A small yet powerful statue was erected last March in front of the “Charging Bull” statue in the financial district of Lower Manhattan. This statue, called “Fearless Girl”, was announced to remain there until April of 2018. Shortly after its installation, a petition that called for the statue to become a permanent fixture was created. Over 28,000 people participated in the online petition, prompting officials to extend the statue’s stay until next year. Mayor Bill de Blasio remarked that this was “a fitting path for a girl who refuses to quit.”

State Street Global Advisors had the statue created by sculptor Kristen Visbal to illustrate the need for more women in corporate boards. Another interpretation is that “Fearless Girl” is standing up to rising stock prices. The young girl was placed in front of the famous statue of the Wall Street bull to celebrate International Women’s Day, and soon became a symbol for female empowerment. Citygoers took selfies with her and stood by her side with hands on their hips in an imitation of her defiant pose. The great influence of “Fearless Girl” was explained by Mayor de Blasio when he stated that “in her short time here, “Fearless Girl” has fueled powerful conversations about women in leadership and inspired so many.” President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the Women’s March that swiftly followed made the statue’s presence especially meaningful as “she spoke to the moment” and created the “sense that women were not going to live in fear, that women were going to teach their daughters and all the women in their lives to believe in themselves”.

Although the positive responses received about the statue have been “overwhelming,” according to State Street Global Advisors, some critics are pointing out that the statue is a symbol of false feminism. Cara Marsh Sheffler of The Guardian called her a display of “corporate feminism” instead of a genuinely inspirational sculpture. Liam Stack of The New York Times wrote that the statue does not represent the struggles of the “more than 14 million women who make up two-thirds of the low wage work force” because it reaches out to only elite women in finance. Another critic of the statue is Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor of the “Charging Bull” that the girl stands in front of. In an interview, he claimed the new statue is simply an “advertising trick” while his bull is “a symbol of America…prosperity and…strength.”
Even with statue’s stay extended, supporters continue to call for “Fearless Girl” to permanently stand in New York City. One supporter is Letitia James, a New York City public advocate. She wrote in a tweet that the statue is “a powerful symbol to women young and old” and that the “empower[ment of] women shouldn’t be temporary.” Whether the statute is simply a marketing ploy or an earnest embodiment of feminism, “Fearless Girl” has certainly sparked a much needed conversation about women in the U.S.