I'm a man, so it's par-for-the-course I'm going to forget one. Shoot me now.
I decided today, to think of however many amazing female humans I could, and create this gallery. I think you'll get the idea, these are not pin-ups, and many are long dead. To really dig into deep history would have been too obvious... but other than the Suffragettes, Queens, Bodicea, who from yesteryear qualifies? Try doing this same exercise with men. It's sick that I can even post this honestly - why are there so few who spring instantly to mind, compared with men? But I gave it my best shot. Analyse, evaluate and add to this if you please.
Diana? Thatcher?
AntwortenLöschenHarriet Tubman over Diana any day.
AntwortenLöschen.
How about Eleanor Roosevelt before Thatcher.
AntwortenLöschenHypatia ?
AntwortenLöschenMay I ask why Diana is included in this illustrious list of females? Her outstanding ability at promoting herself?
AntwortenLöschenYeah. I asked myself the same question. Although I have to grant the fact that as objectionable as Thatcher was as a politician, as a human being (although I have my doubts about her actually being human) and as a female... she set about changes which Britain is still reeling from. Guess for that reason alone I have to give her a pass.
AntwortenLöschen... but Diana?
Hypatia would be #1 on my list.
AntwortenLöschenHmm I've really got to stay away from the keyboard when I'm drinking vodka. I don't even recall posting this.
AntwortenLöschenCan't even remember the 2nd one's name. She's a Suffragette, maybe a founder, far as I know. The other one is Emmeline Pankhurst.
Livni? It all depends on your point of view, does it not?
AntwortenLöschenI'm not saying anyone's greater than anyone else, just put these on the gallery because it's worthy of debate whether they belong being mentioned in the same breath as the truly great. Personally, I think Diana was a beautiful human being, and Lady Thatcher... well, love her or hate her, I can't deny she reached the top in her profession and carved her name into history.
What I'm most interested in here is how much it's a 'Man's World'. Why can I think of so few women (apart from the millions of unnamed mothers and wives whose hard work, sensitivity and flexibility holds families together and stops the world drowning in a sea of testosterone), so few who deserve being lauded like this? I'm sure there are many I wasn't aware of, as Crinkster points out... that was part of the intent too, I guess. Lets hear about the great civil rights campaigners and women who changed history? Eva Braun?
AntwortenLöschenWho was that English writer who used a man's name... Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, along those lines?
George Eliot. Learned something today... TS Eliot is not a woman.
AntwortenLöschenGallery updated. Where do you draw the line of greatness? Martina Navratilova?
How about Cleopatra?
AntwortenLöschenDiana probably does deserve a place there. She highlighted the cause of banning the use of landmines. That has to be a good thing.
AntwortenLöschenReally not sure about Thatcher though!
Kate Adie, Nancy Astor, Elizabeth Fry.
AntwortenLöschenmine to
AntwortenLöschencan I steal this my friend--:)
AntwortenLöschenHEHEHE OR HER LONG LEGS NO THOSE EYES LOL
AntwortenLöschenoops...I just now saw Eleanor on the list...my bad... :-)
AntwortenLöschenThere were no greater women than the suffragettes and the women who risked their lives during the US Civil War. None, The list goes on forever. Historians focus on men, But the suffragettes were beaten and were dragged away to jail. And when they went on hunger strikes were feed through feeding tubes. There were women like Harriet Beecher Stowe freeing the slaves and hundreds of other women. There were women flying aircraft in war as early as WWI and did not receive any recognition for their bravery. Women have been near the front lines in every war since. (They only received VA benefits from the US fairly recently). Great women. Unsung heroes.
AntwortenLöschenDefinition of respect is subjective. My mother deserves my respect for raising four kids (3 of us 2-1/2 years apart) and working full-time in our family restaurant. Owning and running a restaurant, if you know anything about it, is a totally time consuming enterprise. I respect her above all others. My fifth grade teacher, Miss Duly, deserves my respect because she taught me what is was like to inspire children to learn. And she inspired me at that early age to seek a career in teaching, eventually to teach the same grade as she. I never faltered in my aspirations due to her inspiration and the respect I held for her.
So women who deserve our respect. Look around you. You really need not look in the history books. The women to whom you owe the most respect are or have been right in your lives. Looking back in time is fine. It is important to study women's history and I am glad for this post because it brings to the fore this discussion.
Helen Thomas was a news reporter. She broke a glass ceiling. She was a reporter for a long time. But what contributions did she make to society? Long term social contributions? Nope. Not on my list.
Mine too and I think on everyone's list who knows her.
AntwortenLöschenI see Benazir Bhutto is added in the list. I can have political differences with her but I must admit her courage to come back to the country to do politics in the vulnerable circumstances. However, there are countless corruption charges on her and her husband, Zardari, and it might be said that she was negotiating with the dictator to make a special legislation, which is called "NRO", to cover-up her corruption cases. But at the end I can't take her credit that she was a courageous lady like her father.
AntwortenLöschenI think her son is in line to become the next president.
AntwortenLöschenYou mean Benazir's son ? lol he doesn't speak his national language and he's going to rule us, yeah right !! He's the same jerk as his father, Zardari. Can you imagine he has inherited his grandfathers political party, even he's not 20.. its comical
AntwortenLöschenAmy Johnson
AntwortenLöschenRazia Sultana [1205-1240]
AntwortenLöschen:)
AntwortenLöschenWell it was a damn good post anyway! You should "drunk-post" more often.... not that I'm encouraging you to drink, though. ;)
Isn't it interesting how we all perceive things/motives/actions differently?
AntwortenLöschenHelen Thomas, for me, deserves to be there for the reasons you mentioned and for the fact that I happen to have the highest esteem for people who have the courage to tell the truth... no matter how unpopular that makes them.
They just sent her to Beirut because nobody liked her in the office
AntwortenLöschenGo ahead... I'd love to see more fully fleshed-out blogs on each of those that deserve to be written about
AntwortenLöschenGo ahead... I'd love to see more fully fleshed-out blogs on each of those that deserve to be written about
AntwortenLöschenI added her after, at your suggestion
AntwortenLöschenA few names coming up here that I'm not familiar with - shall go educate myself. And Crinkster, you're absolutely right about the joy of teaching. I stand at the beginning of a career in it, inspired by someone in my life recently, who is. Later than some, starting a career path, but that's one profession where I don't think it's TOO late (33). If anything, the maturity that comes with a bit of life experience can only benefit it.
AntwortenLöschenDo you know Paolo Friere's 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed'? Great work on the subject of inspiring students to learn. I think there's a pdf link to it on this group somewhere.
Another of my faves, a truth-telling reporter:
Lara Logan
http://geopolitics.multiply.com/links/item/310
AntwortenLöschenabsolutlely nonsense.
AntwortenLöschenwhen you list criminals like: GOLDA MEIR....OR QEEN ELIZABETH.........&MARGARET THATCHER.......beneath the glorious names of: MOTHER TERESA...& FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE..?
Everybody has an opinion mate. I'm no fan of Thatcher, the present Queen, or Israel's Knesset for that matter... just inspiring debate. I'm fairly adamant that Queens and Prime Ministers qualify in the greatness stakes. At least as nominees. Depends how you define greatness, as I think someone said above.
AntwortenLöschenHelen Mirren? Kathy Burke? Dame Judi Dench? To me, these are greats in their chosen field, names who will be remembered fondly after they are gone... but indeed it is the humanitarians like Florence Nightingale who deserve the most credit, I think.
Did you know that Florence Nightingale invented the pie chart? She was good at maths too.
AntwortenLöschen(Useless trivia courtesy of the great Stephen Fry.)
.....that was the question:
AntwortenLöschenhow we define GREATNESS ?
to me, greatness among western beliefs is very different to eastern.....
western were powerful & made history of modern thinking & believing....& then learn their beliefs to eastern pupils that want to study & learn about history.......
greatness ....is not a power to impress the others....anyway or for any reason...or on any instance.
passing time judges about the GREAT(S) .......
for this ....for example:....ALEXANDER........is not great
also PETR....& FREDRICH....& so ....so//
they are more like ADOLF HITLER......their functions as a rulers to their nations are very similar.
if they are GREAT.....so ...adolf HITLER is greater .
after all my absolute nomonee is:
AntwortenLöschenmother TERRESA..............a human that spent her life for resting others.