10 of My Top Women Heroes

In honor of Women’s History Month which is almost over, I fortunately had until March 31^st to get this blog post finished and posted, I wanted to share 10 of my top women heroes. I can’t say that these are my all-time top 10 because I have way too many women heroes to confine to a mere list of 10.

A Women’s Studies minor in college, I have definitely been called a “feminist” in my time, and I have honestly never seen that as a bad thing. Every great moment in history has women in it as well as men, we just haven’t done a very good job up until recent memory of telling the stories. Did I mention I was an English/Mass Communications double major? That may help you understand some of the choices below.

I also found it interesting in writing this blog and “googling” famous women, top women in history, etc. that almost every list had Hillary Clinton, Oprah and Madonna on it, alongside Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc and Rosa Parks. My personal opinion would be that the contributions of the last three far outweigh the media sensation of the first three.

1. Maya Angelou. If you need explanation of why this woman is a modern day hero I would say OPEN A BOOK! She was one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. With over 50 honorary doctorate degrees, she was a celebrated poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist. I would highly encourage you to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony. I’m cheating here and giving you two for one (a twofer as Ms Charm calls it!). These ladies were revolutionary in the suffrage movement that eventually garnered women in America the right to vote in 1920. Stanton was the author of the Declaration of Sentiments that is said to have initiated the first organized women’s rights and suffrage movement in the US in 1848. Anthony arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. Popularly known as the Anthony Amendment and introduced by Sen. Aaron A. Sargent (R-CA), it became the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
3. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Who hasn’t seen Little House on the Prairie? I mean come on, we laughed, we cried, and we celebrated everything that Ingalls’ family did during the settlement of Wisconsin, the move to Kansas and then the move back to the Big Woods. While a very simple woman, with very simple tastes, Wilder did a lot of big things. I can recall getting in trouble for staying up late with a flashlight to read these books over and over again.
4. Elizabeth Blackwell. In case you didn’t know she was the first woman to receive a medical degree in America and the first woman to be on the medical register in England. She is credited with breaking down the social barriers, enabling women to be accepted as doctors.
5. Coco Chanel. Can’t leave out a fashion maven for sure! A French designer, she was considered to be one of the most innovative creators of her time. She was instrumental in defining feminine style and dress in the 20^th She really enjoyed emulating masculine attire and making it fit a woman.
6. Katherine Hepburn. An American actress born in 1907, she was an iconic figure of 20^th Century film. She won four Oscars and was nominated for 12 others. She was often criticized for her less than traditional lifestyle, however, through her acting and life she helped redefine traditional views of women’s role in society.
7. Billie Holiday. An American jazz singer she was called the “First Lady of the Blues” and was widely considered to be the greatest jazz singer of all time. She died at the age of 44, however, her legend lives on.
8. Mary Musgrove. She was a Georgia woman of mixed race, who along with her husband began a fur trade with the Creeks. As an interpreter she helped to avoid a war with the Indians. She and her husband also helped to settle St Catherines Island.
9. Shirley Chisholm. The first African American woman elected to the US Congress in 1968. She was a politician, an educator and an author. In 1972 she became the first major party black candidate for President of the United States and the first woman ever to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination.
10. Diana Gabaldon & Claire Randall (another twofer). An American author known for the Outlander series of novels. Her books blend genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantasy. By 2012 her novels had been published in 27 countries and 24 languages, she had never written a book before her first skyrocketed on the New York Times Bestseller List. Claire Randall is one of the main characters in the Outlander series and as Gabaldon herself says about her female character,” (she) took over the story and began telling it herself, making smart-ass modern remarks about everything.” So you can imagine why I like her lol!

So the hope is you learned something, at least about me, if not about a new figure in the landscape of strong womanhood.

-Leah Poole, CEO of the Liberty County Chamber & CVB

The Right Blend Blog is written by three different authors employed by the Liberty County Chamber/CVB. As we are able, we rotate weeks and each write about our individual experiences, opinions and let our writing reflect our personalities and creativity. All content provided on The Right Blend blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.