If you have been to the cinema lately, you may have seen it. It's an advert with the motto "This Girl Can". I haven't, but my lecturer told me about it. She told me that she LOVED that advert because it showed normal girls; no Size Zero; girls with a bit of paunch. The interesting thing is that she didn't know what the ad was for.
I have heard the term before (in the Facebook Group of the Solent Subaqua Club) so I decided to do a bit of research. You can watch the video HERE (YouTube):
The message is clear: Women shouldn't bother about how they look while doing sports. Their "not perfect" bodies shouldn't keep them from being active and having fun. And of course, they shouldn't be ashamed of their body!
On the WEBSITE it says:
"This Girl Can is here to inspire women to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement is a barrier that can be overcome."
The campaign is being run by Sport England to encourage women to be more active. According to Sport England, 75% of women would like to exercise more but are put off by issues ranging from body confidence to motherhood. The This Girl Can ad celebrates women in all forms and shapes.
And because I think this is a fantastic campaign, I share my #ThisGirlCan picture with you:
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| 15 July 2014, Munich, Germany |
Interesting point you make, Frieda. Given the objective- which is to change women's attitudes to engaging in sport, this is one time where the organisation behind it is actually irrelevant. Am I more or less likely to react knowing it was Sport England? it doesn't matter. And it is interesting that the NHS guidelines for physical exercise explain that you KNOW when you are reaching the right levels of exertion for your body shape, weight and age, depending on when you first break out in a sweat. So, for me- I feel like an owl- smart enough to know I'm doing it right.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Catherine. I do think it is relevant who is behind that campaign as the ultimate objective is a behaviour change (can you see the reference to the VMM? ;) ) in terms of women doing more sport and not the business result of just another product people are supposed to buy. I think this makes a difference in how the campaign is being perceived by the target audience.
DeleteAlso, when Devon said she didn't know where the ad was coming from she added that "maybe we'll find out in a month or so". So I wanted to make that clear.
I wish they could do this in India
ReplyDeleteYou mean such a campaign? Or jiggling and wiggling? ;)
DeleteI remeber that race, I felt like dying too , but afterwards we were so proud of ourselves. The "Gyros mit Pommes" tasted even better after the activity :)
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, we totally deserved it! And we knew it, that's why the food was so good! :)
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