What is Girl Spirit and Why Does It Matter?
October 2 | 7 minute read
Words by Romy Erdos
Girlhood surpasses age and gender; it’s a feeling, a spirit, a sisterhood. It’s dancing in your bedroom, painting your face… It’s also raw, messy, “confusing sometimes” and above all, amazing.
This International Day of The Girl, MECCA and our social change program, MECCA M-POWER, are celebrating Girl Spirit through the ages – and who better to drive conversation around the girlhood experience than girls and women themselves? As the directors, creatives and stars of this campaign, our ensemble cast share, in their own words and artistic expressions, what Girl Spirit means, their advice and aspirations for the future and how beauty emboldens, connects and inspires them.
Among the cast? Georgia, a Y25 program participant (which celebrates wāhine 25 years and under doing incredible things for their communities and world) and one of the youngest CEOs in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with her mum Anna.
She shared that beauty isn’t just physical – it’s spiritual, in the environment and in family: “I’m most powerful with my whānau (family). Anywhere where there’s whānau support that is where change can happen. It’s about having those right people with you to enhance what’s already there,” says Georgia.
From The Flourish Journey, friends Arshia, Alexandra, and Arabella (‘Az’) are bucking stereotypes – and learning that to be unapologetically themselves is the key to happiness and finding the people you want in your life.
“I’m studying biomedical engineering and it’s such a stereotype for engineers to be, like, really quiet and introverted and nerd – but I feel like I’m not, I’m a ‘people person’. When I tell people I do engineering they’re shocked. Also being a woman in STEM – that’s a stereotype that’s not very common,” says Alexandra.
From MECCA, three generations of women: Rose, her mum Virginia and grandma Irlande, who is proud to see the evolution in front of her.
“I never realised how significant being a woman was until my two granddaughters were born,” says Irlande.
Another theme? Sisterhood, with MECCA’s Beth and Isla saying it means always having someone to support them.
“Girl Spirit means, to me, getting around all the girls and supporting one another… really uplifting and being there for each other,” says Isla.
Similarly, siblings Florence and Lilian enjoy borrowing each others’ products and clothes, but more importantly, they value the trust they have in one another and the strong role models they have in shaping the people they want to become.
“I want to become a good mum that my kids can look up to. I want to be very confident, nice and just an overall good person,” says Florence.
With this, we hope to inspire your own freedom of play, self-love and expression across all generations. Because no matter what your age, you’re always a girl at heart.
Now, let’s hear it from the girls (and women)…
What advice would you give to girls today?
“Be unapologetically yourself, that’s the way you find your people. You attract what you put out so put out your authentic self.” – Alexandra
“Once you start being yourself and accepting who you are you’re so much happier and attract people you want in your life. And don’t try to fit into the norm, the norms boring. You want to stand out.” – Arshia
“Particularly for girls, there’s such a thing of your kindness becoming a weapon against you; I want to be the kindest version of myself, but don’t take anything I don’t deserve.” – Az “I would say, don't hide yourself behind makeup – bring your soul out. That's the most beautiful thing we have.” – Irlande
“Just do you, boo. You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to live and laugh and recover. Just be you and be proud of who you are and don’t change for anybody.” – Anna
When do you feel your most powerful?
“When I’m plugged in, connected… We’re all connected, not just to people, but to the environment, to everything around us. When I plug into good things I feel powerful and my family is the biggest energy source I can plug into.” – Anna
“I feel like once I've got a nice outfit on, my hair and makeup is done and I'm feeling good about myself, then I'm the most confident and most like my genuine self.” – Isla
What advice do you have for your future self? Can you describe the woman you’d like to become?
“I hope she continues to challenge people. Creating pathways for young Māori wāhine but not limiting myself to that and enjoying the fruits of every culture. There’s so much out there I can explore.” – Georgia
“I hope I’m just me, but better. I hope I’m a cool 30 year old that still knows popular culture.” – Arshia
“I want to become a good mum that my kids can look up to. I want to be very confident, nice and just an overall good person.” – Florence
What stereotypes do you (and don’t you) relate to?
“‘You’re a feminist so you don’t wear makeup, you don’t do your hair.’ Well, look at me right now! You can care about female empowerment and also wear a red lip and also care about your hair.” – Az
Where do you find inspiration
“Everything I’ve learnt about beauty, I’ve learnt from my mum. She teaches me everything; when I was a kid I used to look at her getting ready. Style wise, I have probably taken after my dad.” – Arshia
What beauty lessons have you taught your mum?
“I’ve taught my mum to be herself. I’m very much myself and I try to be as comfortable in my skin as possible, and slowly I’ve tried to teach my mum that as well.” – Arshia
“We both teach our mum the new trends and how new people are doing makeup, because sometimes she's still based off the old trends and she needs to get back on to what's happening.” – Florence and Lilian
“You can find beauty anywhere. Sometimes you can be fixated on your own beauty and you forget that there is beauty everywhere, in every single place. It’s not just physical. It can be spiritual.” – Georgia
Who do you admire?
“My mum. Whatever she wants to do, she goes out and achieves it and that’s taught me to be ambitious myself.” – Arshia
“My mother. You’ve been here longer than I have and you’ve been through lots of things and you just keep going. You don’t ever turn the battery off.” – Georgia
What’s the best compliment you can receive?
“I have people tell me (and I love it) that I make them feel like they can tell me anything. I like that people perceive me as an open and welcoming person.” – Alexandra
“I like when people think I’m funny. I spent so much time as a kid and teenager feeling like I was too loud and feeling like I took up so much space and trying to make myself smaller and ‘less’. Part of making people laugh now is because I’m being ‘big’ and being me; it’s a compliment to me now and was a compliment to me at six.” – Az
“When people say I smell good… and when people compliment my personality.” – Arshia
What does Girl Spirit mean to you?
“Girl spirit touches on many different areas but as a young Māori wāhine it is culture, it is my elders, my kaumātua, that come before us.” – Georgia
“Lifting each other up and pushing yourself forward without pulling anyone else down.” – Alexandra
“Allowing each other to be your authentic selves without judgement. When you find the people you can be yourself around, that’s truly Girl Spirit.” – Arshia
What’s the best thing about having a sister?
“Probably getting to go into [her] room and stealing all of [her] products and clothes.” – Lilian
“I can come to her because I fully trust her. I probably tell her the most – more than I tell my friends or my mum – because I trust her the most.” – Florence
“Having a sister means she's always there for me, and I can always talk to her and she'll always look after me and help me with anything, especially with homework if I don't know how to do something.” – Beth
What’s the best thing about being a girl?
“Everything! I love being a girl. The best thing is having a really good motherly figure.” – Florence
“I think the best thing about being a girl is the joy. Like, when I go to the beach or when I go out with my friends or when I'm listening to music, I feel like that's just joy! It’s not just being a girl; that is what I am as a girl.” – Beth
“I think the best thing about being a girl is when your friends get it and can just be there for you, and they'll always stand up for you and care for you. That is what being a girl is to me.” – Isla
What do you wish your parent(s) understood about beauty?
“There's lots of different types of beauty and it's not just one thing that everyone always does; there’s different styles. My mum always thinks it's just, like, one.” – Lilian
“I wish my parents understood more about beauty, that not every product that works for them necessarily works for me – whether they love a certain concealer or setting spray, it might not be the best for me.” – Isla
What does beauty mean to you?
“Beauty isn’t some thing; it’s an action. We talk about beauty as vanity but it’s way bigger than that. It’s the action of loving other people, it’s watching the sun rise, the waves crash, watching my baby’s first cry. There’s so much beauty in everything.” – Anna, Georgia’s mum
“I think it's so individualised and different to everyone, but to me beauty means expressing who you are as a person.” – Isla
What do you feel about current beauty standards?
“I think they ask too much. They want you to be skinny but you can't show it off. Or, they come at you for wearing too much makeup but if you don’t wear enough you’re bleak. If you say your opinion, you're too opinionated; but if you don't, you're too quiet. And it's just really confusing, really hard.” – Rose
Some quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
