Gender stereotyping is so commonplace in society that sometimes it's almost like some fatalistic part of us expects sexism, and so we have become almost desensitised to the way women are represented.
A perfect example of this are emojis. Yep, they're fun, they’re cute and they’re certainly handy – but let’s not kid ourselves, they’re also harmful, especially for our girls.
Pick up your phone and take a quick look at the way they represent girls. Pink. Dancing. Manicures. Brides.
Now look at the way boys are represented. Police officers. Ambulance drivers. Cyclists. Surfers. Rock climbers.
That’s quite a shocking disparity right? And it’s worrying, especially considering most young girls have a mobile phone and send emojis every day. What is it saying to them, at a vulnerable time in their lives, about what women can achieve?
So we are 100% behind #LIKEAGIRL, the fantastic new campaign from Always, which has set out to redress the balance and change emojis to realistically represent women.
“They may seem small, but emojis are more than just funny faces,” the campaign states.
“They’ve become how girls express themselves in text and online. But do emojis truly represent girls? At puberty, girl’s confidence plummets, so what does it say when even emojis limit them to stereotypes?”
Always wants us to join the battle for change by hashtagging #LIKEAGIRL on Twitter to declare what female emojis WE want to see.
As part of the campaign, Always created a video, asking real girls what they thought of the way emojis represent them.
“There’s no girl in the profession emojis,” says one girl with a grimace, “unless you count being a bride a profession.”
“Rock climbing, biking, playing basketball, says another sadly, “none of the girls are doing this.”
But wait, there’s hope! “Except for the surfer, she’s a girl,” another girl declares.
“Nope! It’s just a guy with long hair!” Oh.
“I want to see a female wrestler.”
“I want a female soccer player emoji.”
“A girl teaching people how to play drums!”
“There should be a cop that’s a girl, a lawyer that’s a girl, a detective that’s a girl.”
What girl emoji do you want? Hashtag #LIKEAGIRL and let the world know.
