When we look at our strong, clever and brave girls, we sometimes forget that one day, when they’re older, society will put barriers in front of them, barriers our boys will never have to experience.
In a poignant and powerful video made to promote Kazoo, a new empowering magazine for girls, a five-year old little girl called Ellie represents all our daughters. It shows that when our girls are young they think they’re amazing, that they are just as good as boys, and that they can do anything they want.
But heartbreakingly, it also shows us that as our girls get older this confidence may falter. At five our daughters don’t realise the world can be a difficult place for women; that based on their sex they won’t get the same respect or opportunities that their male counterparts will. But at 25 they will.
That’s why this video’s message is so important. It reminds us that things are changing every day, and that hopefully when our daughter are adults things will be different.
But as parents we have a crucial part to play. We have to educate our girls (and boys) from a young age about sexism and inequality, teaching them that gender, as a social construct, is not something they should ever be defined by.
As the video says, “Ellie is five years old. All she know are possibilities. Let’s keep it that way.”
