It’s the last week of International Women’s Month and I thought I would I would talk about a few of the women who inspire me that aren’t directly related to me, friends of mine, or people I know personally.
Mary Anning
Mary Anning was a childhood hero of mine. When I was growing up I wanted more than anything to be a palaeontologist. This childhood obsession was partially inspired by Mary Anning who was one of the first well known female palaeontologists in the 1800s. She was notable for finding a series of Jurassic based fossils around Lyme Regis in the United Kingdom. She made so many important discoveries but was never accepted into the scientific circles, to which she rightly deserved, as she was a woman. Anning died in her 40s but she discovered the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton and a dozen other important finds. I still find it frustrating that her work was used to advance paleontological studies but she was never truly acknowledged for her work until well after her death.
Felicia Day
Often referred to as the Queen of the Nerds Felicia Day is best known for her web series The Guild as well as for appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Charlie on Supernatural. Not only is she delightfully quirky she is intelligent graduating at 19 with a double major in mathematics and music performance. Day is an articulate internet personality who has done much to show how important it is to have representation in communities which tend to be male dominated. Specifically gaming, internet series and companies, and general nerd based reviews. She is an inspiration to me, even more so after reading her autobiography You’re Never Weird on the Internet.
Maya Angelou
I’m an English teacher and there is nothing I love more than reading some powerful poetry. I first read Angelou’s work when I was already in my twenties and her words and her voice were so incredibly powerful that I had to devour more of her work. “Still I Rise” is one of my favourite poems to teach as it is so rich with imagery and allusion but is also a great way to introduce students to different voices. From such tragic circumstances Angelou created such works of beauty and literature.
Natalie Portman and Emma Watson
Both of these strong women are not afraid to use their voice nor their brains. Incredibly articulate and strong willed I combined them as they both are educated women. They are powerful vocal supporters of women’s rights but they are also graceful, self aware, and just truly inspirational. As actors and as people they are not afraid to challenge themselves nor us with their actions.
Frida Kahlo
If you haven’t watched the film about Kahlo’s life starring Salma Hayek I highly recommend it. Although I was aware of her work I didn’t know much about Kahlo until I watched the film and then decided to learn more about her. Kahlo represented a voice that I wish I’d known about when I was younger - a voice of not deferring to “gender norms” and a voice of not accepting societal norms in general. Her perseverance through the pain she endured in inspiring to say the least. Her artwork is as interesting and unique as she was.
Of course there are hundreds of other powerful, inspirational women that I could talk about but I do not have the time to go through them all. Others that I could easily talk about include Jane Goodall, Michelle Obama, Joan of Arc, J.K. Rowling, Ada Lovelace, Henrietta Lacks and so many more.
If you would like to read more about some of these amazing women I would recommend Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls which would make a great gift for anyone.
Who are some of the women who have inspired you? Let me know in the comments below.
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