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Which feminists have inspired you?
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Storm
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Jan 09, 2016 08:25AM
I just read This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund and I was amazed by her. She is one of my newest inspirations and I'm sorry I hadn't read the book earlier.
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Actually I have been inspired by the books I read. Most of them have some strong female figures, such as Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger (duh), Tris Prior, Anabeth Chase, Tonks, Professor McGonagall and many others
Simone de Beauvoir, Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou, Patricial Hill Collins (INTERSECTIONAL feminism), etc. etc. etc.Too many to count. :)
Maria Curie-Skłodowska and her daughters. Twice Nobel prize ( in sciences! a that time!), patriot, amazing children ( Irene had Nobel prize in chemistry too, Eve was in UNICEF). Swietlana Aleksijewicz for her books about women in hard times.
Maria Konopnicka (people totally rejected her for living with another women), Eliza Orzeszkowa, Zofia Nałkowska - polish feminist writers.
Fictional character - Anne Shirley-Blythe of course! :)
Oh, and of course Emma Watson. I admire how she can reach younger women with her words, using social media (this club is an awesome idea!).
Wonderful responses! I love the movie/book references, and Fatima I am thrilled to see that you mentioned Maya Angelou.
Tarja Halonen, first female president in Finland.
Jane Campion - one of only four women to ever be nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. Most of her work centres around women, and the characters are always so real and honest - I remember discovering her during my exams about ten years ago and I thought she was incredible. The representation of women in cinema is so ridiculous at the moment, so I feel it is important to champion those like Jane Campion and others that don't stand for it.
Also on the cinematic note...honourable mention for George Miller on Mad Max: Fury Road, for showing the world that having realistic female characters make action films better.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie completely turned me into an unashamed feminist. I remember I had never understood the term or got what the issues were, accepted a lot that happened then after hearing the Beyonce song Flawless*** (cliche I know) read this book and felt so empowered and awakened. If you haven't read it, its 50 pages of pure gold that I highly recommend!! I still go back to it when I feel downtrodden.
There are a lot fictional characters that inspired me, like Hermione Granger, Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Katniss Everdeen, Beatrice Prior, Mulan etc. And of course: Emma Watson, Malala Yousafzai, Mary Wollstonecraft, Khertek Anchimaa-Toka, Susan Anthony or writers like J.K.Rownling, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Simone de Beauvoir. And they aren't the only.
Oh, so many different writers over the years. Simone de Beauvoir when I was nineteen or so, then Alice Walker and bell hooks and Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich... Too many to list. (Just recently read Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay and so enjoyed it- really worth reading.)
Their works and speeches have inspired me to not ot take things for granted:Simone de Beauvoir
Adichi
Emma Watson
Eliane Showalter
Maya Angelou
watch this :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3um...
Robin wrote: "Oh, so many different writers over the years. Simone de Beauvoir when I was nineteen or so, then Alice Walker and bell hooks and Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde a..."Hi, Robin! If you want, you can suggest the book "Bad Feminist" in the "Book Suggestions" thread! I'm sure most of us want to read it! Have a good day! :)
Mihaela
Rowan Blanchard, Emmeline Pankhurst and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are just a few that really inspire me!
Wow, so many names. It seems to me that feminism has no boundaries, as it shouldn't, of course. :)
Amy Poehler and Zoey Decshanel are my real life inspiration for feminism.My fictional ones would have to be Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice and Bernadette from Where'd You Go Bernadette.
Mine is a fictional character. Her name is America Singer from The Selection series by Kiera Cass. She is so determined to help her family without losing herself and giving into the patriarchal norms of the fictional society. She also tries to lessen the gaps between the poor and the wealthy of all sexes.
Here's a complete list!Fictional characters:
Katniss Everdeen
Primrose Everdeen
Hermione Granger
Ginny Weasley
Luna Lovegood
Annabeth Chase
Tris Prior
Hazel Grace
Melody Brooks
Princess Merida Dunbroch
Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano
Rey from Star Wars 7
Hazel Grace
Actresses:
Emma Watson
Rowan Blanchard
Daisy Ridley
Authors:
J.K Rowling
Jane Austen
Veronica Roth
Cassandra Clare
Suzanne Collins
Chloe Moertz
Malala Yousufzai
I think all woman who respect the world and respect themselves can be considered feminists. A feminist is someone who isn't afraid to stand up for the rights of someone else, especially gender equality. I think any one can do that as long as they are brave enough to stand up for themselves, others, and what's right.
-Audrey Hepburn-Emma Watson
-Meryl Streep
-Shailene Woodly
-Lyudmila Pavlichenko aka The Arrow
-Kacy Catanzaro
-Jennifer Worth
-Maya Angelou
-Margaret Thatcher
-Rosa Parks
-Helen Keller
-Malala
-Harriet Tubman
-Joan of Arc
-Julia Child
-Eleanor Roosevelt
-Lupita Nyong'o
-Sacajawea
-Maud Gonne
-Marie Curie
-Dorothea Lange
-Amelia Earheart
-Aretha Franklin
-Toni Morrison
-Lucille Ball
-Carol Burnette
-Indira Gandhi
-Cher
-Princess Diana
-Jackie Joyner-Kersee
-Madeleine Albright
-Helen Mirren
-Wilma Mankiller
-Elizabeth Blackwell
-Susan B. Anthony
-Condoleezza Rice
-Tom Hardy
-Benedict Cumberbatch
-Angelina Jolie
-Amy Poehler
-Joseph Gordon-Levitt
-Mayim Bialik
-Tina Fey
And others.
Fictional characters:
•Rey
•Hermione Granger
•Furiosa
•Luna Lovegood
•Ginny Weasley
•Minerva McGonagall
•Molly Weasley
•Tonks
•Mulan
•Belle
•Elizabeth Bennet
•Tris Prior
•Katniss Everdeen
•Primrose Everdeen
•Skeeter Phelan
•Merida
•Eowyn
•Arwen
•Catwoman
•Princess Leia
I apologize for the lengthiness, they are all just so inspiring!
Simone de Beauvoir is the first woman I knew was a feminist and that's why I like it so much, but I really think that everyone has a feminist inside because more or less I think everyone wants gender equality, deep deep in their hearts.
Gender inequality afects men too, so if we unite our strength WE CAN DO IT
Gender inequality afects men too, so if we unite our strength WE CAN DO IT
Oh and add J.K. Rowling and Daisy Ridley to the non-fictional list.And Annabeth Chase to the fictional.
Malala Yousafzai! Her adamant search for education at such a young age has been inspiring and thought provoking.I also admire a young man who volunteered, and now works at, the sexual assault hotline I volunteer at. In our class he talked of his friends making fun of him for being a feminist. I found his empathy as a male advocate extremely inspiring. It made me hopeful about other strong male feminists eventually coming out of the wood work.
Also, Yuri Kochiyama! Her advocacy for the civil rights movement inspires me to use my agency, as a white female, to help people of color fight racism.
Jayce wrote: "And speaking of Malala Yousafzai, has anyone seen the documentary "He Named Me Malala" by any chance? I know that Miss Watson recommended it :)"I want to see it after I've read her book!
I grew with a mother who was very strong willed and believed in the importance of equality. Through the manner in which she carried herself, she shaped how I would view the world. My mother is a feminist and unconsciously taught me to be one.Some other inspirations:
Fictional characters:
~ Hermione Granger
~ Luna Lovegood
~ Donna Noble
~ Peggy Carter
~ Minerva McGonagall
~ Leia Organa/Skywalker
~ Eowyn
~ Mulan
~ Scarlett O'Hara
~ Wonderwoman
~ Totally Spies
~ Nasuada (Eragon Series)
~ Ziva David. (NCIS)
~ Caitlin Todd (NCIS)
~ Storm/ Ororo Monroe
~ Jo March (little women)
Famous people:
~ Emma Watson
~ Craig Keilburger
~ Maya Angelou
~ Oprah
~ Carrie Fisher
I really hope I haven't forgotten anyone.
Honorable mention goes to those people who treated me different because I was a girl or said things to be because I was a girl. You guys burned my feminist fire
I have a list of real people & fictional characters who inspire me. There are probably others, but these are the ones who come to mind at the moment. For real people, I'd say Emma Watson (of course), Malala Yousafzai, Carey Mulligan, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jessica Chastain, Hayley Atwell and also more recently I've discovered more Amy Poehler.
For fictional characters, I choose Rey, Hermione Granger, Tris Prior, Katniss Everdeen, Jane Eyre, Belle, Merida, Celaena Sardothien (aka Aelin) & Feyre (who are both the protagonists from Sarah J Maas's novels)
I can't think of too many at the moment, but here are a few.-Emma Watson (of course)
-Rowan Blanchard
-Malala
-JK Rowling
-Helen Keller
Real life:~Emma Watson
~Audrey Hepburn
~Rowan Blanchard
~Malala
~Coco Chanel
~J.K Rowling
Fictional:
~Hermione Granger
~Rose Tyler
~Ziva David
~Ginny Weasley
~Donna Noble
~Minerva Mcgonagall
~Luna Lovegood
etc.....
Sheetal and Kelly,I love how you put real people and fictional characters into two categories! And Eleanor, you have picked wonderful people too :)
I love it! :-)
I thought of someone else who inspired me to become a feminist: my 8th grade biology teacher. He strongly believed in gender equality, and had high hopes that women would one day have more job opportunities around the world. Strange as it is, that was when I found out that gender inequality is still a problem today.
Simone de Beauvoir a été une grande féministe.
Audrey HepburnEmma Watson
JK Rowling and moree :)
Patrick StewartOprah Winfrey
John Green
Jadwiga of Poland
Heinrich Cornelius Aggrippa
Queen Elizabeth I
Florence Nightingale
Coco Chanel
Gloria Steinem
Margaret Thatcher
Benazir Bhutto
Hillary Clinton
Malala
Marlene Dietrich
Eva Peron
Bell Hooks
Coretta Scott King
Maya Angelou
Angelina Jolie
Lena Dunham
Virginia Woolf
Aung San Suu Kyi
Katharine Hepburn
And of course miss Emma Watson :P
That is for now
Virginia Woolf wrote my favourite book and one of the most important book for feminism: A Room of One's Own. She is my inspiration and my light. And of course Simone De Beauvoir and Doris Lessing, two writers any feminist has to read.
Emma Watson, Definitely!
I didn't really know much about feminism till I saw Emma's UN Women HeforShe speech which I found in an article that popped up on Facebook and now I follow UN Women on Facebook and Twitter and I wish the was more I could do
I didn't really know much about feminism till I saw Emma's UN Women HeforShe speech which I found in an article that popped up on Facebook and now I follow UN Women on Facebook and Twitter and I wish the was more I could do
oh I suddenly remembered all the woman in Harry Potter (of course) too I made a sort of collage several years ago on the computer, printed and framed it
Female PrivilegeWomen receive lighter sentences and a higher chance of acquittal 1
94% of sexually abused youth in correctional facilities reported being abused by female staff. Only 40% of the staff is female.
Inmates reporting staff sexual misconduct, ~ 65% reported a female aggressor
Study of US college women - 12% of the respondents reported ever using any type of force strategy while 43% reported using a coercion strategy and 92% reported using a seduction strategy to initiate sex.
Mothers kill children at twice the rate of fathers.
For Every 100 girls..
Women actually control 80% of household spending, and 51.3% of private wealth.
Women receive custody in over 90% of divorce proceedings
Women initiating divorce between 66% and 90% of the time.
Women make up the majority of college graduates
School system favors girls starting from Kindergarten
Feminists being horrible
Feminists skewed the Definition of Domestic Abuse, resulting in only male abusers being arrested and female abusers not.
Feminists’s DV training hurts Police training
Feminist Mary Koss denies male rape victims.
Feminists violently protesting against Warren Farrell at U of Toronto
A mob of feminists at a protest attack and sexually molesting a group of Rosary-praying Catholic men who were peacefully protecting a cathedral in San Juan from vandalism.
Feminists disrupt a forum for battered men
Feminists fought a law for equal custody to be the default if both parents want custody and neither parent is unfit. Multiple times.
Feminists started a campaign against Father’s rights groups
Feminists fought against laws granting men anonymity until charged with the crime of rape—not convicted, just charged.
Feminists fought against a law to end to the justice system favoring women and giving men harsher sentences simply because they are men.
Feminist fought against men want equal treatment when victims of domestic violence, and to not be arrested for the crime of “being male” under primary aggressor policies.
Feminists in India and Israel fought against female rapists being arrested & charged.
Feminists fought against economic stimulus for male-dominated job such as construction
Feminist fought a law against Paternity Fraud.
Hateful Quotes by Feminsts
Feminist Harriet Harman has publicly requested employers to hire women in preference to White men if both job candidates are equally
Equality Minister,feminist Patricia Hewitt, found guilty of breaching the Sex Discrimination Act by “overlooking a strong male candidate in favour of a weaker female applicant”.
Elected in 2009, the lesbian feminist prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has vowed to “end of the Age of Testosterone
Feminists want to make peeing while standing illegal
Erin Pizzey had to flee the UK because she & her family received death threats & her dog was shot because feminists didn’t like that she stated women were just as violent as men.
Suzanne Steinmetz & her children received bomb & death threats when she found the rate at which men were victimized was similar to the rate for women.
Richard Gelles & Murray Straus received death threats from feminists for publishing findings that female-to-male family violence was equal to male-to-female violence.
Why are Feminist not speaking out about real rape culture?The 2015 New Years Eve Attacks in #Cologne (#Köln)
Oh I guess they have to do more important things...Like starting a bookclub...I guess women getting raped and sexually assaulted doesn't count on the Feminist list of priorities, I mean unless they can blame it on White Men..Then they are all in. Feminist are such liars and cowards. If anyone wishes to Learn more about the Attack against women in Cologne here is a great video link. Please everyone spread the information that extremist progressives are afraid to talk about. Everyone please reject Feminist ideology and become Humanist.
https://youtu.be/WJCLSZm4-LA
My mother! I've been a feminist since birth. But apart from that start, I've been inspired by a lot more people... And books. Gerd Brantenberg wrote the book "egalia's daughters; a satire of the sexes" and that was a real eye-opener for me when I was in my early teens. As a grown-up (and a mother!), Maria Sveland's book "Bitter Bitch" made me take a huge step in feminism. Other persons, fictional or not has been:
Lady Dahmer (a blogger in Sweden)
Gudrun Schyman
Mary Wollstonecraft
Fredrika Bremer
Jane Austen
Moa Martinsson
Minerva McGonagall
...and so many others!
Maya Angelou - her poetry is so powerful. It's always so succinct and pithy, but the deeper meaning (feminism) is always prevalent.
Emma Watson, Simone de Beauvoir, J.K., Jennifer Lawrence, Jout Jout(a famous Youtuber in Brazil), my Friends, my mom, my Teachers. All who believe in equality.
My mom would be the very feminist that has inspired me. Even though we do disagree on some things, she is the one who taught me that women are just as good as men and are capable of doing anything they want. She taught me strength, to pick my battles, to accept compliments, to look others in the eye, and keep my handshake firm.If I ever were to define myself a feminist, it would probably be like Christina Hoff Summers or Camille Paglia.
Some of the strong female fictional characters I like are Nancy Drew, Polgara the Sorceress, Wonder Woman, Spiderwoman, and the Bionic Woman
I admire all the women who fight for better living, whether they are famous or not.
The suffragettes were my first inspiration. I was introduced to the movement through American Girl, and the end sections looking back on history made me want to learn more about the Seneca Falls convention, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, &c. I also admired Mary-Kate Olsen, Helga Pataki, the Disney princesses, Dana Foster, Scarlett O'Hara, Anne Frank, and the Sailor Scouts, and felt encouraged to do well in all I pursued by websites like SmartGirl. As an adult, now I become inspired by all women I know trying to pursue their passions, and build a strong sense of character and better lives for themselves and their families, and who encourage their friends to do the same.
For me my favorite feminists are Gloria Steinem of course but also Beyonce' and any person willing to stand up and fight for the rights of all people. On the fictional side it would be Princess Leia, Hermione Granger, and Imperator Furiosa
Dorothy Parker. So much fun to read her pomes when I was a teenager.
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