Who are your nominees for butt-kicking chicks?

[sydney_b]

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

[DirtDiva]

Gawd. 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!

Ellen MacArthur would be one that springs to mind.

[Tuckervill]

Babe Didrikson

http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive...didrikson.html

>>when asked if there was anything she didn't play, she replied, “Yeah, dolls.”<<

[DebW]

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

[yellow]

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.

[uk elephant]

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!

[yellow]

What about our own Cat Berge!?!!

[Bad JuJu]

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.

[Trek420]

uk elephant "Aunt...And she has a black belt in Aikido (I think)" that's 2nd degree BB to you "

Don't forget yourself, my neice, completed your undergrad work in what was it? 3 years? Now on to a dual major Phd.

Other neice is a lawyer and now a new Mom.

Our cousin Dina is a UN translator and speaks G** only knows how many languages.

And UK the other butt kicking thing about your G'ma (and bikeless and my mom) is how she went back to school to complete her Masters with a family with 3 kids. When I was a kid so few Moms worked outside the home, I got a lot of raised eyebrows and was always so proud of her. She's the orriginal Super Mom.

And then there's your Great Grandma....both of them really....

[Nokomis]

I'm not sure I have a list but then I was the one who tackled the wrestler in girl vs. boy football after being clotheslined across the nose poor guy didn't even have the ball

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

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!

[Robbin_G]

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."

I still say most girls are boring and sneaky. Have you seen the Stupid Girl video!? 3 cheers for Pink.

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.

[MomOnBike]

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.

[bluerider]

Number one...my MOM! She kicks butt in other ways besides sport. She grew up in a culture/era that didn't encourage girls to do and be anything they want to be but today she is my biggest supporter.

I greatly admire Katherine Switzer (runner). And Sarah Reinersten (triathlete). Both amazing ladies.

[sydney_b]

Y'all are awesome. Thank you for your suggestions and insights!

/s

[Grog]

This is not for every family, as it is self-described as 'grass-root feminist' and sometimes runs articles or columns about "how to tell your parents you're queer", but I think this is a pretty good magazine considering what's out there for girls:

Shameless (http://www.shamelessmag.com)
For girls who get it (that's their motto)

Unless you see yourself as politically and/or socially conservative, you'll probably love this. I'm twice the age of their average reader and will renew my subscription this Summer. The issue I have in hand here (Fall 2005) has articles on "Making the Cut" ("The pressure to be perfect below the belt", an article about labia reconstruction, a topic we've recently discussed here) and a column on why we pluck our eyebrows, another (by a toronto doctor) on the Plan B pill, some "geek chic" column (about computers or something), a crash course in surfing, etc.

I find it totally women-positive. At times it makes me cringe a bit, but much, much less than the fluffy stuff the girls usually get to read.

It's a Canadian mag but they will gladly deliver everywhere!!

And, to me, these chicks kick-@$$.