Pantene Reminds Women To Stop Saying Sorry

"I'm sorry" is a sneaky phrase. It can be said with true sincerity when offering condolences or as an apology, and after a while it finds its way into everyday interactions. "Sorry, do you have a minute?" "Sorry, can I get one, too?" "Sorry, can I squeeze by?" And the worst (and the first example shown in the video): "Sorry, I had a stupid question." The word has been ingrained into our speech patterns almost to the point that its lost its meaning. And in my experience you know who we hear it from the most? Women. My friends do it. My sisters do it. I do it.

So why do we do this to ourselves? Why are women always apologizing? I think back to all the times I've said sorry when my boyfriend elbows me in his sleep, when I apologized before sharing an idea at work, or when I was in school and I would say I'm sorry every time I raised my hand with a question. Why are we so afraid that our ideas or our questions are going to inconvenience anyone? In my desire to be polite I've been contributing to a problem that causes our gender to appear to agree that we are lesser human beings. We can't be apologizing for having wants or needs. We can't be apologizing for having a voice. 

Thank you, Pantene, for reminding us to stop apologizing for things we're not (or shouldn't be) sorry for. Empowerment is the best form of advertising.