Got Respect?

This year Girl Future is teaming up with The Respect Institute to help girls strengthen the respect in their lives. What does this mean, and why is it important?

What is respect?
Respect is an attitude. When you respect someone, you admire that person and hold her in high regard. To respect yourself means you feel that way about yourself. It means you value yourself and want to treat yourself well.

Why is it important to respect yourself?
Self-respect is the foundation for a successful future. Studies have proven that girls with strong self-respect make healthier choices, create respectful relationships, achieve their goals, and become leaders.

And it’s not enough to respect only yourself. It’s also important to spread respect for others. There are many reasons for this, but here’s an example. If you don’t like it when someone disrespects you and spreads rumors about you, why would you want to treat someone else in a way you wouldn’t like being treated? And, if you do something you know is wrong (like spreading rumors), will you really be able to respect yourself afterwards?

There’s a lot of disrespect in our society. When fashion magazines set standards of beauty that are almost impossible to achieve (and that exclude most women, especially women of color), it’s disrespectful to girls and women. When pop culture tells women that how they look is more important that what they can do, it’s disrespectful to girls and women. Dating abuse, eating disorders, self-injury, unprotected sex – all of those are forms of disrespect as well.

The earlier you start respecting yourself and others, the better your life will be. So, how do you start? The Respect Institute has created 8 Respect Basics that can help you start on your road to respect:
1.    Tell your truth – be honest about who you are and what you believe in.
2.    Know – and believe - you’re valuable.
3.    Follow your passions and do what you care about and love.
4.    Trust your gut – listen to your feelings.
5.    Set boundaries – say “NO” when something makes you uncomfortable.
6.    Be compassionate – listen to other people the way you want to be listened to.
7.    Get help when you need it – create a network of support for yourself.
8.    Spread respect so that your community and our world will be better places.

To learn more about respect and the Respect Basics, come to Girl Power Day on Sunday, April 3 from 2:00 – 5:00pm at Suncoast Community High School in West Palm Beach. Courtney Macavinta, founder of The Respect Institute and author of RESPECT: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed, will lead a Respect Rally for girls ages 9 – 16 and their mothers/caregivers. Courtney has worked with girls around the country and has been featured on CNN, ABC, Fox & MSNBC. She has worked with the White House on domestic violence prevention and youth development. So come join Courtney and Girl Future to strengthen the respect in your life, love who you are, and imagine who you can be!

Julie Simons

About the Author

Julie Simons

Got Respect? Julie Simons This year Girl Future is teaming up with The Respect Institute to help girls strengthen the respect in their lives. What does this mean, and why is it important? What is respect? Respect is an attitude. When you respect someone, you admire that person and hold her in high regard. To respect yourself means you feel that way about yourself. It means you value yourself and want to treat yourself well. Why is it important to respect yourself? Self-respect is the foundation for a successful future. Studies have proven that girls with strong self-respect make healthier choices, create respectful relationships, achieve their goals, and become leaders. And it’s not enough to respect only yourself. It’s also important to spread respect for others. There are many reasons for this, but here’s an example. If you don’t like it when someone disrespects you and spreads rumors about you, why would you want to treat someone else in a way you wouldn’t like being treated? And, if you do something you know is wrong (like spreading rumors), will you really be able to respect yourself afterwards? There’s a lot of disrespect in our society. When fashion magazines set standards of beauty that are almost impossible to achieve (and that exclude most women, especially women of color), it’s disrespectful to girls and women. When pop culture tells women that how they look is more important that what they can do, it’s disrespectful to girls and women. Dating abuse, eating disorders, self-injury, unprotected sex – all of those are forms of disrespect as well. The earlier you start respecting yourself and others, the better your life will be. So, how do you start? The Respect Institute has created 8 Respect Basics that can help you start on your road to respect: 1. Tell your truth – be honest about who you are and what you believe in. 2. Know – and believe - you’re valuable. 3. Follow your passions and do what you care about and love. 4. Trust your gut – listen to your feelings. 5. Set boundaries – say “NO” when something makes you uncomfortable. 6. Be compassionate – listen to other people the way you want to be listened to. 7. Get help when you need it – create a network of support for yourself. 8. Spread respect so that your community and our world will be better places. To learn more about respect and the Respect Basics, come to Girl Power Day on Sunday, April 3 from 2:00 – 5:00pm at Suncoast Community High School in West Palm Beach. Courtney Macavinta, founder of The Respect Institute and author of RESPECT: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed, will lead a Respect Rally for girls ages 9 – 16 and their mothers/caregivers. Courtney has worked with girls around the country and has been featured on CNN, ABC, Fox & MSNBC. She has worked with the White House on domestic violence prevention and youth development. So come join Courtney and Girl Future to strengthen the respect in your life, love who you are, and imagine who you can be!
About the Author Julie Simons Julie Simons is the founder and president of Girl Future. She is passionate about helping girls find their voices so that they can achieve successful, independent futures. She'd love to hear from you via e-mail: julie@girlfuture.com.