Sweater: Madewell. (on sale) Top: JCrew Factory. (also similar here.) Pants: Gap. (on sale.) Shoes: Converse. Trench: Old Navy. (old. similar here.) Sunglasses: H&M. (similar here.)
I have to say, then end of the Super Bowl was rather a disappointment. That throw! It was so, just not the right call. But, c’est la vie, I guess. I try not to get too upset about things I have absolutely no control over, and football is one of them.
I thought the commercials were a little lack-luster this year, which was kind of a disappointment, with the exception of the #likeagirl one. It really got me thinking. I mean, it was moving to be sure, I teared up at one point and then watched the whole thing later on and got even more emotional.
It also made me, think, which I’m sure was their intention, and I’m glad. But probably not just in the way they wanted me to think. You know, I’m a mother–a mother to girls–so this particular idea of reinforcing a girl’s self-worth, especially at that critical age (which my Hannah is rapidly approaching) is truly important to me. But I’m also a mother of boys, and while we don’t seem to focus on it all that much I think that the self-worth of boys is under attack as well. I don’t take for granted that the self-worth of my boys will just happen naturally by virtue of them simply being part of the male gender. Even if the world has been historically friendlier to men, I see gender bias on both sides of the track. I don’t want my girls to grow up feeling weak or lesser, but I don’t want my boys growing up feeling like they are the enemy either.
I don’t think that it has to be that way. I know that historically, women have been repressed, that it still happens in many places. I know first hand that women don’t always make as much as men for doing the exact same job, and I’ve seen how the world has turned all the things I cherish about the male gender, the things I love most about my husband and my boys, their very nature into the enemy. Degraded men into single minded, sexist oafs. I don’t think that’s really fair either, and I’m sure I’m opening pandora’s box by saying it. But I do truly see examples of mutual respect for both genders everywhere I look. Most of the men I’ve been blessed to know are wonderful. My husband and boys are good, and smart and kind and strong and fair. My husband treats me as an equal partner, and even though our roles are different, I’ve never felt lesser. I can see the confidence that gives all of my children in themselves and who they are, and what they can be. And that gives me hope for the future, and for now really.
I want my girls to grow up believing in themselves, believing that they are strong, that they can do anything, and I want my boys to feel the same way. Acknowledging women’s strength doesn’t have to mean degrading a man’s.
I think–no, I know that’s one of the reason’s that my marriage is successful; we believe in each other’s strengths. We’re not at odds with each other. It’s a partnership. He doesn’t think I’m a “silly girl,” I don’t think he’s a “dumb guy.” It’s why Craig has succeeded in school (even with all of us in tow), had the guts to pursue bigger things in his career, become an amazing father. It’s why I’ve had the confidence to pursue not just motherhood (uniquely feminine) but also becoming a business woman as well (and for the record, they both equally thrill and terrify me.) I hope Hannah and Ava do big things with their life as they grow older. I hope they use the talents I already see in them to make plans, plans that will make them happy, that will contribute to the world, that they will have the confidence to pursue because they understand their own self-worth–their own strength, and I want just the same for Carter and Ethan. I want them all to feel safe being just as fantastic and strong as they are.
That’s what went through my mind all evening last night, and I felt a renewed sense of purpose as a wife and a mother, to show all my children, and my husband just how strong I can be by living my life with confidence, and doing my very best, just #likeagirl.
“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.“
– Marriane Williamson
So how did the #likeagirl campaign affect you?
