The Rachel Maddow Show WEEKNIGHTS 9PM ETMorning Joe WEEKDAYS 6AM ETDeadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace Weekdays 4PM ETThe Beat with Ari Melber Weeknights 6PM ETThe Weeknight Weeknights 7PM ETAll in with Chris Hayes TUESDAY-FRIDAY 8PM ETThe Briefing with Jen Psaki TUESDAYS – FRIDAYS 9PM ETThe Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnel Weeknights 10PM ETThe 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle Weeknights 11PM ET
Recommended MS NOW Opinion The right’s trying to weaponize the Sydney Sweeney ad discourse against Democrats Katelyn Burns Opinion Sydney Sweeney doesn’t want to admit that opposing hate requires being divisive Zeeshan Aleem
By
Nisha Chittal
On Sunday, the feminine hygiene company Always ran an emotional ad during the Super Bowl encouraging viewers to turn the term “like a girl” into a compliment. Many found the ad to be touching and inspirational — but not everyone was happy with it.
In the ad, an interviewer asks young men and women to demonstrate what it means to run, throw or fight “like a girl.” The same interviewer then asked young girls, 10 years old or younger, to demonstrate what “like a girl” means, and their answers are vastly different. The ad ends with a message on screen: “A girl’s confidence plummets during puberty, but it doesn’t have to. Let’s make #LikeAGirl mean amazing things.”
While much of the response to the ad on social media was largely positive, it did not go without backlash. The hashtag #LikeABoy quickly sprang up on Twitter in response to the ad, with some men claiming that the “Like a Girl” ad was exclusionary and sexist. The hashtag quickly gained traction and became a trending topic on Twitter. Some men asked where their “Like a Boy” ad was.
Seriously #likeagirl is the most insulting commercial ever and there better be a #likeaboy commercial.
By late Sunday night, the #LikeABoy hashtag already had over 25,000 mentions, and reached 32,000 mentions by Monday morning, according to the Twitter analytics tool Topsy. However, the hashtag quickly backfired on its creators. Many people who saw the hashtag took the opportunity to post tweets in support of the ad and its message, turning the tide of the conversation around. Many of those users also criticized those promoting the #LikeABoy hashtag, highlighting the ways in which sexism still persists in society and pointing out that an ad that empowers girls doesn’t necessarily hurt men.
Getting mad whenever something is centered around women for about ten seconds #LikeABoy
However, the #LikeABoy protesters appear to have been a vocal, but small, minority. Overall, the #LikeAGirl hashtag promoted in the Always ad received over 266,000 mentions on Twitter, many of them largely positive. The ad was one of the most buzzed-about Super Bowl ads of the night.
— j$ (@GreatBroccoli) February 2, 2015
