.
"it’s time we examine the gender bias at the heart of the #LikeAGirl movement itself. We live in a world that rallies young boys to run/throw/kick “like a man.” Why then, shouldn’t we galvanize young girls to run/throw/kick “like a woman” instead?"
Rarely, if ever, do we hear fathers encourage their sons to run/throw/kick/jump/swim like a boy.“Be a man!” they say. Why do anything like a boy when you could do it so much better?
Amen, indeed it is better to Fight like a woman, run like a woman, etc - and there is more meaning in these statements. A 10 year old girl is just beginning to see the realities of the world and starting to learn how to do things. A woman has presumably been through a lot and taken the time to learn to do something right.
