OH YEAH, GIRLS CAN DO IT TOO
BY JODIE THOMAS
This Girl Can…
Protest and activism can appear in many different forms, for example the “This Girl Can” campaign, run by the Charity Women in Sport, which was founded in 1984 with the vision to give and make available, to all women, the experience and rewards that sport brings.
The campaign was launched in January 2015, throughout the United Kingdom. It started due to the exposure of a 1.9 million gender gap between men and women, when it came to participation in sport.
Why…
The fear of judgement seems to be the biggest factor among women, when it comes to getting involved in sport. Many will not participate due to feeling inadequate compared to more experienced athletes. Women in Sport fight to spread the message that sport should be for everyone, regardless of gender, race, background, weight and disability.
How…
This Girl Can champions ‘real women’ and spreads the message that girls and women really can get involved in sport. It is a moving campaign that has motivated many to get more involved in exercise, showing that there are many ways to be active and to get your heart rate up. Urging women that they can break through the barriers that have stopped them in the past.
This Girl Can is heavily focussed on it’s digital and social media presence through ads, tweets and Instagram posts, as well as appearing on billboards and public transport. The aim was to ensure they reached as many women as possible, to help women and girls feel inspired and to realise their potential to participate in sport.
Success…
In 2016, the stats came back that a total of 37 million people had viewed the campaign, alongside a social following of 600k, plus 660,000 tweets about #thisgirlcan. This brought about a change in attitude for many women as they were called upon to take the challenge and get involved in sport. 2.8 million women aged 14-40, who viewed the This Girl Can campaign, took part in a form of physical exercise. A staggering 150,000 more women started exercising once a week, on a weekly basis. (Analysing the success of ‘This Girl Can’ from Sport England – ClickZ, 2020)
Fast forward to 2020, the campaign as clearly been influential with many more women and girls feeling more confident to get involved in sport.
“No one gets to choose how you exercise other than you. And whatever it looks like we think it’s worth celebrating”
This Girl Can – Twitter
Top Instagrams to follow…
1) https://www.instagram.com/thisgirlcanuk/
2) https://www.instagram.com/iamthatgirl/?utm_source=ig_embed
3) https://www.instagram.com/femalecollective/?utm_source=ig_embed
Get Involved…
References…
Women In Sport. 2020. This Girl Can – Women In Sport. [online] Available at: <https://www.womeninsport.org/about-us/this-girl-can/?gclid=CjwKCAjwp-X0BRAFEiwAheRui5yHK2dUXDAMgQYip7WDw270HH00qc4xhCJ4-bVKBdiJtWMe63vXhxoCErwQAvD_BwE> [Accessed 19 April 2020].
Can, T., 2020. This Girl Can | Sport England. [online] Sportengland.org. Available at: <https://www.sportengland.org/campaigns-and-our-work/this-girl-can> [Accessed 19 April 2020].
ClickZ. 2020. Analysing The Success Of ‘This Girl Can’ From Sport England – Clickz. [online] Available at: <https://www.clickz.com/analysing-the-success-of-this-girl-can-from-sport-england/100914/> [Accessed 19 April 2020].
Jodie Thomas SAB935 Creative Dissent 