Image Courtesy: Pixabay
To be a girl is to be everything and nothing all at once. Be pretty, but don't try too hard. Be confident, but don't be intimidating. Be sexy, but don't be a slut. Be intelligent, but don't make a man feel stupid. Be independent, but don't forget to smile. Somewhere between all these contradictions, we're expected to figure out what womanhood actually means. And apparently, we're supposed to look good while doing it.
It's exhausting, really.
Despite decades of conversations about female empowerment, society continues to measure women against impossible standards, celebrating their confidence and sexuality only when they fit someone else's expectations. From advertising campaigns to social media, being "like a girl" remains less about who women actually are and more about how the world expects them to be seen.
In 2014, Always released its now-iconic #LikeAGirl campaign, challenging the idea that doing something "like a girl" was synonymous with doing it poorly. When participants were asked to run, throw, or fight like a girl, many responded with exaggerated, weak movements. Young girls, however, simply did those things to the best of their abilities. The message was simple: being a girl was never the insult society made it out to be. For a moment, it felt like we were getting somewhere. Like maybe we were finally beginning to understand that femininity and strength weren't mutually exclusive.
Fast-forward more than a decade, and we're still having the same conversation, just with better lighting, bigger budgets, and a lot more skin.
Sydney Sweeney's recent sports betting advertisement is another reminder of how femininity continues to be marketed, particularly in spaces traditionally dominated by men. Rather than simply selling a product, advertisements like these often sell an image of womanhood designed to attract attention. And let's be clear: the problem isn't Sydney Sweeney being attractive, wearing revealing clothing, or embracing her sexuality. Women should be allowed to do all three without having their intelligence, credibility, or character questioned. The problem is that female sexuality remains one of advertising's favorite currencies.
A woman's body can sell practically anything: perfume, cars, hamburgers, sports betting, you name it. But when women take ownership of that same sexuality outside the carefully curated boundaries of commercial appeal, suddenly everyone has an opinion. We're encouraged to be desirable, but punished for appearing too aware of our desirability. We're celebrated for our beauty until we supposedly use it to our advantage. Funny how that works.
And perhaps that's what makes being a woman today so complicated. There is something particularly strange about growing up as a girl and realizing how much of your existence is spent being perceived. Before we even understand what femininity means, we're taught how to perform it. Cross your legs. Watch your tone. Don't be bossy. Don't wear that. Actually, wear something nicer. Why aren't you smiling? It's as though womanhood comes with an invisible audience, constantly reviewing our performance.
Social media has only made that audience louder. Every outfit becomes a statement, every opinion becomes a debate, and every decision becomes an opportunity for strangers to decide what kind of woman you are. The irony is that the expectations are almost impossible to satisfy. The "perfect woman" is effortlessly beautiful but never vain, ambitious but never selfish, and outspoken but never aggressive. She must be everything society admires without displaying anything society dislikes. And when she inevitably fails? Well, that's her problem.
Perhaps the most frustrating part is that we've spent years trying to reclaim femininity while still allowing society to define its boundaries. The Always campaign encouraged girls to see strength where others saw weakness. Yet today's advertising reminds us how frequently a woman's value is still filtered through her appearance. Of course, representation has evolved, and women have more opportunities to express themselves, challenge expectations, and reject traditional roles. But progress isn't always linear, and empowerment becomes complicated when it's packaged and sold back to us. Is it really empowerment if we're only celebrated when our confidence is convenient, attractive, or profitable?
Maybe being "like a girl" was never something we needed to redefine. Maybe the problem was believing there had to be one definition in the first place. Because being a girl isn't a performance, a marketing strategy, or a carefully constructed contradiction. It's messy, complicated, powerful, and entirely individual. We can be feminine and fierce, quiet and ambitious, beautiful and brilliant. We can embrace our sexuality or reject the expectation to display it.
And perhaps the most radical thing a woman can do in a world obsessed with watching her is simply exist without performing for anyone.
After all, if being "like a girl" means being unapologetically ourselves, maybe society should start taking it as a compliment.
Strike Out,
Orlando
Elena Trepanier
Edited by: Brenda Nunes and Jaz DeGuzman
Elena Trépanier is a staff writer for Strike Magazine Orlando. She is studying at the University of Central Florida, majoring in Psychology (neuro track) and minoring in Journalism Studies. When she’s not writing, you can find her at a concert, curled up with a good book, or teaching herself to play the guitar—one chord at a time. Her work is fueled by connection, memory, and a love for capturing the beauty in everyday chaos. For any inquiries, reach out at elena.trepanier@gmail.com or @lleneaa on Instagram.
