There’s a harmful message for boys here, too. In cheering on our daughters toward a conventionally “masculine” vision of power, we ignore a whole spectrum of virtues that make a good leader and person, such as integrity, flexibility, creativity, and - more critically than ever in our current political climate - undervalued “feminine” traits like compassion. But there’s a difference between honoring this form of strength and peddling it to the point of enforcement, messaging to girls that it’s the single most essential quality to aspire to.

The ability to assert oneself boldly is crucial among these. With a record number of women in Congress and entering the 2020 presidential race, the moment is certainly ripe for celebrating women’s capabilities. When you walk into school, do you make eye contact, or do you not? Do you raise your hand, or do you not?”

“Power lies in the countless small choices you make, which have influence on those around you. “It’s important that we help girls embrace power not as the existing brand that came out of the patriarchy, which is strength and fearlessness,” says Simone Marean, cofounder and CEO of the nonprofit Girls Leadership, based in Oakland, California. We should consider, too, what particular type of power these products exalt. Our local bookstore now stocks a section of titles with similar messages, like 5-Minute Stories for Fearless Girls and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, which my daughter has received as a birthday gift - twice. Retail sites like Zazzle and Redbubble feature dizzying rows of girls’ empowerment merchandise, including mugs, keychains, buttons, and pillows. “Girl Powers Are Superpowers,” says a shirt at Old Navy “I Got the Power,” reads one at Walmart. But “Girl Power” products are everywhere, spawning variations. It had never occurred to me to buy my 6-year-old son a “Boy Power” shirt - not that I’ve even seen such an item. “Let’s talk about this later!” I chirped as I kissed her goodbye, a sinking feeling in my gut. I stood there, flustered, and then I hurried her along.

“How come none of the boys in my class wear ‘Boy Power’ shirts?” she asked. She generally doesn’t care much about what she wears, but on this morning, her mind was on her shirt, a turquoise “Girl Power” crew neck I’d slipped into our cart on a family shopping trip, swept up by a wave of mama-bear feminism. As we walked to school recently, my 9-year-old daughter asked a question that made me stop short.

Girl power shirts