Female Role Models

[leagirl12]

My dsis is discussing role models with her girl scout troop tonight and was asking about relevant female role models.

Who would you put on this list?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Princess Di and Jacqueline Kennedy are always at the top of my list. They are women who dealt with major adversity and yet handled it with dignity. They are women who fought their own demons behind the scenes, but always projected a sense of calm and dignity to the public. They also commanded respect without demanding it and did many charitable works for the betterment of others.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My 8th grade dd is going to be doing a research paper on Susan B Anthony and her law trial.

I lean more toward Alice Paul & Lucy Burns, I suppose.

I enjoy learning about the women's sufferage movement.

 

[NHdisneylover]

A few of my favourites (whom the girls might not be familiar with):

Lillian Gilbreth (the mom from Cheaper by the Dozen--was one of the first working women engineers, she held a PhD when very few women did and was the first woman elected into the National Academy of Engineering)

Virginia Apgar (pioneering physician who, among other things, created the apgar scale for accessing newborns)

Dr Patricia Bath (first african american woman to receive a medical patent. She invented the Laserphaco probe).

 

[janey99]

Politically, she's not my cup of tea, but Hillary Clinton?

 

[LiberalPrincess]

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the US.
Sandra Day O'Connor
Mother Teresa
Sally Ride
Harriet Tubman
Susan B. Anthony
Francis Perkins
Amelia Earhart
Janet Guthrie, the first woman to drive in the Indy 500

And so many more!

 

[Donaldswife]

Their teachers and moms would be the best role models!


As for more famous women, that is a little tougher. With all the public scrutiny on their personal lives it is hard to find one that does not have some skeleton in the closet. Here are a few possibilities:

Hilary Clinton
Oprah ( she has a lot of charitable organizations that do a lot of good around the world)
Reese Witherspoon
Hayden Panietteri (sp?)
Raven Simone
JK Rowling
Rachel Ray
Margaret Thatcher
Victoria Beckham

Some deceased female role models:

Amelia Earhart
Eleanor Roosevelt


Those are off the top of my head, I'm sure others on here could chime in with many more I have missed!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Pink, Mother Theresa, Betty White, Chrissie Wellington(3x ironman champ), Danica Patrick, Diane Sawyer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Williams Sisters, Ellen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller
A role model doesn't have to be perfect. They need to have achieved above and beyond or been selfless. And I don't get as excited about somebody who was born or married into greatness. I know they might use their blessings well but I like showing girls ordinary young women who did something special.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Amelia Earhart (and really any first woman stuff...I like the "a girl can do anything a boy can do" stuff for inspiration...so first astronaut, first to go to college, first anything!)

any of the suffragists

someone from the arts

famous discoveries and breakthroughs courtesy of a woman

I would try to span history and include present day firsts of significance as well--those things that broke the glass ceiling. (Hilary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi included.)

I'm guessing is that your overall message is that these girls can be and do anything---show them.

 

[arminnie]

I would TOTALLY avoid any political or entertainment "celebrities". I do not consider those to be relevant role models. Nor do I consider being the wife of a prominent man a particularly valid "role model".

Some of the best role models in life for young women are not the kind who are showing up in People magazine.

What about looking into your community or state and finding women who have succeeded in fields that your daughter is interested in? Does she have an interest in the sciences - then what about a woman at a medical school known for her research?

I went to a women's college. Here are some of the things my contemporaries have done:
Lead adult-stem cell research after receiving phd from Johns Hopkins
CEO of one of the largest beauty/hair supply providers
President of American Bar Association
President of Barnard College
Partner in Major New York Law Firm
President of HP Printer Division
Chief Operating Officer of a major research university
President of Girl Scouts of America

Honestly do you consider "Hannah Montana" a relevant role model?

What about Nancy Brinker who founded the Komen foundation?

I consider the single mom who raised her children to be productive members of society to be a more relevant role model than a starlet.

 

[C&G'sMama]

There's a great song by a woman named Ann Read called "Heroes" and towards the end of it she lists the following women.
Here's the link I copied from which has a link for each woman and gives a short biography of each one.

Hope this helps.


http://www.kimball.k12.sd.us/Heroes Web Page/newindex.htm

Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt

Katherine Hepburn, Sally Ride

Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman

Annie Sullivan, Gertrude Stein



Coretta Scott King, Amelia Earhart

Lillian Hellman, Eartha Kitt

Sacajewea, Ella Fitzgerald

Golda Meir, Dorothy Dix



Louisa May Alcott, Billie Jean King

Emily Dickinson, Lucy Stone

Margaret Sanger, Clara Barton

Billie Holiday, Juliette Low



Elizabeth Blackwell, Rosa Parks

Lena Horne, Beverly Sills

Barbara Jordan, Helen Keller

Indira Gandhi, Agnes DeMille



Corazon Aquino, Gloria Steinem

Rachel Carson, Joan of Arc

Babe Zaharias, Marlene Deitrich

Anne Frank, Simone de Beauvoir...

 

[mill4023]

I would TOTALLY avoid any political or entertainment "celebrities". I do not consider those to be relevant role models.

I see your point on celebrities, but I'd disagree with you on political figures. I think someone who has worked their way up to a position where they can have a huge influence on the country or the world is a great role model.
Margaret Thatcher, Condoleeza Rice, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,

 

[SaraJayne]

I was going to mention Condoleeza Rice, but the PP beat me to it.

 

[Sparx]

Gloria Steinem, definitely.

If she's looking for a very pro-woman magazine that she might be able to introduce to the group, Ms. is an excellent option. Its a feminist publication written by women about women's issues.

 

[Sparx]

Oh, and Alice Walker. I think its important when talking about female role models we don't focus on privileged white women alone. Alice Walker is an extremely famous black feminist author who has been very involved in civil rights for over 40 years.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

How about "Mom"?

 

[agnes!]

My mother.
And here's why:

*She went to med school.
*During WWII.
*When women didn't get a free ride (but men got their medical school paid-for and would receive a Captain's rank in the US Army Medical Corp upon graduation).
*Graduated, had practices as a GP, also then worked in a university health service.
*Went back to school to become a radiologist when I was in grade school.
*Worked as a radiologist (especially known for kind mammograms) until she retired after working as a doctor for 51 years and is still active in women's health issues and in the community.

So, yeah, my mother is my hero.

agnes!

 

[tvguy]

Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the girl scouts.
How about Laura Ingles Wilder and Christa McAuliffe ?
I agree with Amelia Earhardt, Helen Keller, Sally Ride, Mother Theresa,
Betty White certainly would be a popular choice.

I would personally have a tough time with Gloria Steinem, Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy, those women, IMHO, had some serious character flaws.

 

[Sparx]

Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the girl scouts.
How about Laura Ingles Wilder and Christa McAuliffe ?
I agree with Amelia Earhardt, Helen Keller, Sally Ride, Mother Theresa,
Betty White certainly would be a popular choice.

I would personally have a tough time with Gloria Steinem, Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy, those women, IMHO, had some serious character flaws.

I think every person has serious character flaws if you dig deep enough. That's a really important point. I think its necessary to show young girls great women in power but also point out where these women fail. Gloria Steinem has been very oppressive and openly transphobic in the past. But she is also a major fighter for reproductive freedom. Her failure in one realm doesn't undermine her victories in another. It shows that she's a human and you shouldn't try to be her, you should be yourself but know that you can accomplish great things because of the women who came before you and paved the roads.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the girl scouts.
How about Laura Ingles Wilder and Christa McAuliffe ?
I agree with Amelia Earhardt, Helen Keller, Sally Ride, Mother Theresa,
Betty White certainly would be a popular choice.

I would personally have a tough time with Gloria Steinem, Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy, those women, IMHO, had some serious character flaws.

And Mother Theresa wasn't the saint we all thought she was, which came out after her death. Apparently she was having a huge crisis of faith and wanted no part of any of it when she died.

As for Princess Di and JKO, they were able to maintain their dignity in the face of much adversity and maintain their composure during the most trying times. I also think they were wonderful mothers and since everyone else is saying "mom" why don't they count?