Watch the video below before you read on….
The results were quite enlightening to me, because I've done this.
Me, the big, tall and loud woman who thinks women can do anything, yes ANYTHING, in the world has, without consciously knowing it, demeaned my gender.
Usually said in a jocular manner, and taken as such, Many times I have bantered with men, especially my husband, and told them/him to "Stop being a girl" or "Gosh you're such a girl" with the implication that they are being weak or fussy. If I had been asked the questions on the video I would have done exactly what the older women did too, and played it for laughs, because that IS what we (we, as in most women) do.
I have never thought as women as weak or pathetic. I was never pigeon holed into a 'this is what women should do' slot. The reason why I think like this can be put squarely on my upbringing. My mum ran her own successful business and so I never had an inkling that there was a limit to what women could be, and team that with an all girl secondary school, with pretty much an all female staff who made you look towards careers such as doctors and lawyers, with nobody even thinking of pushing you towards 'female-centric' careers such as hairdressers, beauty consultants and carers, you can see how my outlook was never dampened by the male centred point of view.
Earlier I said that I would have done the same as the older women in the video, but I can tell you now this is not what I will do in the future. I will endeavour to never use the words GIRL, WOMAN, WOMEN or FEMALE in a demeaning manner, and from now on will aspire to become an example of a confident, strong, proud woman, so that the young girls around me think that being a girl is the most amazing thing EVER!
