“Frenemies are enemies who act like friends.” – Mean Girls
Have you ever wondered why guys can compete with each other in sports, but still view each other as comrades while when girls compete with each other, we are seen as threats? There is a movement picking up momentum right now, one whose founders hope to change this idea. The Kind Campaign, started by friends Lauren Parsekian and Molly Stroud, has the following goals: 1) stop the competition 2) stop the cattiness 3) stop the hate and 4) be kind.
The campaign includes a documentary that has garnered much attention from folks like Dr. Phil, and organizations such as Family Circle Magazine and The New York Times. Girl-against-girl bullying is something of an epidemic and the goal of the Kind Campaign is to face this issue head-on. The campaign is also careful not to point fingers at the so-called mean girls, but to understand that their actions come from a place of hurt and that they, too, have stories to tell. The Kind Campaign suggests “putting ourselves in each other’s shoes” in order to “make a change by spreading kindness, compassion and understanding.”
Here at FletcherPR, we know just how important it is to empower girls so that they may fulfill their destinies as the leaders of tomorrow. But in order to become the leaders they will be, they must have a chance to first be girls, which includes feeling protected from peer violence and harassment. This is possible with education and awareness about bullying and girl-against-girl violence such as that being achieved through the Kindness Campaign.