COLUMN: The importance of strong female role models


I take strength from seeing women unabashedly doing their thing.

Women like Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 ran in the all-male Boston Marathon and was chased by an official who tried to grab her and remove her from the race, help me to see what I can accomplish.

They help me forget silly fears such as body image and fears of failure.

I read a report lately about a study on little girls and boys. They were asked to do a math test after they were told to put on a sweater. Girls and boys all did about the same. Then they had them wear bathing suits for a second test. The boys had no significant changes in their test scores whereas the girls did poorly the second time around.

These issues of body image start young and puddle into every aspect of our lives and serve as a gauge of what we can accomplish. Body image is just one example of the struggles we face daily, and I am deeply grateful to every woman and man who has helped to bring about more equality legally, in theory and reality.

I love seeing women in leadership positions, women fighting the system, women doing what they want regardless of taboos and gender lines.

I look at the difficulties from the women before me and even this same generation's struggles. I hear the personal stories from my grandmother and mother, and I see just how dynamic women's strength is in our culture. There are always people willing to squash progress in various ways, but there are also those willing to say, “Hey, this isn't right. I'm going to do things my own way."

These women are often called 'trailblazers,' and I love this term. I get this image of a woman on fire, but yet she keeps on, doing her thing, brazenly pushing for whatever it is that drives her. It's a strong image of a woman standing tall and not giving in to the subtle oppressions we are faced with every day in songs, movies, at the work place, sports and in general expectations.

Just a note to people, women and men, who disrespect this strength: You can get out of my way. I really have no place in my life for you.

I am further grateful that Central Michigan University has some strong female role models and features female guest speakers like Jane Goodall, Marlee Matlin, Lilly Ledbetter and a host of others. I cannot get enough of you motivational women.

We still have a long ways to go toward actual equality, but I think showing gratitude and acknowledgement helps the process of knowing that there are strong women we can look up to and then going to blaze some trails of our own. So, thank you to all the strong women and men out there and right here who are inspiring role models of what it means to be a strong woman.

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