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Take It Easy

Posted on by Akriti Mattu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

Came across this video – ‘Always #LikeAGirl.’ Loved it. Thought of sharing it here. It’s been viewed over thirteen million times and has gone viral. The makers of the video say,”Boys and girls are told different things growing up, but the overriding message is clear: ideological masculinity is to be aimed for, and ideological femininity (AKA acting ‘like a girl’) is to be avoided at all costs.” This is exactly why a video like this is important. It shouts out loud that the words ,”Like a Girl” are not an insult because being a girl is not an insult in the first place. High time people get that.

Interesting thing is that just when i was wondering if i could somehow access another video , made with the same sentiment but with respect to boys, i found another one entitled – ‘The Mask You Live In.’ This video makes us ponder that are we as a society failing our boys since we put on them a lot of pressure to conform to a set standard , we call ‘masculinity. ‘Emotional stoicism ain’t good for them. When will we learn to just ‘let them be’ and not propagate a skewed definition of masculinity? If we need a better society to live in, we’ve got to start teaching our children better.

It’s good to make more videos like these . Videos that are a part of a social experiment and which fight the gender stereotype. I really appreciate individuals putting stuff like this out there for all of us to watch. Things like these make us realize that we should not be speaking, behaving or even feeling in a certain way just for validation from people. It puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on us.
It’s time we RESPECT THE DIFFERENCES between genders and then celebrate them.

C’mon people, spare a few minutes and WATCH these videos NOW.

Akriti Mattu

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52 Comments

  4. I shamelessly cried a bit when I watched the Always like a girl commercial. I appreciate the change we’ve been seeing lately, like the emphasis on empowerment and self-esteem. Have you seen the Pantene commercials? It details how women need to stop apologizing all the time. They know how to play on our emotions and I’m okay with that. It’s better to see this than them putting us down all the time like they used to! Here’s the pantene link: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/06/the-sociology-of-sorry/373273/

  6. well thats how our society is .. pressure on little kids all the time for something or the other .. I wish we let the kids grow up in their own pace

  7. Reblogged this on Sapna's Blog and commented:
    Phrases from everyday life – “Like a girl” and “Man up”. Do we know what they mean and what effect they have when we say it?

    • I guess people don’t even think about the impact phrases like these make on a person’e psyche. Thanks for reblogging 🙂

  9. Yeah we want things to happen as it’s defined,,,,so the pressure took birth……take time know the things better, realize the difference each soul hold….this no wanna do… Nice post Akriti 🙂

  13. LOVE LOVE LOVE that you shared both of these videos! And that you brought in the importance of understanding feminism in terms of what gender-limitating cultural practices place on girls & boys! Bravo! I can’t wait to read more of your work on gender & culture!

  16. Reblogged this on Champion's Insight and commented:
    There are more serious issues we should be focusing on than these pointless wars and violence. Take the time to see what’s affecting our children. Shout out to Akriti for this blog! 🙂

  17. Pingback: Take It Easy | liliesandsteel

  18. Very good post, Akriti! Kudos. Yes, We have to recognize that there is nothing wrong with Manliness or its counterpart.

    Everything has to start with the Physical, and progress higher up. In this, man’s musculature itself signifies that he is the better suited for hunting, and today, for the outdoor activity. Woman’s body not only makes her less suitable for these, but also renders her Vulnerable.

    Man tires of Small and Minute work. Man also, in general, does NOT have to patience to deal with Children, his own offspring. Woman does all of them Well. So Nature has ‘determined’ many things.

    There should be No problem with this. And it cannot really change. The Lioness does the hunting, and has done so from the beginning, because she is the more suited for that!

    The problem rises when man ‘thinks’ he is superior. Which is the better? The Cow or the Horse. Neither. Who is superior? The man or the Woman? Neither. Both are Equal.

    So let us both Cherish the genders, and ‘Celebrate them,’ as You have written. I hope You had a look at my article in this regard, written from a Biblical perspective. http://lovehappinessandpeace.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/woman-is-mans-equal/

    Regards.

  20. Sterotyping is such a pointless but dangerous game. Not just for girls, but also for other gender, race or religious ‘grouping’. Everyone has the right to just be themselves. If you are or want to be a very gentle feminine girl, or a tough tomboy type, who cares… you are all girls, and all beautiful.

  21. I liked both of the videos. We need to realize we don’t have to live up to what the world says. Being a girl is not a bad thing-I am a girl. Being a boy is not a bad thing and boys should be boys until they grow up into a man. Thanks for sharing.

  24. Thank you so much, this was incredible. I loved Miss Representation and as soon as I saw that at the beginning of the second video I knew it was going to be just as impactful as Miss Representation was. The first video was shocking at the start, to say the least, to see grown girls running and acting like that and then the young girls behaving how we should. Both very important and impactful videos, thank you again for sharing!

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    Please let me know. Thanks

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