Words Like A Girl

I have often heard the description, “like a girl”. People use this phrase to make jokes and laugh at others. As far as I consider, it is totally unfair to girls. Last year, I went camping with my classmates. We brought tents, barbecue grills, food and fuel. To get to the camping site, we had to carry all the stuff by foot without the help of vehicles or equipment since the roads were quite rugged. On the way, everyone carried as much stuff as they were capable of. After a while, a thin boy put down the barbecue grill and took a rest sitting on the ground. At the beginning, no one said anything. It then happened again. A strong boy laughed and said, “Dude, why are you behaving like a girl?” Then he imitated how the thin boy lifted the grill
exaggeratedly. Some classmates knew it was a joke between close friends so they laughed. I didn’t. At that time, I suddenly felt offended and puzzled. Such a description made me wonder why people used the gender as an adjective, meaning weak and powerless, even as a way to laugh at others.
Why do so many people suppose girls and boys should behave differently? And why are the words “like a girl” naturally approved as an adjective? When I wanted to learn boxing or skydiving, such hierarchy of genders was hard to avoid, either. Others often persuaded me that those were not activities girls usually do. However, in my perspectives, the word “girl” should not include any negative underlying meaning. It’s just a noun, a noun that differentiates the genders. The strength of the body should not be considered in judging how powerful a person is. Although girls may not lift as much as boys do, they are working hard. The imposed negative definition of a gender makes the society be unfair to female. When “like a girl” is accepted as a joke, it is pathetic indeed. There is never a standard way of living or behaving as women. Thus, the public should never impose a kind of description on it, either. As long as women live hard as the ways they want, utilizing their abilities and trying their best, they shouldn’t be laughed at in any
way. More importantly, in order to win the respect from others, women must speak out for themselves, trying their best to work hard and be confident. Actually, I didn’t stand out and argue with that boy, either. I felt it was feeble and pale because that would not change his perspectives immediately. I just helped the thin boy, sharing his work. It was just a small action. But I thought that even fixing this phrase of description is difficult. We should at least try. The tiny action may change other’s conscious gradually. It’s undeniable that changing women’s status is still an ongoing process.
While achieving equality and their goals, women may still face various stereotypes and bias on their ways. However, there is no shortcut to achieve goals and overcome the prejudices. Therefore, women should be determined to realize the unfair treatment, find out their true ambition and work hard for their dreams. Inspired by Woolf’s essay, I have learned that women must “express herself in all the arts and professions open to human skills” (102) in order to find herself. They should not take the public’s indirect expectation on how they behave for granted. They must be brave to seek after ideal life because women are the most important persons to change present unfairness. From Orenstein’s article, I have also gained the idea that women must be extremely self-cognitive and have high expectation of their behaviors. By seeing the successes and failures in the process of discovering their potentials in career and personal interests, women will be more and more determined on what kind of life they want and what they are supposed to do. Certainly, women need time to improve their abilities and prove themselves to the public. At the same time, the common understanding and expectation on women also require time to gradually change. Although it’s hard and time-consuming to change the status of women in this society, women must at least try, taking the first step forwards the goal. They should be patient and
firm in obtaining their identity, status, and social values. I always believe that as long as “girls” show their abilities and become who they really are, scoring like a girl, playing like a girl and working like a girl, ‘like a girl’ would probably turn into praise someday in the future.