GIRL

Have you noticed there's a vogue at the moment to celebrate GIRL. People seem to have varying ideas of what this looks like and varying motivations behind celebrating it but here are a number of examples of focussing on GIRL.

'#LikeAGirl'

My social media feeds lit up with this gem of a video by sanitary towel maker, Always.

I always think the Marketers of the unglamorous brands have the toughest time and Always have done a good job here of talking about confidence and womanhood (both very marketable things right now) to carry their message. Although I saw many retweets of the video - I didn't see that many subsequent GIRL projects with the tag 'LikeAGirl' and hadn't even noticed that Always have a whole section of their website dedicated to the cause.

To Be A Girl

This is an awareness and fundraising initiative by WaterAid which considers the negative implications of being a woman in need of water worldwide. Whether that is the cultural expectation that women collect water, or being ostracised from community and fresh water during menstruation; there are many challenges affecting female access to water many of which I hadn't even thought of! All fundraising is matched by the government before Sept 9th 2014. Water Aid have been very keen that people publicise the issue through social media - off the back of my donation I received both an email and a letter in the post encouraging me to tweet about my donation. In the end I tweeted the cause but not the donating bit. An interesting angle for a charity who provide water to all, to focus on the current gender agenda.

In a similar vein Oxfam just released a GIRL infographic below:

How to Build a Girl

This is the title of Caitlin Moran's latest release, a novel about a teenager growing up in Wolverhampton. Trigger alert: This book features many of the joys and tribulations of coming of age in a working class house; if you don't like to hear about: masturbation, menstruation, alcoholic fathers or the Rolling Stones this book is not for you. 

However, I'm really enjoying the book. Almost certainly autobiographical in content, How to Build a Girl has made me laugh out loud on the tube, and cringe occasionally too. This is the pains of growing up without the Taylor Swift gloss and its jolly brilliant. But like I say, if you've a tendancy towards prudishness pick up another book. On a side note, she's got a wonderful range of merch out, and the profits go to 'Refuge' helping women escape domestic violence. 

Well, all this focus on GIRLS is a bit different innit, here's to hoping it prompts lasting change and isn't just the latest marketing ploy to sell sanitary towels!