Thank you Mo'Ne Davis, or why not every girl wants to be a princess and that's okay.

My daughter, Moira is not a princess.

She is not into pink. 

She does not like dresses. 

She prefers sports, jerseys, and cleats to ballet, tutus and party shoes. 

She is a sporty girl. 

When I ask her what that means, she describes herself as "a girl that likes sports, you know, mommy? I like to play soccer and softball and wear my hat backwards. Oh, and I like to wear my comfy shorts. I like nike."

If I inquire about dresses, the response has been conditioned: 

"Only on Sundays, the first day of school, and when you make me."

I believe that her definition of a sporty girl is not that different than most young boys and girls.

However when I google sporty girls - this is what comes up:

 

Somewhere things have gotten all mixed up. 

I'm not seeing any comfy shorts, or hats backwards. I also find it incredibly improbable that the girl in the string bikini exposing portions of her breast could play a game of soccer or basketball in that attire. 

 How has the definition of sporty girl diverged so much between my 6 year old and google?

I don't get it and neither should you.

This is a sporty girl

This is a sporty girl. 

This is a sporty girl.

This is a sporty girl. 

source 

Last night, my Mo watched this Mo pitch to a bunch a boys in the middle of central Pennsylvania. 

Doesn't sound like a big deal until it is taken into a account that this Mo, Mo'ne Davis wasn't just tossing a ball to a few friends. This  was the Little League World Series televised on ESPN. As she blanked the team from Tennessee in her first appearance of the tournament, I could see on my child's face admiration. She found another sporty girl like her.

Thank you Mo'Ne. Thank you Abby and Serena and Missy. 

Thank you to all those strong females practicing and playing, giving my strong sporty girl the images she needs. 

While I would like to think google has it wrong, I cannot negate cybermetrics. I can only hope as more and more young girls pick up a bat, ball, or throw on cleats, our communities perception of sporty girl will change. 

Because this is a sporty girl too and she deserves a community that sees her the way she described. 

"Like Mo'Ne mom, strong and beating the boys." 

on the pitch, the field, or the pool. 

Thank you Mo'Ne from my Mo and her Mama.