Jump to content

Menu

Strong Woman Role Models


Miss Tick
 Share

Recommended Posts

My family just saw a very popular movie. I was surprised at how teary I get over having strong female characters for my girls (and ds) to see. I never missed then when I was growing up, but of course there weren't many/any. I first made this personal discovery at Wonder Woman, but tonight's movie was better.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What did you see?

It was the new Star Wars. There as more than one scene with women talking about plot issues with other women. I don't want to analyse it too deeply and lose the magic, haha.

 

I found myself thinking that when I was a kid I had to pretend to be, like a female Han Solo, or some new officer in Miami Vice or something along those lines, but my girls have so many more choices for that kind of daydreaming.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dd is loving the Rebel Girls books. :)

I don't think I found those, but I did find a book called Girls Rebel, so I put that one in bold to strew. I guess I'm reveling in the fact that my dc are getting access to more of these women without lots of effort on my part.

 

I know there is plenty of room for improvement out there, so I'll just ride this good feeling for a bit and then get back to work fighting wrongs and correcting ridiculous stereotypes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you seen the documentary Miss Representation? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1784538/

 

& if you're looking for more films, the Bechdel Test movie list is not a bad place to start. https://bechdeltest.com/

Thanks! My library has the documentary, so I will see it soon.

 

I have heard of the Bechdel Test, but I had never officially looked it up. Thanks for the link, I will see if I can use some if their ratings to skew the family movie list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know what you mean.  We attended a military event as a family recently, and I realized that the first general my son and daughter got to meet in real life was a woman.  I almost teared up.  They will never know that women weren't, just like they can't imagine life without touch-screen technology.  What a fantastic world!  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that ds is home from college, we were able to see the Thor.  We still wait on the biggies 'til we are all together. Ds and I have seen it twice, and I am totally in love with one of the characters and hope she gets a solo movie.  (Edited to eliminate spoilers!) I love it when a woman can share screen time with the big names and come off just as powerful and strong.  

 

Wonder Woman was awesome.  I didn't see Justice League because I don't enjoy the darkness of the other DC movies.  I didn't want to ruin my memory of her character.

 

I'm not sure if it has been mentioned, but Hidden Figures is one of my all time favorites!!

Edited by Joules
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family just saw a very popular movie. I was surprised at how teary I get over having strong female characters for my girls (and ds) to see. I never missed then when I was growing up, but of course there weren't many/any. I first made this personal discovery at Wonder Woman, but tonight's movie was better.

 

The Force Awakens had that effect on me. I was taken by surprise by how powerful the impact was on me. I had seen women portrayed as strong emotionally or spiritually.  Or women who were wise. That was pretty common. Women who were smart (as opposed to wise about human relationships) were less common and women who were physically strong were pretty absent.  Rey was all of the above. 

 

I also really like that Daisy Ridley did so much of her own fighting, etc. There are a few videos on Youtube of snippets of her workouts as she prepared for the role. That has been really inspiring to me. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel the same way.

 

I am constantly grateful for the diverse community my children have grown up in.  Ds18 never saw women as unequal: in his world, they ran large organizations, were lawyers, mathematicians, olympians, leaders.  All people he personally knew and respected.  It was much different than my childhood, where I railed against being told 'no' by community leaders because I wasn't a boy.

 

I've always tried to keep women more in our history and science studies and consistently point out the women who made a difference.  Ds came home on break a month ago and he and I got into a good discussion about what he thought gender inequality was and what it actually is - he grew up sheltered from that sort of thing because he was always surrounded by strong women.  He had no idea the struggles women have, right down to not even having the equal rights amendment ratified.  I gently reminded him that when I point out the women who do things, it is to always cement the idea that no matter what the books say, it's what they don't say that counts.  Women did it too. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think I found those, but I did find a book called Girls Rebel, so I put that one in bold to strew. I guess I'm reveling in the fact that my dc are getting access to more of these women without lots of effort on my part.

 

I know there is plenty of room for improvement out there, so I'll just ride this good feeling for a bit and then get back to work fighting wrongs and correcting ridiculous stereotypes.

 

https://www.rebelgirls.co

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel the same way.

 

I am constantly grateful for the diverse community my children have grown up in.  Ds18 never saw women as unequal: in his world, they ran large organizations, were lawyers, mathematicians, olympians, leaders.  All people he personally knew and respected.  It was much different than my childhood, where I railed against being told 'no' by community leaders because I wasn't a boy.

 

I've always tried to keep women more in our history and science studies and consistently point out the women who made a difference.  Ds came home on break a month ago and he and I got into a good discussion about what he thought gender inequality was and what it actually is - he grew up sheltered from that sort of thing because he was always surrounded by strong women.  He had no idea the struggles women have, right down to not even having the equal rights amendment ratified.  I gently reminded him that when I point out the women who do things, it is to always cement the idea that no matter what the books say, it's what they don't say that counts.  Women did it too. 

 

I think actually you raise an important point - that if you do a good job in your schooling & your community, some kids absorb the idea (which is pushed quite heavily by mainstream too so I think it gets extra stickiness as a social idea) that there is no inequality problem any more. There is a lot of pushback to the concept that women's rights are still developing and that women do hit glass ceilings and are still under represented in many fields (& discriminated against in paychecks). 

 

 

I think it's also important to explicitly talk about how NOW how few films pass bechdel, how few shots of politicians or corporate boards etc have anywhere near 50/50 men and women, how harassment and discrimination is still locking women out of many positions... 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I'm that person for my kids.  They watch me intently when we get into a situation.  I stand my ground and articulate what I want.  Sometimes I push forward physically.  You can see the "go mom" on my kids' faces, LOL.  Especially since I'm usually "mild-mannered."

 

My eldest did really like Wonder Woman.  She saw the movie, and now she wants to "be" Wonder Woman.  I was glad because it encourages her in her strengths of gymnastics, martial arts, running, and even spying.  :P  But Wonder Woman is not something she can fall back on when real life kicks her butt.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...