“You run like a girl.” We’ve all heard this one time 
or another. You might think that it is just an 
expression, but it’s not. It is a very offensive 
comment that furthers the sexism towards women in our 
society. 

You’re probably thinking, “Sexism is no big deal. It’s 
nothing I should worry about.” Well guess what? Many 
of our peers are affected by sexism; they’ve either 
experienced it or witnessed it.

The People Speak
I held a survey about sexism towards women. I asked a 
group of Watsonville High School seniors, both  male 
and female, a series of questions on the topic. I 
found that every single one of the participants 
believe that sexism still exists to some degree. 
Seventy-five percent of the participants also admitted 
to having heard sexist comments. 

Jenny Gama has heard a guy say, “Girls carry the 
smaller boxes,” and a soccer  friend blame the loss of 
a soccer match on their female teammate by saying to 
the opposing team, “You had an advantage, we had a 
girl on our team.” Other participants, like Eletha 
Daniels and Lizzy Keegan, have heard many classmates 
make fun of the idea that women are treated less than 
equal and are thus fighting for equality.

Changing Attitudes
I ask you this, what is it that makes being a female 
such a joke? Why is the woman the source for so many 
insults? The last time I checked, men and women were 
both humans!

I don’t want to have to live in a world where the 
things that I do have to be approved by society based 
on my sex. I want to live in a world where it won’t be 
controversial if the richest person in the world is a 
woman or ridiculous if the leading neurosurgeon is a 
woman. 

It’s already begun, though. Now, a woman is not 
described only as a mother who stays at home, cooks 
multiple meals a day, and cleans the never-ending 
filth in her house. Now, she is someone totally 
different. Most of the participants, like Oscar T. 
Lomeli, described the woman of today as one who, “goes 
to work in her car, has her own house, and has a job.” 

Erick Celaya, another participant, acknowledged this 
by saying “Women have their own sports leagues.”

Great Strides
In fact, because of the women’s soccer league, there 
was a great soccer craze in 1999 when the United 
States women’s soccer team won the Women’s World Cup 
against China. Also, Marion Jones is the first female 
track & field athlete to win five medals at a single 
Olympics ceremony in Sydney.

Great strides are being made. We are an ever-changing 
society in which not all changes are for the better. 
We must make a great change in the way so many humans 
are being treated. In this case, the humans are women. 
We all must look past the things that make us 
different and not use them as a weapon to hurt others. 
For these differences are what make us a remarkable 
race. So when someone tells you that you run like a 
girl, say “Wow, thank you. It’s such an honor to be 
compared to Marion Jones.”