Like a Girl

I throw like a girl. I run like a girl. I punch like a girl. I kick like a girl.

Because I am a girl.

Growing up, when a boy's throw plummeted to the ground, he wasn't simply told that it was a bad throw. Instead, he was told that he "threw like a girl". And nothing, absolutely nothing
, was worse than a first grader boy being compared to a weakling little girl. Too bad the last time I heard this wasn't first grade but tenth.

I either do something good or I do something bad. There is no in between, because if I only do something good "for being a girl", then I'm doing it wrong. I don't want my work to be labeled with a gender. Being a girl does not determine my abilities or success. I am capable of whatever I push myself to do, just like every other human being. Men are not superior to women despite society's harsh stereotypes.

I don't want a gender to be attached to a job well done. "Like a girl" used to be an insult, and now it is motivation. I can assure you that I do everything the way a girl would do it. I am proud to be a girl.

We are the girls who define what it is to throw like a girl. We are the girls who define what is it to be a girl. We are the girls who determine how the women of tomorrow see themselves today.