Image: AKQA for Fast Company

When I was pregnant, the first question people asked was never, "When are you due?" or "Why are you groaning like that?" but, inevitably, "Is it a boy or a girl?" This seemed fair enough. What surprised me was when they'd slyly add, "Which do you want?" Which did I want? Was I allowed to think or say anything other than "Oh, either! Of course! As long as it's healthy!", that platitude of the pregnant? What if I actually said, "We definitely want a girl. Have you seen boys? They're crazy. We'd just send a boy back."

I mean, really.

But in some parts of the world this is a far more serious issue. China, for example, where the one-child policy has resulted in a lopsided population because so many families abort girl babies. Or India, where baby girls are so dreaded that they are often killed.  It's almost too terrible to believe. But could it be that what we need is...a marketing campaign? Fast Company has an intriguing series of mock ad campaigns, designed by leading advertising agencies that look to rebrand the whole "girl" concept. "Boys are 76% more likely to set something you love on fire," proclaims one tongue-in-cheek campaign. Others are more serious, urging consumers (parents?) to see their own value (even if they are, gulp, female), or to remind them that a baby girl might just be a future female CEO. The images are fascinating, the campaigns themselves thought-provoking. I mean, let's face it, the idea that girls would need to be rebranded at all is incredibly sad, but at least clever minds are at work on a creative solution.

Check out all the ad campaigns at Fast Company.

Read more:
Are boys' and girls' brains different?
Ending violence toward women and girls