Or rather is DD unreasonable to believe...

[RosaLuxembourg]

that her (female) PE teacher was sexist yesterday when she kept exhorting the children 'not to be so girlie' during their game of football - meaning that they should be approaching the game more aggressively.
DD said scornfully that it was really sexist because it was 'like saying that girls are wimps'.

Bless your DD. I think she is right, to be honest. Did she say anything?

Nope. It IS sexist. Mysogonistic even. 'Girlie' used as an insult. Not nice. There's a lot of it, isn't there? You girl. You big girl's blouse. don't be such an old woman...

Hmm I use the term "girlie" to mean pink and frilly and yes faily wimpy too. I think that's fairly common parlance. I think if she had said "don't be such girls" then that would be out and out sexist, but girlie is probably a bit middle ground. Maybe we should all stop using it?

She didn't say anything MrsMattie. I don't think it would have gone down too well. I think she is right too, but I also remember being thought too smart for my own good at school and wouldn't like her to get the same sort of grief I got. But I told her I thoroughly agreed with her.

She's right. And ood for you for bringing up a girl who can spot it. Teacher should be shamed, but sadly, can't say I'm that surprised.

I say girly. Must admit I wouldn't say it in a school context. Even so, I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. Would be a good conversation with dd.

I'm guilty of saying it, too. I say to DD 'don't be such a big girlie wuss.'

Wouldn't dream of saying it to anyone else though! Saying that, I wouldn't be offended if someone else said it to her. Not if it was in context and said in a jokey way.

It's just the whole idea that being a girl means being feeble though, isn't it?

DD is absolutely right.

Exactly, Hecate. DD has decided it is just as bad as using gay to mean rubbish.

She is upset tonight because two of her 'friends' have been going on at her today that her hair looks awful and she should do it 'properly'. (It is shoulderlength, clean, brushed and tied back in a ponytail.) They are 10 for chrissakes, and they are giving her a hard time because she is not obsessed by her appearance.

Just noticed OPs name.
Unless you picked the name at random, you KNOW DD is right.

girlie is overly wet and fluttery and simpering to me. It is not 'being a girl'. Not in my head anyway. Some girls/women do play up on their smallness and feebleness.

I do agree with her Choccypig. I just wondered whether her (and my) feminist instincts were leading us in the right direction here. I was fully prepared for people to post and say I was reading too much into it, etc etc. Glad to find this is not the case.
Sometimes it seems as if we are living not in this so-called post-feminist world, but in a actively anti-feminist world.

she is right. At weekend my dp said he would have to teach our dd not to run like a girl?????

Good for you Rosa, and good for DD, but the hard thing is, how do you stand up to it without embarrassing DD at school.
It would be reasonable to ask to see school's anti-discrimination policy, and see if it has something condemning these kind of remarks, (which it should).
If it doesn't have anti-sexism clause, complain to governors?
If it does, ask what they are doing to ensure the policies are adhered to?

Or dd could take it to Pupil Council for a debate.

did you ever see that postcard, RL that said 'I'll be a post feminist in post patriarchy'?
Incidentally, DD2 has your name, but we were also thinking of Mrs Parks.