My views on the 'This Girl Can' campaign

Hello to anybody who is still reading my posts. It's been two months since I last posted on here and I am having to revise a lot more for my GCSE's coming up in May. However, it's still important I post because my Duke of Edinburgh Silver award requires me to. Even before I began this website in 2016, I was very familiar with the motivating campaign called 'This Girl Can'. Yes, the name of my website is very similar to the campaign name and yes I'm not really sure about any legal issues regarding names, however I really connect with the campaign as it has been one of my many inspirations during my fitness journey. Since I've not been posting for a while upon social media, I thought I'd also type a short update at the end of this post (I rarely do that!). Please carry on reading for more.

​When I first heard of the campaign

I remember that the 2015 advert was all over the tv and it really intrigued me to find out what This Girl Can was about. I searched it up and found out what it was about and I was very happy that there was finally a very motivating campaign ran by SportEngland for a gender that isn't often encouraged to participate in sports. Even better, for all ages too! This was around the time I had my first fitness instagram account entitled 'life of a lifter' and often I'd feel less lonely as a young, insecure 13 year old on the internet would do. By seeing all the posts by ThisGirlCan, it really helped me to tackle negative opinions and personal thoughts during my fitness journey.

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What does This Girl Can promote?

I have heard that the campaign have set up various activities for free that women can try around the UK and I believe that these are excellent. By this, there is very little stopping someone from achieving the fitness goals they want to reach. There is practically no cost, so this isn't a limitation for those who can't afford a healthier lifestyle. One of many things that limits people when working out can be their physical appearance. According to Campaignlive.co.uk "36% of the least-active schoolgirls agree that they feel like their body is on show in PE lessons and that makes them like PE less". This is something that as a current secondary school pupil, I do recognise is an issue within my generation. This Girl Can sadly received undeserved hatred regarding the way they were first promoting the campaign, as apparently it didn't truly show the imperfect reality of a woman's body. Personally, This Girl Can has helped me to recognise that I would love to touch upon the topic of body shaming and more positivity surrounding the human body.

From snooping around on Thisgirlcan.co.uk, it is noticeable that since I last looked a few years ago that their website has certainly altered for the better. I could now throw a bunch of meaningless statistics in your face like many newspaper articles have done (something that I noticed during my ever so brief search). But instead I thought I'd show my true appreciation for a specific part of the campaigns website. The activities page on the website shows many lists of sports that anyone could become invested in and within one click you can find out costs, what to wear, what it is and where you can try the sport. How brilliant is that! I'm going to make a lot of use of it in future if I ever feel like trying a new sport. I absolutely love that when clicking upon the 'Weightlifting' section that it discusses the benefits and the ever-so common 'bulky' stereotype. One thing I've goto to say is that the image is a lady at the gym using the leg press machine and the topic is upon Olympic Weightlifting, however if they need an updated image they can come to me anytime! 

Link to the section

Just a little bit more of my opinion....

Some websites have mentioned that the campaign shouldn't refer to all ages of women as 'girls'. Whilst some people may agree with this statement, I do not. By referring to all of the women as girls it helps to promote that everyone is the same and that the gender should be united as one. No matter how old you are, you can still achieve your goals in fitness. Also by referring to everyone as girls, it helps to disregard age as a limiting factor revolving around fitness and helps older women to gain their youth back. No matter what you prefer, Woman, Girl, Female, Lady, Madame; the campaign name is still only applicable to those who participate within it. But to end things on a lighter note, This Girl Can has changed lives for the better and is slowly helping to conquer the ongoing issue with females and sport. 

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An update on my life

In this moment of time, I haven't been working out as much as I used to at home. However, I'm still managing to train three times a week (Olympic Weightlifting) and Irish Dance at least once or twice a week. On top of this, I've been revising for most of the time. I've recently chosen my A level and BTEC options for sixth form, these are Physical Education (obviously), Health and Social care and Psychology. These may change in August, but for now that is what I've chosen to progress further into. I made the choice at the beginning of 2018 to no longer continue with my self-made hobby of running once a week. Although, it is a helpful way for me to ease my mind off my problems, I have noticed that long and middle distance running can reverse my Weightlifting training and I care so much more about the hard work I put in when training rather than how long it takes for my legs to tire out. If you are a runner, then I have great respect for you, it is an excellent sport and is great for your body; just not always for a Weightlifter who already finds it tricky to gain muscle mass. I may continue to use acceleration sprints when I feel the need to run or i'll find a way to start plyometric training (as I've heard it is great for Weightlifters). More recently, I have received my first pair of hard shoes in Irish Dance and I am just easing myself onto them, except my toes and feet are beginning to bruise and cut. Other than that, I'll hopefully write another post soon again (but thats what I always say...)

I'd like to address that my website domain and blog name should not be confused with thisgirlcan.co.uk which is a campaign ran by SportEngland. In no way at all should my name reflect their fabulous work as This Girl Can is trademarked. Any potential legal issues regarding my domain name should remain inside your mind until I'm old enough to understand my rights. No copyright infringement is intended.