BEING A GIRL TODAY

Hunter. Age 12.

The hardest part of being a girl is the pressure to fit into everyone’s expectations and standards.

I wish you could be who you are without getting judged.

Cailin. Age 12.

What’s the biggest challenge of being a girl nowadays, and how do you manage it?

Dealing with other’s negative judgement or people saying, ‘Oh, you can’t do this’, ‘You are not strong enough.’ I try to ignore situations like that but if they do it continuously it can bring you down. So you need to get rid of the anger and remember you can do it.

How do you feel girls are perceived?

Girls are not seen as tough, we are seen as princesses that just want to wear dresses and make-up.

Boys sometimes will say, ‘You are not strong enough to shoot a basketball.’ They underestimate us like that, but they shouldn’t – we are strong.

What would help break these stereotypes?

Seeing girls doing what is normally thought of as ‘boys’ activities’. It helps girls build their self-confidence because it lets them know that they can be as good as anyone – there’s no limits in gender.

Nevaeh. Age 9.

Mum: Nevaeh’s hair didn’t grow for a very long time. This is the first year it has grown below her ears. So for a while she was called ‘a boy’ at school and teased by her peers. But despite struggling a lot, she has always remained kind and helpful to other children - even the ones that were not kind to her.

Nevaeh: The teasing made me feel quite sad... and a little embarrassed. I would tell them, ‘I’m a girl,’ and walk away. I feel happier now that I have longer hair.

Mila. Age 13.

Sometimes teachers or judges at competitions seem to favour boys because not many of them dance, so they get more points for that. And also at school male teachers usually pick boys to demonstrate physical jobs.

Photographer’s comment.

Dancer Jaymie (page 19) made a similar comment to Mila (above and left). Her quote on this topic was:

‘What I find challenging about being a girl is that sometimes we are treated differently. For example, if I am competing against a boy – even if I’m better than them – they normally get scored higher because they are a boy doing dance, which normally they don’t do.’

In my two years doing Strong Girls interviews and my past experience as a sports coach, I have repeatedly heard girls state they feel coaches, teachers and other adults favour boys when it comes to physical activities (a common example was solely choosing boys to demonstrate P.E. exercises). This messaging starts early, making girls feel they aren’t adequate to excel at physical activities.

What surprised me this time was the insight from not one but two girls in female-dominated activities that boys are given preferential treatment while girls in male-dominated sports normally need to deal with exclusion and bullying.

If we want this to change, it’s not enough to teach our girls that they are capable. We also need to educate our boys (and all kids, really) that discrimination based on gender is not acceptable. And we should demand that our coaches and teachers give equal opportunities to our kids in all activities.

GG. Age 8.

The most challenging part of training a ‘boy’s sport’ is when boys say, ‘Girls’ aren’t allowed here’.

Sometimes they will push me away and say, ‘I’m having another turn’. I walk away if I don’t really like how they treat me because it makes me feel like I’m not right for it.

I wish I could train and build confidence with girls rather than boys.

Kyra. Age 14.

At school, when teachers look for ‘someone strong’, it’s usually the boys that get the job. So I started putting my hand up so other girls know they can do it too. And because I’m strong, you know? I’m a strong person.

Caelyn. Age 9.

Girls aren’t allowed to do as many things as boys. But we can do those things, we are just as capable.

One day I want to try and change this because it’s not fair. We should be treated the same as men.