When female recreational athletes, competitive athletes, or just girls in general are on social media, the “run like a girl” trend commonly appears on their screens. Images of strong, fast girls celebrate not only how female participation in sports has progressed but also how running has become an escape from the problems all girls face just because they’re girls.
It hasn’t always been that way. Formerly a humiliating insult, running like a girl is now an action of empowerment.
“I find the run like a girl trend to be empowering because whether you’re male or female, being an athlete is not easy,” Taylor Worley (‘25), Community School of Davidson (CSD) cross-country and track and field (XCTF) athlete, said. “I think the statement “run like a girl” shows how working hard is not based on gender and how important it is to spread that message.”
(Callie Hobbs)
At the very root of the now viral trend, feminine product company Always aired a 2014 commercial featuring the hashtag #LikeAGirl. The commercial then re-aired during Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025, bringing the trend to the forefront. In the video, a group of people are asked what it means to “run like a girl.” While older participants, including women, said it was an insult, young girls felt empowered by the question and answered by saying that it means to run as fast as you can.
Heather Auten, AP Psychology teacher, understands the psychology behind the hashtag and therefore understands why it’s so empowering.
“Studies have shown that not only does exercise, such as running, help with anxiety and depression in all people, but running specifically helps to protect women from heart attacks,” Heather Auten said. “The number one cause of death for women is heart attacks. A study by the University of Iowa found that a ‘runner’s high,’ the release of endorphins, protects the heart from heart attacks, stroke, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis.”
The trend began back in 2014 as a hashtag, but has modernly just become a statement. In the most recent resurgence of the trend right after the Superbowl, people on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram started pairing the younger girls’ answer audios with viral songs and clips about women being strong when they do things like a girl. Content creators jumped on the trend, starting a whole movement around the message.
Some of the most common clips edited with the audios are scenes pulled from two movies. Actress Katie Douglas stars as Kara Robinson in The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023), and she also stars as Lisa McVey in Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey (2018). Both movies are true stories about real teenage girls who were kidnapping survivors, and both movies also feature escape scenes where Katie Douglas runs as fast as she can (like a girl) to escape the gender-motivated violence.
Songs also contribute to the trend. Paris Paloma’s 2024 song “Labour” is often an overlaid audio in the social media content. The song describes how much women can be dehumanized and forced into constant work when in an unhealthy relationship. With women’s rights having come a long way and women having the option to build their own careers instead of marrying and having children, the song depicts the demands and husband-serving roles of a woman in a one-sided relationship.
As the hashtag evolved into a movement, some female athletes made the trend specific to their own experiences by highlighting how women’s involvement in sports has progressed. When Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967, she made a huge breakthrough in female sport participation.
Outside of specific content creators, the “run like a girl” theme has generally become focused on bringing awareness to the struggles women face surrounding gender-motivated violence and gender inequality, as well as how strong women are when they do anything “like a girl.”
“I think the trend is very empowering,” Madeline McKinley (‘25) said. “It really helps redefine the ‘run like a girl’ saying and helps empower young girls. It also makes it sad and forces people to realize what happens to girls and why they have to run like a girl to begin with.”
Social media trends come and go, but an impact can last forever.
“So ladies, continue to ‘run like a girl’,” Auten said. ‘It may save your life.”
