Let’s talk about the mega-important social media campaign, #ToTheGirls
Courtney Summers’ newest novel, All the Rage, comes out today. To celebrate its launch, Summers has started and encouraged girls all over the world to participate in #ToTheGirls, a social media campaign to promote self-esteem and let girls everywhere know that they are seen, heard, and loved.
Why Participate?
Girls need to know they matter. Upsettingly often, girls are under-appreciated, unacknowledged, and treated as less than. The media loves to pit girls against girls, so much so that “girl fights” are synonymous with entertainment. Clearly, none of that is ok.
#ToTheGirls is a perfect accompaniment to the launch of All the Rage, as the book is about a girl who’s shunned by her community for speaking up about being assaulted. Her struggle gets far less serious attention than it warrants, and is a mirror for how things happen far too often in real life.
In a brief statement, Courtney Summers spoke about the importance of the movement and her focus on female protagonists, “Over the years, I’ve received incredible responses to my work; from readers who love and relate to my female protagonists to readers who wonder what the point of writing about girls is in the first place. I write about girls because every girl deserves the opportunity to pick up a book and see herself in its pages. I write about girls because girls, and their stories, matter. It’s my way of letting them know.”
We all have girls in our world who should feel their importance every single day. You’d be surprised at the difference a simple hashtag can make.
How to Participate
If you happen to catch it in time, you can participate in the Thunderclap campaign, which will ensure that all of your social media accounts use the hashtag #ToTheGirls on April 14th.
Share your message of support, encouragement, positivity or thanks to girls. Share your message all across the Internet, and with all of the people you know. Hashtag your participation with #ToTheGirls, and watch the hashtag to see other people’s involvement.
Use the provided photoframes to share your message visually.
It really is this simple. By participating, you’ll be spreading the message that girls matter. You never know who might need to hear that today. Here are some of our favorites so far.
#ToTheGirls
When we heard about this campaign, we knew it was one that needed to be shared. The fact that Summers is asked why she writes about girls just proves how important it is that she does.
As long as people wonder why girls’ thoughts are being explored and why female voices are important, we need to keep advocating for those stories and those voices to be heard loud and clear.
To the girls: you are seen, you are heard, you are loved. You are important.
