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A friend of mine emailed me last nite about his little grade-school age girl ....
She had said she doesn't like being a girl because "being a girl is boring. Girls are boring and sneaky and most of them are wimpy."
Egads. I remember thinking similar things when I was little, so I want to give my friend a list of women to talk to his daughter about.
I'll kick it off with Margie Roberts Hart.
http://www.cowgirl.net/honorees/Marg...erts_Hart.aspx
/s
Gawd. :rolleyes: I can't tell you how much it annoyed me when I was a kid and I had a friend over to play who only wanted to play with Barbies and My Little Ponies; skateboards and rollerskates and bikes were much more fun! :D
Ellen MacArthur would be one that springs to mind.
Babe Didrikson
http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive...didrikson.html
>>when asked if there was anything she didn't play, she replied, “Yeah, dolls.”<<
Beryl Markham, first person to fly the Atlantic Ocean east to west (solo non-stop flight). Also a licensed horse trainer.
Margaret Thatcher
Indira Ghandi
Rachel Carson, author of "Silent Spring" which started the environmental movement.
Marie Curie, 2 Nobel prizes. Quotes:
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
Barbara McClintock, Nobel prize winner in medicine
Beatrix Potter, author of children's stories, scientific expert on fungi
Jane Goodal, chimp researcher
There was another similar thread on this a year or so ago. I wish I could tell you what to search on. The list was exhaustive!
I've always been a big fan of Billie Jean King. She was my first athletic hero.
What about talking to this girl about great stuff women in her own family/neighbourhood do? Hearing about Marie Curie is great, but a bit out of reach for most of us.....Point out how much fun you can have and how strong you can be using examples of women she knows. Your own cycling feats maybe? If it was my own family, I would give the following examples for starters:
Mom - PhD and full professor and successful career taking her all over the world (That would be Bikeless in WI)
Aunt - cycled the AidsRide twice! I'm scared at the thought of doing it once! And she has a black belt in Aikido (I think) (And this would be Trek420)
Grandma - civil rights and peace activist, arrested for civil disobedience at the age of...not sure....mid 70's? (and she bakes wonderful pies!) (Bikeless and Trek's mom)
Who said you had to be bored and whipmy as a girl? Go out and do what you like! If it's not fun? Do something else!
What about our own Cat Berge!?!!
I like the idea of identifying close-to-home strong female role models. I had a nice assortment of these when I was growing up (though none of them were athletes, sadly), and I think it really helped to shape my attitude about who I was and what I could be.
But here's another idea as well as an opportunity to show a kid how the internet can be more than just a surfing-for-music-and-shopping tool. Your friend could sit down with her daughter at the computer and do a web search for "strong women" or some other keyword and they could see together what comes up (mom might want to do this on her own first so she can avoid potential hot spots).
And to add to the list, Susan B. Anthony, Edith Wharton, and ... Georgena Terry.
Georgena Terry!!!!
I had no clue she wore a leg brace until I saw it in a pic of her (back when she did a lot of the modelling for the catalog). Those puppies are a pain in the butt, and she bikes like a maniac in hers!
Oh, yeah, and she builds bike frames and has a business....
(geez, healthcare workers and our priorities.....:) )
Sarah Burke (MP), Running Mommy and Nanci... mental toughness... or maybe they are just mental. :D
Yep... I think it's important to point out strong women both "far" and "near."
V.
Lynn Hill.
Probably THE foremost technical rock climber in the world. The first person, man or woman, to freeclimb Yosemite's El Capitan.
Not too bad for a 5'1" chica! Now that girl can kick some butt!
K.
I'm not sure I have a list :p but then I was the one who tackled the wrestler in girl vs. boy football after being clotheslined across the nose :D poor guy didn't even have the ball :D
It sounds like she's the victim of some catty girls within her current social circles - might not be too early to check out the book Queen Bees & Wannabes to help deal with the external attitudes... that crap is starting earlier all the time.
Find a few movies with strong female leads - one age appropriate would be Ever After - Cinderella standing up for herself, Very Cool. There are more & more strong female lead action movies or activist movies, but I am a little short on those w/ a PG rating :p
Also, find an activity that she can start & impove her strength. I'd probably reccomend coed, so as to avoid creating another catty environ. Karate or horsemanship or swimming or cycling or rock climbing - something that challenges her to grow and builds her up mentally & physically - so that she knows She Can do it, and that there is more than slumber parties and glitter gloss in her future. I don't know enough about 4H or Girl Scouts or Boys & Girls club to know if they'd work - so much of that depends on the group & leadership she'd be involved with.
Not only are women strong, but we're brilliant too! I'd also research mentor opportunities in the academic arena, hopefully the school system already has something in place that would be appropriate. (National Engineers day? Math programs? Art Workshops?) Is there a strong & empowered teacher that she looks up to that could take her under her wing?
I hope she finds & embraces her inner strength soon *hugs* to all the little girls out there!
Hey thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
I'd put you on the list, too!
What about Jeanne Longo? For women cyclists, there really isn't anyone else...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannie_Longo
Or, if your French is up to snuff: http://jeannielongo.free.fr/pages/cadres01.html
She's been World Champion 5 times, spanning a 10 year period. She continues to be super-competitive and a force to be reckoned with into her forties.
I still say most girls are boring and sneaky. Have you seen the Stupid Girl video!? 3 cheers for Pink.Quote:
Originally Posted by sydney_b
They just don't end up here. As far back as I could remember, I did boy stuff with the boys and never noticed I was a girl and wasn't supposed to. Maybe that's also how I've been successful in a male dominated field. I think maybe because of that, I don't have a good answer for you as I can't recall who my own female inspirations were.
The only thing I do recall is being somehwere around 4th grade and on a hot, hot day I wanted to take my shirt off like my brother. Didn't quite get why I couldn't. Hey, if a toddling Jodi Foster could.....
But if we are talking cyclists....how about a young one? Sarah Uhl @ Penn State. She's finishing men's A collegiate races.
To make this more bike related, how 'bout our own Denise Goldberg or Heidi D. (can't spell her last name) on CrazyGuy. Both are long distance tourers. Not in the least wimpy.
Denise just up and takes off when she has a chance - and makes those chances happen.
Heidi took her trike from her home to Alaska, hither & yon across Canada, & then back home. This summer she went down the Great Divide trail & kind of forgot to stop when she hit the Mexican border. (She did eventually turn around and peddle home.)
Boring? Um, yeah, right. Wimpy, too.