WATCH: Mayim Bialik On Why Women Shouldn’t Be Called ‘Girls’

Image by Getty Images

By Phoebe Maltz Bovy March 29, 2017

Do you cringe when you hear adult women referred to as “girls”? Have you never really thought about the phenomenon? Either way, you should check out Mayim Bialik’s video, “‘Girl’ vs. ‘Woman’: Why Language Matters.” Bialik makes the excellent point that a man behind a bank counter would not typically be referred to as a “boy.”

Not enough of a Bialik fix? Head over to Bustle, where Emily Shire offers an informative and topical interview the politically engaged performer about Zionism and feminism.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. She is the author of “The Perils Of ‘Privilege’”, from St. Martin’s Press. Follow her on Twitter, @tweetertation

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a former editor of the Sisterhood blog at the Forward. Her writing has appeared in several publications, including The New Republic and The Atlantic. Her book, “The Perils of ‘Privilege,’” was published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017. She has a PhD in French and French Studies from New York University, and has read a lot of 19th century French Jewish newspapers for a 21st century American.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO