READ ALL ABOUT IT: Michelle Obama's unfortunate faux pas during Spanish speech

'...many of us still struggle with outdated norms and assumptions about the proper role for women...'

Michelle Obama delivered a speech in Spain to promote her "Let Girls Learn" initiative. Unfortunately for the First Lady, her pro-choice statements fell flat in the heavily Catholic country.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Mrs. Obama delivered a speech aimed at girls and women in Madrid on Thursday, where she called for a change in the "inequalities in our cultures."

The First Lady spoke of how the inequalities held women back from taking more powerful positions in the workforce, at home and in relationships.

Though the message began in the right direction, Obama made a mistake in saying, "You can start with how you raise your own children if you choose to have them. Maybe it means telling your sons that it's OK to cry, and your daughters that it's OK to be bossy."

There were two mistakes in these simple sentences. Though each statement appears to empower women, the First Lady obviously didn't take her audience into consideration.

Her first mistake was telling a large body of Catholics that having children is a choice.

Catholics believe children are gifts from God and to hinder the ability to conceive through contraceptives is a sin.

Obama's second mistake was insinuating any woman who attempts to take a stand is "bossy."

"Ban Bossy" is a campaign meant to encourage leaderships among young girls. The group claims: "When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a 'leader.' Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded 'bossy.'

"Words like bossy send a message: don't raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys - a trend that continues into adulthood."

Though Obama's speech was meant to empower girls and women, two little sentences destroyed her goal.

The speech was delivered to promote her Let Girls Learn initiative, which encourages girls to receive the same level of education and opportunities as their male counterparts.

The remainder of the message did convey the importance of educating young women and pushed for gender equality. She stated too many girls are married off at a young age, forcing them to leave school and have children rather than furthering their education, particularly in underdeveloped countries.

Let Girls Learn is "about whether families and communities think that girls are even worthy of an education in the first place. It's about whether girls are valued only for their bodies - for their labor, for their reproductive capacities - or are they valued for their minds as well."

Obama mentioned progress seen in the United States and Spain - but it isn't enough. "Men and women are often held to very different standards," she explained. "Changes in our laws haven't always translated to changes in our cultures. And many of us still struggle with outdated norms and assumptions about the proper role for women, especially when it comes to our families in workplaces."

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