Have you seen this commercial?
I just saw it for the first time Sunday night and it looks it was added to YouTube this past weekend, so it must be fairly new. I didn’t know it was a Cover Girl commercial until the very end. Actually, that is the part that sort of seemed “off” for me. I was watching it and I was like “Ya! Do your thing.” Go Girls. Be off the wall, rock, be strong, Then Ellen is like make the world a little more [bad cut] easy, breezy, beautiful — I was like HUH?
Watch it again starting at 44 seconds… see how it’s sort of a weird ending? I thought it was going to be for something else other than make up. But either way, I fully support the idea behind it. I never want to think that my daughter will not have an opportunity to do what she loves because she is a girl.
Right now we have her playing in a soccer group for toddlers from 2-3 years old. They run around, kick the ball, play color-matching games with flags, kick the ball through mommy and daddy’s legs… it’s pretty much a way for them to be active and social. The First Lady is one of 2, maybe 3 girls… I don’t really think too much of it, because everyone is just running around playing. But I guess it would be weird if she wasn’t allowed to play BECAUSE she was a girl. I’m not naive and don’t think that she will never face adversity, but I’m happy to be able to give her the opportunity to enjoy something without concern for not being told “she can’t.”
I’m thankful for the strong women that came before her that paved the way for her to play right next to the boys. The strong women that continue to break barriers and be who they are so that my daughter can have the chance to simply go out and play whether it’s for fun or for competition. She might grow up and be an Olympic soccer player or she might not. Either way, I’m thankful that she’ll have the opportunity.
Have you ever been told you “can’t” or felt left out because you are a girl (or a boy)?
My hubs and I were just having this conversation. He never really thought about the whole girl power thing until he had a daughter. Then he’s like – She can do anything a boy can do! My twins are playing soccer as well. It’s very, very strange that my daughter is one of only 2 girls out of 15. Where are all the girls???
LOVE THIS!!!! when i was younger i played on my little brother’s roller hockey team… i was such a tomboy, so i never really felt like “girls can’t” cuz i was always one of the boys!
I wish I played more sports as a KID – so the lil one is on track to kick off a fit life nice and early!
I don’t think I’ve ever been told I can’t, but I did grow up in a time/place where girls pretty much focused on being pretty and not much else. I am so thankful that my daughter is growing up with sports and will learn to be proud of her accomplishments rather than just her looks.
you KNOW I ADORE ALL THIS.
I grew up right before women were fully integrated into sports and the opportunities for our girls now make my heart smile.
your daughter has one heck of a supportive dad. That’s key! CONFIDENCE
My parents were so amazing at telling me I could do or be anything. The only 1 time I ever even thought about being a girl is when a boss said to me something along the lines of because you are a woman in your 20’s walking in to consult a room full of men in your 50’s you have to act a certain way. I didn’t take offense to it because I was doing my job well and whether he felt i could or couldn’t as a woman didn’t matter.
I saw this commercial last night. Growing up, I always wanted to do what my older brother was doing, and I never let anyone tell me I couldn’t do it. If they did, I would prove them wrong!
Love this! And so wonderful to have a guy promoting it, that truly shows how comfortable you are in yourself, and you are not threatened or insecure!
I get really angry in races when a guy will not let me past, and continues to race me purely because I am a girl. I thought that as I moved up the elite ladder that men would accept that I was really good, and be happy that there is a woman moving the standard of the race up and work with me, but this rarely happens. I find that the younger males are worse with this. I even talked to my male athletes about it if I ran a 2:25 marathon someday, how would they feel if i was near them….they said they would almost kill themselves to beat me! I find it so frustrating!
I love campaigns like this, lets continue to promote it! Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)
Great post, Pavey! Having lived in the Middle East for 5 of my teenage years, I definitely had my eyes opened to the discrimination that women face. I’m thankful for being Canadian, but living over there and being exposed to that made me even MORE thankful.
You’re right, that last part of the commercial didn’t really fit with the rest. Maybe because most women don’t strive to be, “easy and breezy.” What does that even mean anyway?
I love that picture of your daughter. I’m 23 and I am so happy to say that I’ve never had someone tell me I couldn’t do something because I’m a girl. But I think even more importantly than that, I don’t feel like there’s anything I can’t do because I’m a girl. There might be things I don’t like to do, or don’t want to do, but I always know I can do them if I put my mind to it. We’ve come along way since 1992-1993 (when I was 2 or 3 years old) so I think your daughter should be great. Especially with a strong dad behind her. Mine was key to my success.
I was always taught that “anything boys can do, girls can BETTER” :)
Growing up, I knew I could do anything I set my mind to….because I had great parents who taught me that. Your daughter is lucky to have such supportive parents. :)
Love this :) Your sweet daughter is going to grow up to be such a strong and beautiful woman!
Love this! My parents were always really intentional to make me believe and know that just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can’t pursue my dreams!
My parents definitely instilled the confidence in me to know I can accomplish anything I want. When I was in high school we had to fight to get a girls lacrosse team. We made a big stink using Title 9 as the main focus of our case. They still denied us but we fought hard and put a team together on our own. Some of the boys coached us on their own time and we played for a league a few towns over. It was a great learning experience. #powertotheshe
I hadn’t seen this but I like the message (sans the ending!) I was very lucky that both my parents always instilled in me that I could do or be anything I wanted – my dad was my biggest fan at most of my sporting events when I was a kid and still tries to come to many of my races! Your daughter is lucky to have such a supportive dad as you :)
I agree the ending wasn’t what I expected either. Such a great message though!! Because Yes We Can!!
I grew up playing soccer with the neighborhood boys so if I have a daughter I would never say oh you can’t do xy or z because you’re a girl. I am jealous you have toddler soccer or sports everything here is 4 and up. B takes art classes and is the only boy, so I guess I’m doing the same ha.
Have you see the Missrepresentation documentary (it’s on Netflix)? For every one good commercial like this there is a million subtle and not-so-subtle ways media tells women they can’t. There are many victories to celebrate and many still to be won.
I wish I had done more athletically as a kid, I think I felt like I couldn’t because I was an out of shape girl. If I have daughters I will show them they can!
What a great commercial (and I agree that the whole Cover Girl thing threw me off too). I don’t think that I’ve explicitly been told that I can’t do something but there are a lot of cultural norms that play into growing up in an Asian household and as an Asian woman that make those assumptions implicit. It’s interesting to look back on for sure and I’m thankful that I had parents who wanted me to succeed at whatever I was doing (preferably as a doctor, lawyer or business professional, ha!). I’m also thankful that I was in really supportive educational environments with strong athletic programs too.
My mom was so traditional. I grew up in a time when girls could be cheerleaders, play tennis…any other sports weren’t feminine enough. And don’t you dare call a boy…heck, now I could outrun most of them…
Taking the Long Way Home: http://oldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2014/02/whos-old.html
I never grew up thinking that I couldn’t do something because I am a girl, and I work hard to make sure my daughters feel the same way. I love that they think of me as a runner and run around pretending they are Mommy. I want them to be anything they want to be!
In the UK, where I grew up, the current generation of girls are the first to play football/soccer. When I was a kid, boys played footie, girls played netball and that was just the way it was. There was until recently quite a stigma about girls who play football. That is now changing, but we are light years behind the US in terms of Women’s Football/Soccer. I was trying to explain this to my little boy (4) last week and he looked totally baffled at girls not playing football, it was hilarious!
I’m lucky that it’s never been something I heard, but I know it was common for many people. I know I can do anything and I’m stubborn as heck. I love that you’re sharing that sentiment with your daughter!!
Late to the commenting game, but better late than never.
As a father of a daughter I have a big issue with gender norms. I encourage my daughter to be the best person she can be, ignore what society tells her she “should” be or do. Its probably my biggest anxiety as a father, that I won’t imbue her with a strong self-esteem or identity.
As a man, I also dislike norms. Men are “supposed” to be strong, silent, unemotional. All-american quarterback of the football team who crushes the other team and dates the queen cheer leader.
Not how I want to live, so luckily my family marches to the beat of our own drummer, finding our own way through the journey of life!