Shooting for the Moon: Graduation and Women Who Changed Our World

I graduated. A week ago, today.

Holy sh- wait. That would not be very Southern Belle of me ;)

But, gah! It really happened!?! 


Saturday, May 7th, I crossed the Cistern (yes, Cistern... not an auditorium stage. We do things differently at C of C!).

 No cap and gown... white sundresses and summer tuxedos :)

I hope you aren't jealous! 

A week later, the beauty and charm and celebration of the ceremony has settled.

Now, I have to enter the "real world."

And, I am excited-nervous-frightened-pumped.

What do I hope to do?

What any Southern Belle Feminist would:

Change. The. World. 

Lofty - yes - but, as they say:

Whether you've just graduated or not,

I hope you're shootin' for the moon, too.

If you need a little inspiration, check out these 125 women who shot for the moon and changed our world.

Here are a few of my favorites and some you may have never heard of before:

• Diana, Princess of Wales - activist and icon 
• Nancy Drew - yes, as in the teen detective... I swear I think I read every single book in the series growing up! 
• Rosie the Riveter - hello girl power! 
• Anne Frank - I have been journaling ever since I read her book.  
• Helen Keller - true example that women can overcome whatever life throws at them
• Wendy Kopp - founder of Teach for America 
• Gertrude Belle Elion - medical researcher who helped us transplant organs and fight Leukemia 
• Rosalind Franklin - first to discover proof about the double-helix in DNA
• Jacqueline Cochran - first woman to break the sound barrier 
• Valentina Tereshkova - first woman in space
• Mia Hamm - "She scored more international goals than any other soccer player, and led a generation of adolescent girls to change their minds about sports."
• Wilma Rudolph - "She overcame polio to become a runner, winning three gold medals in one Olympics, the first American woman to do so."
• Eve Ensler - creator of The Vagina Monologues 
• Gloria Steinem - feminist writer and activist
• Betty Friedan - author of The Feminine Mystique and cofounder of the National Organization for Women 
• Jeannette Rankin - first woman elected to Congress... back in 1916
• Gertrude Ederle - "First woman to swim the English Channel (beating the men's record by nearly two hours), 1926."  
•  Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton - suffragists and women's rights supporters
• Hedy Lamarr - "Inventor of an anti-jamming device for radio-controlled torpedoes, 1942." And a glam actress... talk about multi-talented ;)
  
  Clearly, all of these women are talented.
  
  Hopefully, as I enter the real world, I can follow in their footsteps to change the world and succeed in life:
  
  

  Success:  To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded! 

                                                                       ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
  
  
  

  

  Me, about to "Cross the Cistern"

  
  

  

    And, across, an official College of Charleston alum!
  
  

  Now I'm off to enter [and hopefully change...] the real world! 

  
  

  I hope you'll join me and... 
  
  

  

  
  

Guerilla Girls - Creative Complaining

Who are they? 

According to their website, they are "feminist masked avengers in the tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and Batman." And, "We're a bunch of anonymous females who take the names of dead women artists as pseudonyms and appear in public wearing gorilla masks." Why? "We wear gorilla masks to focus on the issues rather than our personalities."

And I was lucky enough to see their informative and very entertaining presentation at CofC this semester. 

Their goal: 

To "expose sexism, racism and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture." And, "use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny."

And how do they do that? 

"With facts, humor and outrageous visuals. We reveal the understory, the subtext, the overlooked, the and the downright unfair." 

Check out some examples below of how they use art to accuse art: 

 

And people have noticed: 

"Our work has been passed around the world by our tireless supporters. In the last few years, we’ve appeared at over 90 universities and museums, as well as in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Bitch, and Artforum; on NPR, the BBC and CBC; and in many art and feminist texts."

But they do way more than posters: 

"We are authors of stickers, billboards, many, many posters and other projects... We’re part of Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign in the UK; we're brainstorming with Greenpeace. In the last few years, we've unveiled anti-film industry billboards in Hollywood just in time for the Oscars, and created large scale projects for the Venice Biennale, Istanbul and Mexico City. We dissed the Museum of Modern Art at its own Feminist Futures Symposium, examined the museums of Washington DC in a full page in the Washington Post, and exhibited large-scale posters and banners in Athens, Bilbao, Montreal, Rotterdam, Sarajevo and Shanghai.

In addition, they have published several funny and interesting books: 

Confessions of The Guerrilla Girls

 

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art

 

 

  

Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes

 

 

The Guerrilla Girls' Art Museum Activity Book

 

 

And their plans for the future? 

"More creative complaining! More facts, humor and fake fur! More appearances, actions and artworks. We could be anyone; we are everywhere." 

 If you want to know more, here is a snippet from their F.A.Q. page:

How did your group get started? Why do you call yourselves Guerrillas? Why girls? Why the gorilla masks? Why the pseudonyms?

That is ancient history....you can read all about it in our interview.

 Or, just check out their whole website :) 

Doing Gender, Buying Drinks - My FIRST YouTube video :)

A Little Conversation with my Mom

Mom: What are your plans for tonight?

Me: Oh, um, I'll be going out to a couple bars.    

          NOTE: this is extremely out of the ordinary for me. 

Mom: What!?! 

Me: Yea, well I have to. 

Mom: What do you mean you have to?

Me: It's for class; I'm collecting data. 

Mom: Nice try. 

Me: No, really! It is for my Gender and Society class. 

It really was. Between you and me (and the rest of the blogsphere!), I was not simply trying to pull one over on my mom. 

The Assignment

Our group project assignment called for us to examine gender out in the field. And, believe it or not, of all people, yours truly was assigned to examine gender in a field study of a bar on a downtown Saturday night. 

Most of my peers were either intensely jealous or in disbelief. 

My parents were a little confused in how this counted as education they were paying for ;) 

And me, well... 

Mind you, before this project, I could count on one hand the times I'd been in a bar on a Saturday night. Lame, I know but a Southern Belle has to maintain her classy image and that cannot be done slamming back cold ones in a bar ;) 

Our Research

Nonetheless, I've discussed before that when a grade is involved, the NERD in me wins out ;)

So the Southern Belle in me risked my class and any chance at being cool by heading out to the bars, notebook in hand. 

I kid you not. 

So my group members and I sat there observing, scribbling notes and taking interviews. Unlike most group projects, though, our research did come complete with a Tequila Sunrise - an attempt to blend in despite the aforementioned notebook which hopefully everyone was too drunk to notice.

People did notice, however, when we returned on another night with a video camera. Strange how intoxicated people flock to be recorded... a clear indication that alcohol affects your logical reasoning ;)

Lastly, we also recorded ourselves - and I had not one drop to drink so I cannot blame alcohol on that decision. So forgive my poor acting skills but our aim was to create a satire of sorts (by doing gender wrong) based on what we discovered in our research on how to do gender in a bar scene.

Our Focus

We decided clothing was too obvious: duh, girls wear less and boys wear more. Researching that would have not been very insightful to our class or you. 

Instead, we chose to focus on the gender of drinks. 

Below, you'll find our answer via a few interesting and entertaining descriptions and interviews of what drink to buy if you want a masculine, feminine, or gender neutral drink.

I hope you like it!

Oh and if you DO like it, please pass it on. For those of you who know me (and my YouTube video obsession), you know how it would please me beyond belief for this to go viral ;) 

Then we could all drink to that - in whatever gender of drink you'd like!

Men and Women AND the Purse Dilema

I have a dilemma: tonight is A Charleston Affair (kinda like the prom of college) and I don't have the right purse. It is not an issue of not having the right color or size; I simply do not have any clutch or other cocktail-appropriate purse.

So, what's a Southern Belle to do?

While I normally carry my "hockey bag" purse (see video below) which is simply too large for tonight's event, I figured I could hijack my date's pockets and have him carry my essentials (i.e. lip-gloss, ID, cell phone, etc.). But then I didn't want him to face his own dilemma (see the rest of the video below!).

Sorry for the poor quality; the content of the comedy makes up for it though!

But is he onto something? Having the guy just carry a purse?

More and more men are: according to this website, there has been a 21% increase in murses (male purses) sold in the last year.

Despite the increase, I think most would still agree that it looks odd when a man carries a purse today...

He even has a clutch like I need ;)

You may not believe it but men were actually the first ones to carry purses. According to Barbara G. H. Hagarty's book Handbags, men carried them first. Yes, I repeat:

murses preceded purses  

because men needed a bag to hold their coin money. This dates back to ancient times in Greece and Rome.

If only Charleston Affair could have come after the Center for Women's 10th Annual It's in the Bag Purse Auction on May 13th; no doubt, I could have found the perfect purse there.

But as for now, I'll have to hope my date will risk his own dilemma and carry my essentials for me :)

For your next night out, if you don't have a date or if yours won't accommodate your essentials by letting you hijack his pockets,  select your bag wisely because, as Ellen Rachlin said, (quoted in Hagarty's book):

A woman in her lifetime will spend far more hours hugging a handbag than a man. 

Ain't that the truth? ;) 

  

I Want a Wife (It's Not What You're Thinking!)

I know it has been a while since I've posted. 

And I have been busy. 

Really Busy. 

That is why I want a wife.

It is not what you're thinking: I am not turning lesbian. 

It is more like I'm turning logical: I want a wife because my to-do list remains perpetually incomplete. I scratch one thing off but somehow 2 or 3 new tasks have appeared along with the other things that remain undone.

One month remains of my college career!?! As I try to complete homework and reading and papers, I also have to find time to do laundry, buy groceries, vacuum my room, etc. etc. etc.. This on top of classes, an internship and work. Then, of course, there are the unexpected things like having to buy a new laptop, scheduling to get my wisdom teeth removed, ordering flowers for graduation, etc. etc. etc.. Oh and trying to have a social life.

That is why I want a wife. 

As I sit here in the library after midnight attempting to study for a test at 10 am and not be overwhelmed by my never-ending to-do list, I was reminded of an essay I once read called "Why I Want a Wife" by Judy Syfers. This site describes the original publication and delivery (celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 19th amendment). 

I have included the essay in its entirety below for all of y'all  - gay, straight, male, female, single or otherwise - who, like me, WANT A WIFE ;) 

I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother.

Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is obviously looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?

I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to keep track of the children's doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who will wash the children's clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife's income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while my wife is working.

I want a wife who will take care of *my* physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a *good* cook. I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene.

I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.

I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about the things that interest me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel comfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that they are passed the hors d'oeurves, that they are offered a second helping of the food, that their wine glasses are replenished when necessary, that their coffee is served to them as they like it.

And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself.

I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that *my* sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible.

If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.

When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife's duties.

My God, who *wouldn't* want a wife?

My comments are just as tongue-in-cheek as the essay but I still offer this disclaimer: I do not expect to have someone do all of that for me and nor do I think anyone else should expect all of that either. It is simply unfair to expect anyone - wife or husband - to do all of that. If everyone pulled their own weight in the home then we wouldn't have wives who end up feeling like this:

So lovingly but also logically, I say to anyone stuck in a situation like my last few weeks, overwhelmed with life's to-do lists, to the point that you want a wife like the imaginary one in the essay above, just suck it up and follow this advice ;) 

And thank the wife or mom or friend or roommate who helps out with cooking your meals, cleaning your clothes, making your doctor's appointments, etc. etc. etc.

Southern Belle Side Note: A friend worth peeing on...

In honor of Women's History Month, I thought I would share a bit of my own history about none other than my very best friend... a friend worth peeing on.

Background

Her name is Sara (pronounced Sair-uh) while my name is Sarah (which we jokingly pronounce Sair-Huhhhhhh for the "h"); there is something about Sara(h)s where we tend to attract each other. 

We were both born in the same town, went to the same school for a few years, attended the same church for even longer and spent many a YMCA work-out class giggling and sweating together which cemented our friendship. 

Fortunately, that has allowed our relationship to survive long-distance in college as we go to schools more than 4 hours away from each other. We bridge that gap with frequent texts and facebook messages - plus, we have at least a once-a-week phone date.

In fact, we just ended a phone date which inspired this post!

Setting 

Last summer, Sair-uh and I were at the beach with another friend, Katie. It was a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky. We had been laying out (so not a good idea for me... I'm the one with the awful burn below!) but it was bloody hot so we left our towels and headed to the ocean for some relief in the cool water. 

The Incident

The three of us had not gone far. We were wading about chest-deep in the water, letting the waves wash over our shoulders as we continued our chit chat. It was incredibly relaxing. 

All of a sudden though, Sara did not appear very relaxed. 

She shot up out of the water with a squeal and made it back to the shore, I swear in one swift jump. After that, she took off limping on one leg, heading straight for our things, kicking up sand in her wake. 

Katie and I, horrified at what lay inches below the surface swimming at our feet (oh, and worried about Sara, of course!), sprang up almost as high as her, hoping to make it to the shore in one swift leap like Sara so that we could escape the ocean unscathed. Fortunately, we succeeded and then dashed off after her.

We found her wincing in pain with her foot plunged into our ice chest, a red streak forming on her leg. 

The Culprit

It's funny because when I tell this story to friends at college who are not from the south, they haven't a clue what happened. For all they know, she could have been attacked by some awful, under-water sea monster. 

Close enough: she had been stung by a jellyfish : /

Now that might look unsuspecting, even pretty you might think. And, really, with a name like "jelly" fish, how bad can it be? That sounds cute and innocent enough, right?

Wrong. 

Any true Southern Belle knows a jellyfish can do quite a number on ya, since some species are venomous.

The Rescue

Well, poor Sara had quite a number done on her. 

 This wasn't her but, in case you've never seen a sting, it looked kinda like that but smaller and on her leg. Yea: ouch!

The red welt on her leg was spreading and she was near tears. 

At this point, I had to help.

And any true Southern Belle knows the old wives' tale that the best defense for a jellyfish sting is urine. (This is another funny moment when sharing this story with non-southern friends. They've never heard the wives' tale so they just think I am a nut as they do not see my logical conclusion that jellyfish sting = time to pee on someone!)

And Sara - well, she's a friend worth peeing on.

Desperate times do call for desperate measures ;)

Tears spilling over, ice melting and red welt growing, the time had officially become "desperate."

I asked if she wanted me to pee on her, just to make sure. I knew we were about to enter a new closeness in our relationship ;)

She said, "Yes!!! It hurts!" 

As she was removing her leg from the ice chest and Katie was lifting one of our towels as a make-shift modesty-ensuring curtain, I was lowering into the pop-a-squat position. 

The Real Rescue

Just in time, a lady from a nearby set of beach umbrellas must have looked up from her book to see all of this unfold as she came rushing over offering some meat tenderizer.

Yet again, this is a funny point in the re-telling of this to non-southerners. They are utterly dumb-founded at what the significance of meat tenderizer is. Any one from the Southern culture knows that meat tenderizer might as well be called magic potion for treating jellyfish stings. 

So we quickly sprinkled (hmm, this verb does not seem adequate to describe the frantic and thorough application... maybe: "splattered") the meat tenderizer on her leg.

Crisis averted. I did not pee on my best friend. 

But I would have ;) 

And that is just a bit of history about a woman in my life and some of the Southern culture! 

Disclaimer 

This site says that urine is, in fact, not helpful. I know oodles of old southerners who would debate that. 

My advice: best thing to do is simply to come prepared and keep some meat tenderizer with you!

"You may all go to Hell - and I will go to Texas"... to celebrate Women's History Month

  

You may all go to Hell - and I will go to Texas. 

Those aren't my words. They're Davy Crockett's. 

But he was onto something. 

Though I don't wish anyone to go to hell, I do wish you'd all go to Texas! 

I recently had the pleasure of visiting over my Spring break. I saw lots of cute cowboys strutin their stuff in their blue jeans, boots and over-sized belt-buckles but I wondered why do they get all the credit as the tough Texans.

I figured there had to be some impressive Texas women. 

And I was right!

Since March is Women's History Month I thought it absolutely appropriate to do (and share) a little research on them ;) 

  

This website had several impressive Texan cowgirls; here are some of my favorites: 

• Angelina: She is the only woman to have a Texas river, a county, and a national forest named for her. In 1690, the name Angelina was given at baptism to a Native-American woman who was educated by Spanish friars at the Mission of San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande and perhaps also at the College of Zacatecas. She spoke Spanish as well as several Indian languages so she became a translator, including translating for an expedition that founded the Alamo and the city of San Antonio. 

 

•  Sarah Horton Cockrell: (1819 – 1892) She was a very successful businesswoman who built the first iron bridge over the Trinity River at Dallas in 1872 and Dallas' first three-story hotel. Left a widow with small children in 1858, all she had was a stack of debts and her husband's ferry business. She thought big and invested wisely. She set up her own corporations, the Dallas Bridge Company, and the S. H. Cockrell Co., which owned a flour mill. When she died in 1892, her properties were so extensive that her will had to be published in pamphlet form. 

   

•  Bessie Coleman: (1892-1926) She was one of the first licensed female pilots and the world's first black female aviator and barnstormer, had a spectacular but brief career in air shows. She was born in Atlanta, Texas, the twelfth of 13 children. Her mother, an illiterate former slave, borrowed books so Bessie could learn to read. She encouraged young blacks to become involved in aviation. She once refused to perform in Waxahachie, where she had grown up, until blacks were allowed to use the same entrance as whites to the exhibition. Black aviators memorialized her by naming their flying clubs and their magazine after her. In 1990, a street to Chicago's O'Hare Airport was named Bessie Coleman Drive, and, in 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor.

 

•  Sarah T.Hughes: (1896-1985) She was an attorney, legislator, women's rights activist, United Nations supporter, and Texas' first female state and federal judge. A member of a Dallas law firm from 1923 to 1935, she was elected to her first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1930 and voted "Most Valuable Member" her second term.She was national president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs in 1952. The national organization spearheaded her nomination for the vice presidency on the Democratic Party ticket that year, the first woman ever considered, though she withdrew her name. And, after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she administered the Presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson.
  
   
• Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias: (1911 – 1956) She earned more medals and set more records in more sports than any other athlete, male or female, in the twentieth century. She dominated the women's events at the 1932 Olympics, winning three gold medals and setting world records in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin throw. She excelled in every sport she tried and, in particular, won every existing women's golf title. In 1953, she was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. The only race she ever lost was to cancer, in 1956. 

• Sarah Ragle Weddington: (1945 – ) She is best known for having successfully argued the 1973: Roe v. Wade abortion rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was one of only 40 among 1,600 students at the law school at the University of Texas at Austin. She was active in the Texas women's movement, lobbied in the Texas Legislature for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and was a founder of the Texas Women's Political Caucus. She was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and helped with the following: 

• change the law that prevented women from getting credit cards in their own names
• stopped schools from firing pregnant teachers
•  improved the treatment of rape victims.

•  Also, under President Jimmy Carter, she became general counsel for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, an advisor to the president on women's issues, and later became a member of the White House senior staff. She now teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, writes, and speaks publicly, particularly about women and leadership.

Pretty impressive, right? 

I bet there are even more impressive women in your own state. So look them up. 

ALSO, celebrate the women in Your. Own. History.

One of the things I did on my trip was visit family and look at old family photographs. I got to see a picture of my great, great, great grandmother!?! Talk to your moms, aunts, grandmothers and others to learn about the women you came from.  

This month's 2011 theme is "Our History is Our Strength." 

I hope you find both.

Happy Women's History Month!!!