About a 6 hours ago it was announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was making a possible run for head of the World Bank, which would make her the first woman to run the Bank, and about 5 hours ago I got into a fight with someone over (among other things) the statement that men generally prefer to drive women vs being driven by women, himself included.
The first time I heard it I was the only freshmen in a senior-dominated art class in high school. One of my peers asked me if I was a feminist. I didn't know what it meant but it had a negative sound to it, so I answered, "I don't think so." That girl, by the way, later told me that she was a decedent of slaves, and around March found out she on her way to an Ivy League in the East.
I have often thought of that question through the years. Am I feminist? I suppose so. I feel that I deserve to be treated with equal respect as a human being, that I deserve the same opportunities as all human beings, and I did go to college and I pay my own bills. But I don't mind changing my last name, or having the guy kill my spiders, or see what that noise was outside. I don't mind being the passenger sometimes, but I demand to be the driver in my own life.
Which got me thinking: who are the female heroes for my age group? Who are our mentors? Who are we looking up to? Or are the whispers true and we have to be our own role models because we don't have enough of them yet?
Which got me thinking: who are the female heroes for my age group? Who are our mentors? Who are we looking up to? Or are the whispers true and we have to be our own role models because we don't have enough of them yet?
Here's the list of inspirational women for those of us in 18-28 age range who grew up hearing about, reading about, or watching these women.
Politically powerful women:
Hillary Rodham Clinton--Secretary of State, former US senator, former lawyer. Responsible for foreign policy such as war and peace, communication, intelligence organization, and negotiations. Was told as a child by NASA that women could not be astronauts.
Condoleezza Rice -- former Secretary of State, former and current professor at Stanford University as an expert in international relations with a focus on the Middle East and Russia, and an accomplished pianist who once playing for Queen Elizabeth II. Grew up in the violent segregated South.
Entertainers:
Oprah Winfrey--The first black female billionaire, host of the Oprah Winfrey Show which has inspired millions of books sold and millions of dollars earned for charity, on top of showcasing intimate issues of women. Born into poverty by a teenage mother and sexually abused as a child.
J.K. Rowling--author of the Harry Potter series, which has sold millions of copies and is credited for sparking children to read again and exposing them to the allegories of racism and bravery. Was a single mother on welfare when she wrote the series.
Fictional characters:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer--Buffy Summers, an ordinary girl who is told that she is the chosen slayer and must constantly have the courage and wit to protect her community from evil while finishing her homework. An outcast with SoCal style.
Belle from Beauty and the Beast--Belle didn't marry for money and sacrificed herself to save her father's life. She refused to take orders though she was a prisoner and tamed a beast while also enjoying mass amounts of literature. An outcast with pretty hair.
I'm sure there are others, but these are the few that come to mind. For every Elizabeth Bennett there is a Britney Spears and a Jessica Simpson. For every Mulan there's a Cinderella and an underage Ariel. Where are our heroes? Where are our women?
On an ending note, I once gave my personal definition of a man being: a man is someone who can financially and emotional take care of himself, as well as financially and emotionally take care of another (ie. child, friend, parent, spouse). The person I was talking to then asked, "What's your definition of a woman?". I didn't know.
A woman is the same I guess, but with a little more. A sensuality and confidence about the body, maybe. Or a strong sense of grace rather than masculine detached stoicism. Maybe it's a charm about a woman. I don't know. But I do know that a woman DRIVES HER OWN FUCKING CAR THAT SHE PAID FOR HERSELF WITH GAS SHE PAID FOR, WHETHER A GUY'S IN THE PASSENGER SEAT OR NOT.
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