#LikeAGirl: What it Means to Be a Girl
Being a girl has its goods and its bads just like boys do. We get to dress up, use makeup, paint our nails, and do our hair. But we also have to deal with periods, changes in our bodies, and changes in our mood. Historically, being born a girl meant you were inferior to boys. Boys were thought to be stronger and more productive in society. Girls were thought to be too emotional & fragile to go to school or to work outside the home like boys did. Girls would help their mothers around the house with chores until they were old enough to get married and have children of their own. A girl back then was not given the opportunity to be anything other than a wife and a mother. Abigail Adams who was the first lady in 1797 as she was the wife of President John Adams. She was one of the first women in America to demand rights for women. She was followed by powerful women such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, and Oprah Winfrey who proved to America that girls had the ability to do anything that boys did.
Being a girl is not an inferiority but a beutiful, smart, and strong human being who can be anything she chooses to be. No one can tell you you can’t do something simply because you are a girl. Girls are individuals, being female simply states your gender identity. It does not say anything about the kind of person you are or want to be.
So to you beautiful young girls who have been told you do something “like a girl” don’t let that stop you. You are a girl, and a strong one, your strength is what shows your abilities not your gender. Remember these three things as you grow into powerful women:
1. You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To: you have no limits, go for your dreams and let nothing stand in your way.
You Are Beautiful: beauty is from within. Your heart and spirit are what makes you beautiful. Share your beauty with the world.
3. You Are Strong: strength has nothing to do your physical capacity. Strength is being able to overcome those hardships that drag you down. Emotions are a sign of strength, not weakness. Allow yourself to cry and let your feelings out, don’t hold anything back. Letting out helps you heal and makes you stronger.
Author: Nicole Perez University of Central Florida Psychology Student
Nicole is a psychology student at the University of Central Florida. She has always had a passion for psychology and helping people overcome the challenges in their loves. She especially has a passion for working with children and families. She plans on continuing on to receive her PhD in clinical psychology specializing in children and their development.