International Women's Day: This Is What It Really Means To Act #LikeAGirl

How The #LikeAGirl Campaign Reclaimed It As A Powerful Phrase

If you were told that you do something 'like a girl', would you feel ashamed or would you feel proud?

For too long the phrase 'like a girl' has been bandied about as an insult, but now, thanks in part to an advertising campaign from Always, it is being reclaimed by girls around the world.

In honour of International Women's Day on Sunday 8 March, Always has released a new video clip entitled Always #LikeAGirl - Stronger Together, featuring girls doing some of the many different things they do like a girl, every single day.

The girls featured in the video had all got in touch with the team behind the Always #LikeAGirl campaign after seeing their first advert, which posed the question: "What does it mean to do something 'like a girl'?"

In the video (which you can watch above) the girls talk directly to the camera as they experiment, climb, calculate and heck, even luge like a girl.

The reaction on Twitter was mixed but positive.

Love the new #LikeaGirl ad from @Always! You rock! #StrongLikeaGirl#ScoutLikeaGirl Check it out at http://t.co/ZVWu0kjdHS!

— Girl Scouts OC (@GirlScoutsOC) March 3, 2015

The first video was broadcast to an audience of millions during the American Super Bowl in July 2014 and has since been watched 85 million times in 150 countries.

According to Always, the campaign has already helped to change perceptions - after watching the video 76% of young women aged 16 to 24 said that they no longer view the phrase 'like a girl' as an insult, and two out of three men said that they would think twice about using the phrase as an insult.

Yes, both videos are advertisements, but if while attempting to sell us products these clips can also help to empower girls to feel proud of their abilities then here at HuffPost UK Lifestyle we're OK with that.

In fact as more and more positive images of girls and women begin to be filtered into advertising breaks, sexist portrayals will begin to stick out a sore thumb, which can only be a good thing.

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