Why is it Men are Men, but Women are Girls
Last spring on a mini-roadtrip from the southern coast of Maine to northern Vermont I listened to an audio book titled Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P. Frankel.
The book identifies common mistakes and offers advice to help women get ahead in their careers. For the record, Frankel doesn’t have a problem with being nice. But she does have a problem with women who act like girls and then get upset when they aren’t treated like women.
One of the key points in this book is that women are all too often called “girls” rather than “women”. And that’s the problem!
Just think about it. What images, thoughts and impressions come to mind when you think of girls? Do you think strong and capable? Do you think intelligent and courageous? Do you think independent and decisive? Probably not.
The other night as I watched the TV show Survivor I realized how common it is for both men and women to call men men and women girls–especially when talking about a group of women. This episode consisted of clips that showed the highlights of the season thus far. All too often I heard talk of the girls doing this and the men doing that.
Why is it that men are called men but women are called girls?
Does it matter? What do you think?
I welcome your comments.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:54 am
I have long wondered the same thing.
October 29th, 2006 at 9:14 am
Donna,
I had never thought of this but I see you are right. I personally think it is just a way that the men have to keep the women inferior to them, just like comments that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. (I hate that one too!) But it is worse when we let them get away with it. From now on, I will correct anyone who calls me a girl. I’m a woman or female! HA
Janet
October 30th, 2006 at 1:51 am
Good point. I think it depends on the context - in most office settings, “girls” would seem an inappropriate and potentially demeaning reference to grown women. On the other hand, friends or family saying something along the lines of “the girls are at the movies” seems relatively inoffensive, might just have well been “the boys are at the movies”.