This Girl Can

[Sittinginthesun]

I don't often venture onto this Board, but would be very interested in your opinions on the This Girl Can campaign.

I understand the idea and aims, although I'm not terribly impressed by the idea of "girls" being worried about getting red sweaty faces, and therefore not exercising or taking part in sport.

DS1's school have sent an email explaining that the girls will be participating in a This Girl Can event over three lessons next week. The handful of boys in DS1's class will be in lessons as usual.

DS is furious! He argues that there are plenty of non active boys in his class who don't take part in sport.

I'm too hot to think this through properly, but wondered whether this subject has been covered on here yet?

Haven't heard of the campaign.

Bad idea to have the boys have lessons in that time; they're obviously not old enough to understand what patriarchal oppression is and thus perceive it as unfair that the girls get to "skip" lessons and they don't.

... that is, unless the three lessons replaced by it is sport.

They could do something for the boys, too. Some violence prevention training or something. Lots of stuff out there that boys would profit from.

You can obviously explain to your son that the non active boys in his class are bombarded by the media with the message that boys can excel in sports all the time, while the girls get the message that they needn't even try (see the contempt many men hold for women's sports).

You can also ask him what he thinks why the non active boys aren't more active and what could be done to change that. And what he could do to change that.

There was a thread around the launch I think, I didn't care much for the use of the word "girl". But, there is a huge dropout rate for girls and young women, I think 18 or so is the key age, where women stop doing exercise and don't often restart. Overall I think the ads discuss confidence to give it a go, and cover some of the worries that do get expressed about external judgement.

According to their website there are 2 million more men aged 14-40 exercising than women. It's a big difference! So maybe you could discuss that with your DS if he feels hard done by. That boys and men participate hugely more in sport/exercise than women, and this is a tiny tiny effort to address that.

I really rate This Girl Can. I think they've pitched it just right and feel that they are making the idea of just being more active a normality among all women. I've been involved with Breeze and this takes much the same approach.

www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/?gclid=CJT46q209dQCFe0Q0wodw8oJhA

what's Breeze?

Much better to have the boys working on the ideas surrounding why girls drop out of sports in their teens and what can be done by boys and men to fix this problem.

Breeze is a campaign run by British Cycling to encourage women into cycling. I have been on a few Breeze rides, made some good friends, did a record setting attempt to power the most energy out of static bikes and went on a sportive which was really good fun. It seems to have gone a bit quiet in my opinion, I'm not sure the Breeze challenges still run. Women volunteer to be Breeze champions and run group rides. Rachel Riley is involved with it, she is a Breeze champion as is Joanna Rowsell Shand.

I think This Girl Can is bloody brilliant and I wish it had been a thing when I was an awkward teenager. Sport is much harder for teenage girls than it is for teenage boys.

Boys don't have to be self-conscious about:

• Sitting out swimming due to having a period and everyone knowing.
• Growing body hair which is considered weird/ugly/must be immediately removed.
• Giant breasts which aren't adequately supported due to the mother not understanding sports bras are a necessity when breasts appear, rather than at an arbitrary age.

Boys naturally have a higher muscle ratio and don't have the above very obvious body issues. Of course some boys don't like sport. Of course some have body hang ups. But girls have to fight a lot harder to enjoy endure sports and the campaign is therefore about creating a level playing field.

www.letsride.co.uk/beachampion

Indeed MeanAger.

I agree pringlecat. Added to all that the lack of coverage of women's sport compared to men's (this is getting slightly better but it's still nowhere near comparable) and the regular mocking or dismissing of women's sport and it all feeds into a climate in which girls often feel sport isn't for them and is the preserve of boys and men.

I also think This Girl Can is a really good campaign despite my initial misgivings about the word girl.

Whether you're impressed or not by girls and women dropping out of sport because they are conscious about how they look, it is a factor. And an understandable one given the amount of focus on looks girls and women are subjected to (see recent advert for Benefit cosmetics as a perfect example).

How old is your DS? Can you talk to him about the issues? Can you perhaps ask him when sport is talked about at school, how much focus is on the boys or men's sport?

I love the This Girl Can campaigns.

My DC's school has been running an after school sports camp - games, taster sessions, prizes etc. I signed DD up and her friend tagged along, too. There were only 3 girls to over 20 boys - they are aged 5 to 8 .

Fast forward a few weeks and there are over 10 girls now. One of the mums told me that her daughter wasn't interested to begin with, but after the first week she asked to be signed in because there were other girls doing it. So even at this very young age a lot of girls see sports as a boy thing, and "not for them". Most of DD's female friends wouldn't entertain the idea.

IMO girls need all the encouragement they can get to get into sports!

I think the campaign is fab but I hate he name. By saying THIS girl can, it implies that other girls can't!! Hate that shite!

I would be interested to know if the OP has a daughter? I really feel I have to lead by example with my DD and have really upped my activity levels. I'm not sporty at all. I have two DS 13 and 9. My teenage DS isn't especially active but will play football with his mates, go out on his bike and generally he is pretty strong. I do think the whole issue of puberty is a far bigger reason why girls tend to drop out. Periods, badly supported breasts, body hair that girls may have not had opportunity to shave can make girls extremely self conscious about being active. Its about a lot more than red faces and sweat. If girls don't start becoming more active they will not encourage the next generation when they become parents themselves, which leads to even more health problems.

I think its supposed to be addressed in the first person isn't it? This Girl Can, meaning if I can, anyone can.

I loved their latest advert, especially the giving birth bit

LastGirlOnTheLeft I find it motivational. When I'm out doing sport (something I would never have done as a young girl), I think this girl can, as in me. I can. I actually can. No one would have ever believed it, but I do, and it's therefore true. I bloody well can!

I love this girl can. So many girls drop out of sport as teens because we are programmed to think women shouldn't sweat or jiggle. It has effects on physical and mental health for the rest of their lives. Anything that shows women properly exercising, doing whatever sport they like at any age/size/shape, sweating, wobbling and enjoying it is brilliant in my book.

I think non-participation of sport by boys is a different problem that needs tackl8ng in a different way. OP maybe your son could think what might encourage those boys into sport and suggest it as an alternative to the lessons while the girls are out. Like trying a new kind of sport?

Sittinginthesun I think your son being furious just because something is being done which centres girls is something to address as well. Whilst I'm not saying he's doing this or would in future, it's this kind of attitude which leads to all sorts of initiatives and services for women being attacked, with variations of "what about the men" being shouted.

That's a good point, Pringle!! I never thought about it on a personal level like that!!

LastGirlOnTheLeft It's the kind of thought that I have when I'm dragging myself round out of pure damn stubbornness rather than any kind of basic fitness or skill level. But that probably reveals a lot about my relationship with sport and why campaigns like this are so important. I will never ever like sport, but I now feel able to go out there and do something anyway and This Girl Can is a part of that attitude change.

May not work for everyone, but it's helped me.

I think sports bras should be part of pe kit. Watching sports day this week was interesting: boys sprinting round the track; girls battling wobbling breasts and holding their heads at weird an g les. I could go to the gym without trainers, but not my sports bra.

Just watching the trailer for the Womens Euro on Channel four. Now that is brilliant, a young girl, obviously talented just kicking anything she can find, including keepy uppys with a dolls head. This is the sort of thing we need to see more of.

I've seen that as well - it caught my eye as soon as I saw it come on and I loved it.

Pringle I think that's fantastic!!!! 👍👍😃😃 I think you are more inspiring though!!