female role models?...hmmm that's a tough one but there's a few that spring to mind...like tina turner who's been in the music bizz for 30yrs+ and still going strong,or amy johnson who flew to australia non stop many years ago.then there's ellen macarthur,her exploits sailing single-handedly around the world are inspirational in themselves....or how about danica patrick..who i hear you ask? well any woman that can tame the brickyard (the indianapolis motor speedway..2 mile oval) and her male competitors in a race-car doing 220mph, finishing in the top 5 has to be worth a mention.One thing we could do with is more female role models in motorsport...if only to give the blokes a run for their money.love and xxxxxx anna-marie

OK Serious one for me (for once)

.. So who are your female role models? And I don't mean whose body you would you like to occupy (we've had that thread before) but which women inspire you through their actions, words, beliefs, character etc.

I was reading an article about Jane Fonda the other day and she's had an amazing and varied career from the sci-fi excess of Barbarella through the anti-war movement (Hanoi Jane) right through her marriage to media mogul Ted Turner and what about all those work-out videos .. and well there is that awful new film Monster in Law but we'll forgive her that mistake. An often contradictory life but certainly well-lived.



So who's yours ... Margaret Thatcher, Venus Williams, Condoleeza Rice, Penelope Pitstop ..?

Mine is Kelly Holmes, double gold olympic medal winner, has indured and fought racisum, both in the army and in her civilian life. She has the determination and never quits when things are not going her way........hugz Julie xx

Yay Shan

Wish I'd thought of Amelia!

At a time when flying was as technically pioneering as space travel is today she certainly stood out ..



"Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do."


.. more info on her here

http://www.ameliaearhart.[...]ome.php

And of course she also has the all important mysterious and untimely disappearance to set her on the road to enigma

Cerys xx

Golly gee there are so many to choose from - IMHO (in my humble opinion)there seems to be more women role models than men. I still like Elenor of Aquitaine - she fought every institution of her day - the church, the royals and a male dominated society.
She established hostels for battered women among other things.
jillian

Hiya Jillian

Thanks for that. I knew almost nothing about Eleanor of Aquitaine's achievements until I Googled up on her after your entry, and now I'm enlightened.

http://www.royalty.nu/Eur[...]or.html

All I knew came from the film "The Lion in Winter" which I remember seeing a few years back, (Kathryn Hepburn, bloody brilliant as Eleanor.) I see they're doing a remake now with Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart.

http://www.lioninwinter.c[...]ome.htm

TW, it's like the Open University in here some days.

C x

If I had to choose just one woman, it would be Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of 4-time U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor was a remarkable woman, stood up for civil rights when her husband wouldn't, fought for people from all walks of life, and showed incredible courage. I never understood why Jackie Kennedy got all the press when she was nothing but an insecure rich snob.

I also admired Joan Baez for her bravery to speak out, especially during the Vietnam years.

Marion Anderson was quite incredible, too.

http://www.marxists.org/a[...]emburg/
Rosa Luxemburg, if I had to choose.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T MENTION THESE LADIES!!!!! Where, oh where, are my revolutionary feelings these days?

Emma Goldman - need I say more?

Lucy Parsons - Wife of Haymarket Martyr Albert Parsons. A woman of mixed race heritage who went on to become quite a radical leader in her own right. Beautiful, too. A friend of mine who is a professional actress portrays her in a one-woman show.

Annie Fitzgerald - First female organizer for the AFL. Although her commission was withdrawn after a few months, she was still a trailblazer. Had beautiful flaming red hair, too.

Agnes Nestor - Labor leader, feminist, occasion political candidate. Worked tireless for civil and women's rights. Quite a petite woman, and was once accused of dunking a scab AND a policeman into a water trough during a glovemaker's strike. Not a true story at all, and labor leaders like John Fitzpatrick deliberately embellished the story to give her more of a mystique. Not that she needed it.

As for Ms. Danica, she's just making headways on the IRL circuit here in the States. She was the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500, and came damn close to winning it. Her need for fuel conservation cost her the win. I should know. I watch that race every year.

Mine would have to be Imelda Marcos...all those shoes! Just kidding...LOL! Seriously, it would be Princess Diana for all
the charity work she got involved in despite all the difficult
times she endured. There are many more female role models I
could list but I think Princess Diana is my #1 pick

Hugs,

Monika

Sarah that is so cool!

My mother is a self-obssesed blood sucking vampire who deserves to rot in her own juice 'til she sees the error of her ways ..

.. but I'll miss her when she's gone

C xx

Sarah,

I'm also one for the mother-as-my-role-model idea.

She's battled major illness for the last 20 years, and is still a survivor, with (wel most, anyway) of her wits about her.

In the non-mom area, here's one for thought: Jane Goodall. Anyone with the tenacity to do what she's done for wildlife and science while slogging it out in the bush has earned my respect. Heck, if I can't have my morning shower and evening bath, I consider that "roughing it."

Sincerely Yours,

Kari

Yep, we should have considered Mom. We should also salute the "anonymous" woman who works hard to support her children, give them a home, enough food, and an education. That could be Mom as well.

There has been a lot of great Women listed. I've had a dozen go thru my head since this post started. Evan a Woman younger than me Shania Twain has gone thru a lot stuck to it & come out on top. Each & every one has something I would like to possess.
I think I would most like to be the living persona of todays woman. The job,the home,kids,time for fun,happy & beautifull.
This one realy made me think(stop that).

Really now, Sammy. Do you have any idea how many times the MSS have posted threads while having consumed vodka, beer, champagne, cognac, cabernet sauvignon, whisky, aqua velva AND Draino cleaner? We mixed them all up in a blender and did flaming shots. Come to think of it, we did burst into flames as we were also smoking at the time.

Don't worry about it. I'm sure some day we'll all be held up as female role models. Or just held up by some robber who wants our purses.

You see now, Cerys? You tried to be serious, didn't you?

P.S. Ziggy didn't find my links jokes very funny, did he?

Mere we did not burst into flame. We burst into song. You remember it that way because you kept saying how HOT you'd be in K's black dress.

Post when drunk? ME? I don't remember that.

I pronounce this thread well and truly hijacked ... please take care of it .. I tried to nurture it well .. but there comes a time when you just have to let things go ...

So long sensible thread, adieu and fare thee well

Cerys xx
(sniffle)

Roll Models ? WELL? I see may in the street, The theatre,th shopping mall etc. I see clothing like they wear. I buy such an out fit and try to make my self look and act like that woman. I go to the places one would see such a woman dressed tat way alone or in company. I love getting dressed up as a gypsy and going to a market or in evening dress and going to the opera. Or in drab and going out alone to the shopping mal. Thats whats fun dressing as a woman. The way you dress can tunr you into a new woman or personality. Looks and feeling great and dress for your age group Oh well a few years younger all us girls lie about our age. Joanna

Cerys,
This thread was a great idea. Sorry if it got hijacked for a few moments. You know we were just making a joke that ran amok. Sorry if we offended you.

Mere

Me ..offended? It would take a lot more than that to get me wound up ..


Cerys xx
(On this day Jun 21, 1913, Georgia Broadwick became the first woman to jump from an airplane.)

Jane Fonda ??? wow-I think thats friggin messed UP!!! like a plain but outstanding soul like Elinor Roosevelt (sp?), or Katie Luther,, or Madame' Currie,, but Jane freakin Fonda,,, wow My ethic needs retuned or - NOT!!! on the sarcasstic side,, how about "Carrie Nation" hehe