Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Discussion: How do you feel about the word "girl?" Love it? Hate it? Would rather be called a woman/lady/chick? Let us know!

Bringing in cake to celebrate successes...something girl leaders love to do!


When I started writing and collecting stories under the banner "Lead Like a Girl," I thought it was a fun way to let people know the stories were about women in leadership and make it a positive spin on the old adage, "You hit like a girl!"

Along the way, I've found people either love it or hate it...there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. On the positive side, the feedback I've gotten is:
--It's fun
--It's youthful
--I love it...I want to learn more!

On the opposite spectrum, I've also gotten some people who are a bit miffed by the name. These folks tend to focus specifically on the "girl" word. Some of the feedback I get from people who don't like the name is:
--It's demeaning
--I'm skilled and knowledgeable...I'm way past the "girl" stage
--I prefer to be called xxxxxxx (insert woman, lady, chick, female, or your choice of word here)

I'm intrigued by the polarization the word girl seems to cause. My intent was to take women back to a time when they weren't so focused on trying to fit in to a "man's world" and just did what came naturally to them as leaders.

For example, when my best friend & I were co-editors of the yearbook our senior year in high school, we baked a cake for each person's birthday as it came up throughout the year. This seemed to me to be something a girl was more focused on...remembering birthdays and celebrating. People loved the attention (or maybe they just wanted the cake) and seemed to genuinely appreciate the effort we made which was our way to say, "Thanks for being part of the team and all your hard work…even on your birthday!"

So good or bad, I'm sticking with "Lead Like a Girl."

What do you think? Are you a girl? A woman? A lady? A chick? Or do you have the ability to be each of them when you need to and enjoy your unique ability to do so?

2 comments:

  1. 'Girl' is alright, I suppose. Certainly beats some of the (much) more vulgar and derogatory terms available.

    Honestly, I prefer aviator/NFO/sailor/student/LTJG/Officer/etc. Let's leave my gender out of it altogether, shall we? I'd like to be judged based on the merit of my performance, without the caveat that I don't pee standing up. I'm not saying that my gender doesn't affect the way that I lead because it certainly does, in ways small and large. My feminine wiring makes me, for example, more sensitive to group dynamics and human factors than my average male counterpart. What I'm saying is that when it's no longer extraordinary that women are doing the same things that men are doing then it will no longer be extraordinary, it will be ordinary. When you talk about a male pilot you don't say "male pilot", he's just a pilot. I want to be just an NFO. It will be a good day when it is unremarkable that a woman is a pilot/aviator/Marine/firefighter/etc. and when little girls do not need to be told that they can do anything they want because they will already know.

    This is a subject about which I'm pretty passionate. I spend a fair amount of time turning it over in my mind. I argue myself in circles but I always come back to this: A delicate balance must be struck between being a female, being an aviator and being a female aviator. I think I would much rather lead like a leader and leave gender as a physical descriptor, with as much significance in the performance of my duties as my eye color or freckles, than make gender an active attribute and defining feature of my leadership.

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  2. For me it depends on "who" is saying it...and the context it is used in...If a woman says, "go girl!" I love it! If a man says, "that's a girl!"...not so much...especially if "good" is added to girl...then I want to puke...LOL: )

    Great post!

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