Raise your girls to be strong. Teach your women to swim.

I was checking someone's references today when one of the articles he cited caught my attention and I had to read it for myself.

The article, by Joni Seager,¹ notes the fact that most natural disasters have a racial and gender imbalance in terms of the survivors.  In countries like America, black people are likely to be hit hardest by natural disasters.  All over the world, however, women are less likely to survive.

In some cases, the death rates for women have been as high as five times those of men.

People studying this phenomenon have noted that our prevailing stereotypes encourage women and girls to be weak and inactive.  As a result, they aren't strong enough to hold onto the trees.  They are less likely to know how to swim.

Additionally, they're likely to stick around to find and rescue the children, but they aren't strong enough to actually hold on to everyone who needs saving.

By continuing to foster an idea of femininity that doesn't include being physically strong and active, we are literally putting our women and girls in danger.

Let's try making the assumption that "strong enough to survive" is a trait both sexes should share.

1. Seager J. Noticing gender (or not) in disasters. Geoforum. 2006;37(1):2-3. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.10.004