Nike’s new advertisement has people jumping on the “women can do it all” train left and right. I am here to ask: why? Sure, it is great to see a surge in empowering advertisements with a feminist message, from the much-contested Gillette ad encouraging men not to succumb to the pressures of toxic masculinity, to the new Nike advertisement encouraging women to aspire to great athletic achievements. However, this call for greatness leaves out a big group of women, and people in general: the average.
I admire anyone, of any gender, that can win 23 grand slams in tennis, especially a black woman that clearly dedicated her life to her sport. But I am also wondering: what about the rest of us that are not Serena Williams? Feminism is often misrepresented as women wanting to “take over” everything that men do, when merely we are advocating the somehow radical idea that women are people worthy of respect, as are all people of any race, gender, sexuality and citizenship status.
Nike’s advertisement taps into that narrative by encouraging women to be great and to excel, and, as a result of that, demand respect where respect is due. Nothing is wrong with that. I do, however, worry about what that means for women that do not excel, that are not the fastest, the strongest or even the smartest. And very likely, this holds true for most of us.
Women that choose not to win grand slams or to become leading scientists are not in any way less deserving of equal opportunity and the respect of the people around them. Nike’s advertisement symbolizes that still, for women to be taken seriously and to be seen as people pursuing their own goals, we need to sacrifice, and do so disproportionately. This sacrifice is not demanded in the same way of men in order to expect basic respect in daily interactions. It is very much so for women and other minorities. The need to excel just to be considered worthy of basic courtesy is daily reality for us.
This is not to mean that women should not have ambition. Quite the contrary. Women are capable of incredible achievements, in sports and any other part of life, as are all other genders. What Nike’s advertisement does not consider is that seeing someone as equal is not tied to their achievements. This is also true for men that are not the strongest, the loudest and the most assertive.
We all deserve other people to acknowledge us in our humanity and to realize our potentials, if we wish to do so. Especially women. So, my response to the Nike advertisement is: Just do it, if you want to. Or don’t.