Self-Rescuing Princess of the Week - Brooke Raboutou

I don't know a lot about climbing. I'm terribly afraid of falling, and think it's a great personal achievement to make it halfway up the easy routes at the local climbing wall (but I'm working on going higher!). But I'm pretty sure Brooke Raboutou is as freakin' awesome as she seems in these photos! And she's only 11 years old!

I train mostly in the winter in the indoor climbing gyms. I train with my team three/four days per week. They encourage me and I encourage them. We push each other to climb harder. I also do gymnastics and I think that helps my climbing too.

I just like to climb and have fun with my family, my team, and myself.

I think what I do is more fun than most of the other things I could be doing. My best friends do gymnastics and or climbing.

I look up to my family for a lot of different reasons. Mostly because they are good climbers, like my Mom, who won 4 world cups in a row. My Dad was a French champion and was the first person to onsight an 8b. My brother helps me because he encourages me, and we work together. He is also very very strong. I'm also lucky to have my mom as my coach. Another climber that inspires me is Alex Puccio, because she is so strong.

(Quotes Source: DPMClimbing;  Photo Sources: Team ABC Boulder and DPMClimbing)

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Shout-Out - MHP: Recognizing the Women in the Civil Rights Movement

I don't watch a lot of television. I certainly don't watch a lot of talk/news shows. So many of them make my head hurt and leave me feeling worse than I felt when I sat down. But Melissa Harris-Perry? She's my heroine. I made it a point to watch every single show. I might not get to watch it live, but I save it and make sure I get to it some time during the week.

In this segment, Melissa sits down with Elizabeth Alexander, Myrlie Evers-William, Joy-Ann Reid, and Wade Henderson and has a in-depth discussion about the women who played an integral role in the civil rights movement. The talk about the well-known names, like Rosa Parks, Septima Clark, Coretta Scott-King, and so many others.

But they also acknowledge the unknown women who walked rather than taking the bus during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the women who went without necessities so they could contribute a hard-earned dollar to the cause, the women who brought food to the meetings and tended the children. Without these women, the movement could not have survived.

Thanks, Melissa! You rock!

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SRPS Shout Out - Nadia Comăneci

"I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet."

On this day in 1976, Nadia Comăneci was the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 in an Olympic event. Her story was something I grew up with just knowing. I was six that year, and probably watched the Olympics, although I don't really have any clear memories of it.

Rewatching the video now, I'm struck by her grace, her poise, her calm confidence. While I have never been a gymnast myself, I have always admired the sheer athleticism required.



Throughout the 1976 Olympic, Nadia earned seven perfect 10 scores, and her opponent Nellie Kim earned two.

Although retired from competing, she has remained active in the world of gymnastics. While she was living in Romania, she worked with their national junior gymnastics program. Romania at this time was  run by an oppressive regime, and there were many defections during the 80s. Nadia was closely guarded, and it wasn't until the late-80s that she was able to escape. She made her way to the U.S. and then to Canada. There was some drama around her relationship with the man who helped her escape, and some concerns that he was controlling and possibly abusing her. With the help of her former coach, the infamous Bela Károlyi, she was able to get away from him.

In 1996, she married American gymnast Bart Conner, and the couple now has a son. Since the fall of communism, she has returned to Romania several times, and has set up several charity organizations, as well as taking a leadership role in the national gymnastics program.

"I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives."

In the U.S., she was invited to be a speaker at the U.N., and is the current president of the Special Olympics. In the past, she has been hired as a color commentator for gymnastic events, and I sincerely hope she is invited to the 2012 Olympics in London next month.

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SRPS Shout Out - Dr. Emily Stowe

On July 16, 1880, Emily Howard Stowe, a life long suffragist and woman's rights activist, became the first female physician to practice in Canada.

Emily Howard Jennings was born in 1831 on a farm in Norwich Township in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the first of six daughters of a Methodist father and a Quaker mother. Emily's mother had been well-educated at an American Quaker seminary and believed in a good education for her daughters. She was so dissatisfied with the local schools that she chose to instruct all her children herself.

At age 15, Emily became a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in neighbouring Summerville, where she taught for seven years. Her struggle to achieve equal opportunities for women began in 1852 when she applied for admission to Victoria College, in Cobourg, but was refused because she was female. She was, however, accepted by Toronto’s Normal School for Upper Canada, the only advanced school open to women in British North America. She graduated with first-class honors in 1854. 

She took a teaching position at the Brantford School Board, and quickly moved up to become the first woman principal of a public school in Upper Canada. After she married John Stowe, they moved to Pleasantville and started a family.

Soon after the birth of John and Emily Stowe's third child, John contracted tuberculosis. His illness inspired Emily to explore the field of herbal healing and homeopathic medicine, an area her mother had studied. This, together with what she saw as a serious need for women doctors, led to her decision to become a physician.

In 1865, Emily Stowe applied to the Toronto School of Medicine, but once again, she was denied admission. "The doors of the University are not open to women and I trust they never will be," the University's vice-president told her. Stowe was outraged. She promised herself that she would do everything possible to enable women to have the same opportunities as men. Unable to study in Canada, she moved to the United States and enrolled at the New York Medical College for Women, a homeopathic institution in the city of New York. She obtained her degree in 1867 and returned to Canada and set up a practice in homeopathic medicine on Richmond Street in Toronto, even before obtaining her license. She thus became the first practising female physician in Canada.

Even after she received her degree in the US, she was not allowed to enter the University of Toronto, until 1871. And then only with a special arrangement to allow her and another woman, Jenny Trout, to attend the lectures.

It was a difficult period for both of these women, since students and faculty went out of their way to humiliate them. Dr. Stowe either failed her exams or defiantly refused to sit them and returned to her practice, still without a licence. Jenny Trout passed her exams and became the first licensed female physician in Canada.

Her work to be accepted into the medical profession, reinforced her feminist ideals. She continued to fight for the rights of women throughout her life. In 1877, she helped to found the Toronto Women's Literary Guild, a suffragette group with the aim of improving women's working conditions. The group work hard to open up higher education opportunities for women in Toronto, and they succeeded. In 1883, their name was changed to the Canadian Women's Suffrage Association, and their reach was extended to all of Canada.

Meanwhile, Dr. Stowe continued her medical practice, specializing in women and children and giving lectures on women's health. In 1879, she was charged with performing an abortion on one of her patients. She faced a long and intimidating trial during which her qualifications were scrutinized and members of Toronto's medical establishment were called to bear witness to her character, skill and professional conduct. In the end, she was acquitted.

The next year, she was finally granted her medical licence by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, making her the second licensed female physician in Canada.

She continued to fight for the rights of women to pursue the medical profession. She worked tirelessly to convince the University of Toronto to reverse its policy and allow women into their program. In fact, perhaps her proudest moment in life can in 1883 when her own daughter, Augusta Stowe-Gullen, was the first women doctor to graduate from a Canadian medical school.

The same year that Dr. Stowe's daughter graduated from medical school, a public meeting of the Toronto Women's Suffrage Association, with Dr. Stowe at the forefront, led to the creation of the Ontario Medical College for Women.

In 1888, Dr. Stowe attended an international conference of suffragettes in Washington, D.C. She returned home to revitalize the women's movement in Canada and continued the fight to win the vote for women. Her vehicle was the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association, which she founded in 1889. She became its first president and held the position until her death.

(source: Library and Archives Canada)

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SRPS Shout-Out - Sandra Day O'Connor

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to replace Potter Stewart.

I'm old enough to remember this piece of important history-in-the-making. It was a Big Deal™ at our house. The first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court!

She received unanimous approval by the U.S. Senate (99-0), and was sworn in on September 25, 1981.

Sandra Day O'Connor Being Sworn in a Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice Warren Burger

"My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote."

The four women who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States. From left to right: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Justice Elena Kagan in the Justices' Conference Room, prior to Justice Kagan's Investiture Ceremony on October 1, 2010.

"The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender."

Whether you agree with her rulings or not, the door she opened has helped women continue to move forward.

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SRPS Shout-Out - Samantha Smith, Cold War Princess

In 1982, the US and USSR were still quite deep in the cold war. It may be hard to remember now, but we were worried about nuclear attacks. Not in the naive way the folks in the 50s and 60s were ducking under desks or building bunkers. By the late-70s and early-80s, we were pretty much aware that any nuclear attack would be the end of civilization as we know it, and survival was unlikely. Or, more likely, not advisable.

I was 12, and while I was still more interested in listening to music -- there was a great new band out called Duran Duran -- and watching TV and doing normal pre-teen things, the threat of nuclear war was a constant thing in the back of my mind.

It didn't help that it seemed like the leaders of the USSR kept getting "colds" and then dying. Leonid Brezhnev was replaced by Yuri Andropov in November 1982, and most people in the US were very worried about his connection with the KGB. This was the time when President Reagan was talking about a program to launch missiles from space, dubbed Star Wars. The Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan, and tensions were high. Andropov was a new worry, and kept showing up on the news and in magazines.

Ten year old Samantha Smith asked her mother, "If people are so afraid of him, why doesn't someone write a letter asking whether he wants to have a war or not?" Her mother replied, "Why don't you?" So she did.

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,
Samantha Smith

And she received a reply!

Dear Samantha,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.

You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out.

Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.

Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.

Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago, Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.

In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in alliance with the United States: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth—with those far away and those near by. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.

In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons—terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That's precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never—never—will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.

It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: 'Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?' We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country– neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government–want either a big or 'little' war.

We want peace—there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp – Artek – on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

Y. Andropov

He invited this brave little girl to visit the USSR. And she went! Twenty-nine years ago today, July 7, 1983, she and parents flew to Moscow to spend two weeks as Andropov's guest, visiting Moscow and Leningrad and spending time in Artek, the Soviet pioneer camp.

In her book, she explains how she and her parents were amazed by the friendliness of the people and by the presents they received. At a press conference in Moscow, she said the Russians were "just like us." While visiting the pioneer camp Artek, she insisted on staying with the Soviet children instead of the privileged accommodation the government offered her. She shared a dormitory with nine other girls, all of whom were fluent in English, which helped with communication. She spent her days swimming, talking and learning Russian songs and dances.  

"Olga and the girls in my room dressed me in an Artek uniform and tied my hair up with the white chiffon bows that the Soviet girls like to wear.  I wore the blue-and-white visitor's scarf because the red one is only for regular members."

Soviet media followed her everywhere, and photographs and articles about her were published by the main newspapers and magazines throughout her trip and after it. Many Soviet citizens were quite fond of her.

Upon her return to the United States, she was celebrated as "America's Youngest Ambassador" by many, and was invited to visit Japan to meet with the Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and to give a speech at the Children's International Symposium in Kobe. As part of her speech, she suggested that the Soviet and American leaders exchange their granddaughters for two weeks every year, with the idea that neither president would "want to send a bomb to a country his granddaughter would be visiting".

Sadly, Samantha and her father were returning home in August 1985, when their plane crashed, and they both perished. Americans and Soviets alike mourned for her. Vladimir Kulagin, who worked in the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., who read a message of condolence written by Mikhail Gobrachev.

Everyone in the Soviet Union who has known Samantha Smith will forever remember the image of the American girl who, like millions of Soviet young men and women, dreamt about peace, and about friendship between the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union.

And President Reagan sent condolences to Smith's mother. 

Perhaps you can take some measure of comfort in the knowledge that millions of Americans, indeed millions of people, share the burdens of your grief. They also will cherish and remember Samantha, her smile, her idealism and unaffected sweetness of spirit.

Samantha Smith meeting cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova

Yes, Samantha, we still cherish your idealism and sweetness of spirit. And your bravery!

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SRPS Shout-Out - Althea Gibson

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win at Wimbledon.

"Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina."

"I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country."

"I want the public to remember me as they knew me: athletic, smart, and healthy.... Remember me strong and tough and quick, fleet of foot and tenacious."

"I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl through the grace of God. I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents."

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SRPS - Blog Around

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." Nora Ephram

I just love that quote. And I love this essay Tom Hanks wrote for Time magazine.

Women 2.0 has a great list of female founders they saw at the Google I/O developers conference that wrapped up last week.

I love this RedBubble t-shirt design!

The Gameologicial Society has a fantastic interview with game writer Rhianna Pratchett.

There isn’t a great deal of understanding about what writers actually do, how they do it, and why. At the moment, we don’t have enough experienced storytellers calling the shots in the industry. Consequently, our narrative literacy is still low. Writers are treated as typists of other people’s ideas, rather than professionals with a specific set of skills, gained over many years of living and breathing stories. In fairness, this is a two-way street, and writers themselves need to be more proactive about the best way to utilize their skills and experience. They need to be prepared to fight for the space and agency they need to do their job.

I think the Emily Windsnap series, written by Liz Kessler and beautifully illustrated by Sarah Gibb, will be my next ink on paper book purchase. It comes highly recommended by a children's librarian friend, so it has to be good!

Marie Brennan has an interesting post up on the SFnovelists.com Science Fiction and Fantasy Novelists blog about how just because history may not remember all the exceptional women doesn't mean they didn't exist.

When we talk about people like this — the exceptions to the rule — we aren’t scrounging through the dust-bin, trying desperately to find tokens we can hold up as a sop for women and minorities. We’re taking off the filters that make us dismiss those people as tokens.

I could not help but laugh very much out loud while reading Amanda LaPergola's review of Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman. I saw them both on the same night as well, and while I thought about blogging my review, I decided I really didn't want to. Her review pretty much sums up my thoughts on both movies.

While I know I still owe you all a more comprehensive review of Brave, please accept this post about the interactive comic instead.

Speaking of Brave, Ms. Magazine says, "If you like Brave, you'll love Korra." OK, then. I'll have to check it out.

The Frisky quotes Geena Davis on how we're not done creating gender equality:

If we’re not showing boys and girls that they share the sandbox equally when they are young, that girls have the same value as boys, then it’s never going to change.

BetaBeat has super slideshow on the tales of eight young women who learned computer science in high school.

OMG OMG OMG! Her Universe is adding lots and lots of new shirts (Star Trek, Dr. Who, and so much more! to their line up! Including this Uhura tee:

I've been reading a lot of posts over on Women Talk Sports, what with the Olympics coming up and all. This one about Emily Geraghty, an Irish Karate champion, was quite inspirational.

Conversely, this article on BuzzFeed about how Sarah Robles, the likely gold-medal champion and strongest women in America, lives in poverty because she isn't getting the same level of endorsements other more conventionally attractive female athletes receive.

I have been watching lots of TV over the last month or so. And while I may not be writing about it all, I'm certainly doing a lot of critiquing in my head. Which is why this Racialicious post about how criticizing a women-centric show's lack of diversity isn't the same thing as women-hate. Hear hear!


What are you reading/blogging/posting these days?

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SPRS Shout Out - Major Tammy Duckworth

April is Asian American History Month. There are so many stories of amazing Asian American women I'd like to share this month, and the first is the very brave, inspirational, and amazing soldier and public servant.

She was born in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1968. Her father's job working for the United Nations took the family around the world while she was growing up. They finally settled in Hawaii, and she attended the University of Hawaii, where she received a BA in political science. Honoring her father's long military career from World War II to the Vietnam War, she proudly joined the ROTC in graduate school at George Washington University, where she was studying international affairs. In 1992, she became a commissioned officer in the US Army Reserve and chose one of the few combat jobs open to women -- flying helicopters. She attended flight school, and joined the Illinois National Guard in 1996.

In 2004, while studying for a Ph.D. in political science with a focus on political economy and public health in southeast Asian at Northern Illinois University, she was deployed to Iraq. On November 12, 2004, the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. She fought to land the helicopter as safely as possible, which she did. But the explosion changed her life forever. Her injuries were substantial. She lost the lower part of bother her legs, and her right arm was nearly destroyed, having been broken in three places and losing most of the tissue from the back. She was awarded the Purple Heart, and was presented with t an Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal.

She credits her pilot, Dan Milberg for saving her life, and she strives to live every day to the fullness of its possibilities. “I get up every day and say thank you to my crew for saving my life... I was missing two limbs, and my arm was essentially severed. I was a bloody, pulpy person with one limb to hang onto… He knew I was dead but he wasn’t going to leave me behind. I have to be worthy of that effort.”

Duckworth narrates the Salute to Fallen Asian Pacific
Islander Heroes in Arlington, Virginia, June 2, 2005.

On returning home, she did not waste any time becoming active in politics and veterans affairs. She is one of the founders of the Intrepid Foundation, which works to helps rehabilitate injured soldiers.

Inspired by Former Senator Bob Dole during her stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, she began to pursue a career in public service. In fact, he dedicated his biography One Soldier's Story in part to her for her continued bravery.

My experience in Iraq made me realize, and during the recovery, that I could have died. And I just had to do more with my life.

In 2006, she was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, where she worked to develop programs to encourage employers to hire veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other programs to assist veterans returning to civilian life. Also in 2006, she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois' 6th Congressional District, but lost to her opponent, Peter Roskam.

Taking the oath-of-office as Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental
Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
with her husband Bryan Bowlsbey standing beside her.

In 2009, she was nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and was confirmed her for the position by the US Senate.

"It's about change on so many levels. If being a woman underscores that, makes it clear that I'm going to be an effective agent of change, that's great."

Preparing for the Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride at the White House.

She remains quite active in the political sphere and in her efforts of activism. In 2011, she resigned her position of Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in order to launch her campaign for the newly-reorganized Illinois' 8th Congressional District.

Whether you agree with her politics or not, she is an amazing woman and deserves to be recognized as  the Self-Rescuing Princess she so clearly is!

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SRPS Shout-out: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

 

I had to go the pharmacy today (to pick up something* made by previous SRPS shout-out recipient Gertrude Elion), and this is the wondrous sight I found there! I can't even tell what their costumes are, other than AWESOME!

Of course, I had to check it out, right? Wouldn't you? I should also add, there were baked goods, and I hadn't had breakfast yet.

Turns out, it was a couple of members of the Russian River Chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -- a group I had never heard of until today, and wish I had known about all these years!

Now I'm seriously angling to get out to their up-coming Mardi Gras fundraiser!

Looking at the flyer they handed me, they do a lot of good around the Russian River area of Sonoma County. Such a wide range of organizations. 

I need to learn more about them!

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SRPS Movie Night: Pray the Devil Back to Hell; and a Shout-Out to Leymah Gbowee

Original Artwork: Olaf Hajek  Poster Design: PrettyCo

I had originally intended to post this review earlier this week, but when I went to find a photo of Leymah Gbowee, I learned that today, February 1, is her birthday, so I decided to postpone it for a few days, and make this a combined movie review and shout-out.

I remember hearing a little about the women's efforts in Liberia several years ago, and then again when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia, and the first female head of state of any African country.

And, again, this subject came up last year when both Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the Nobel Prize for peace (along with Tawakel Karman of Yemen) "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

I have to admit that I wasn't that involved in the goings on of Liberia, and didn't pay very close attention to what had been happening there prior to the women's actions, or much after. I heard about the atrocities, and when the stories about "blood diamonds" were going around, I wasn't surprised to hear that Liberia was involved with that. 

But, other than that, the only thing I knew about Liberia is that it was the country formed by former slaves.

So, when I was at the library last week returning books, and saw this DVD, I checked it out and watched it that night. And rewatched it the next day. And then watched the extra features, which includes an in-depth interview from the Bill Moyer's Journal.

It was a difficult documentary to watch. The war in Liberia was a terrible event, and largely ignored by most people outside of Liberia. It was filled with horrors -- rape, brutal killings and mutilations, starvation, loss, poverty, disease. The civil war had been raging for over a decade by the time Leymah Gbowee formed the Christian Womens' Initiative, which eventually joined forces with Muslim women, and became the group known as the Liberian Mass Action for Peace. 

As she explains in the documentary, after working with different programs calling for peace and rehabilitation of youth soldiers, she realized it was going to have to be the women who would bring the country out of the darkness of war, and she started holding meetings with different women's groups. There is footage of her giving a moving speech at a church, where she expresses the exhaustion of the women of Liberia:

We are tired of war. We are tired of running. We are tired of begging for bulgur wheat. We are tired of our children being raped. We are now taking this stand, to secure the future of our children. Because we believe, as custodians of society, tomorrow our children will ask us, "Mama, what was your role during the crisis?"

But it is the images of the women protesting that are the most moving. They made it a point to wear white, and to be as visible as possible every single day of the war. Their gathering was prohibited, but they met anyway. And they made sure to pick a location that the tyrannical warlord-turned-president, Charles Taylor, traveled daily.

Liberian women demonstrate at the American Embassy in Monrovia at the
height of the civil war in July 2003. Photo Credit: Pewee Flomoku

They eventually had enough of a presence in the media that gave them the power to convince Charles Taylor to attend peace talks in Ghana. But, in order to make sure he and the other warlords would actually sign a deal, many of the women also went to Ghana, at great personal expense and danger, to protest the meetings. At one point, they surrounded the meetings and refused to allow the warlords to leave, and even threatened to strip naked to shame them men. According to Gbowee: 

In Africa, it's a terrible curse to see a married or elderly woman deliberately bare herself.

Eventually, a peace deal was reached, and the war finally ended. Charles Taylor resigned and was forced to take refuge in Nigeria. The efforts of the women's groups went into getting Ellen Johnson Sirleaf elected, and toward the healing of the nation. Which would be no easy task.

A whole generation of young men had no idea who they were without a gun in their hands. Several generations of women were widowed, had been raped, seen their daughters and mothers raped, and their children kill and be killed. Neighbors had turned against neighbors; young people had lost hope, and old people, everything they had painstakingly earned. To a person, we were traumatized.

Gbowee did not come through the war and peace efforts unscathed. Her post-peace work took its toll on her long-term relationship. She turned to drinking to help deal with the stresses of being separated from her family and working so hard. It wasn't until she saw the fear of her own children at the thought of losing their mother that she stopped drinking.

She now works with different philanthropic organizations and gives public lectures about her experiences. 

I highly recommend watching this documentary and the accompanying interviews, as well as pretty much any other videos you can find online. She is an elegant, strong, brave woman, and, in my opinion, the embodiment of a self-rescuing princess.

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SRPS Shout-Out: Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins

My TiVo, which loves me, recorded Kathleen Turner on Tavis Smiley, talking about her one-woman show portraying Molly Ivins, Part 1 and Part 2.

Red Hot Patriot star Kathleen Turner
Photo by Mark Garvin

In the second part, she tells how when Molly Ivins was living in New York for cancer treatment, she was staying in her building. One day, she stepped into the elevator, and there was Molly Ivins and Ann Richards, and they conspired to get her to come back to Molly's apartment, where they regaled her with all kinds of funny stories.

I miss Molly Ivins, and wish we had her wit and wisdom during this silly season (election year). 

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Self-Rescuing Princess Shout-Out: Gertrude Elion

I was thinking about who to feature in today's shout-out, and decided to do a quick birthday search on Wikipedia. When I came across the entry for Gertrude B. Elion, I was intrigued by her immigrant family story, and the fact that she was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. And then I looked at the list of medicines she invented. She invented Acyclovir, which has been quite helpful in my life. See, at age 40, I developed shingles, and Acyclovir is the anti-viral used to treat it, as well as the other forms of herpes (like chicken pox and cold sores). So, clearly I needed to learn more about this amazing woman!

Her online Nobel Prize autobiography was a great place to start. She was a smart child who loved learning and had the grades to allow her to attend one of the free colleges available at the time. After college, she had to search for a job during the Great Depression, where any laboratory jobs were already scarce, and generally only open to men. Eventually, she landed a position working in a lab that helped her pay her way through graduate school in Chemistry. While studying for her Master's Degree at night, she taught high school Chemistry during the day. What amazing dedication to her goals!



After receiving her Master's Degree, at the beginning of World War 2, she worked as a lab assistant for a while, and eventually found a position working in a lab with Dr. Hitchings (also, pictured above), where he let her learn as much as she cared to, and she was able to come into her own.

While she was working with Dr. Hitchings, she was also working on her doctorate at night! Sadly, eventually, the university would no longer allow her to study part-time, and told her she would have to quit her laboratory job.

"I made what was then a critical decision in my life, to stay with my job and give up the pursuit of a doctorate. Years later, when I received three honorary doctorate degrees from George Washington University, Brown University and the University of Michigan, I decided that perhaps that decision had been the right one after all."

Reading her autobiography, I get the sense that she always truly enjoyed her life in the lab, even if it was challenging. It almost feels as though it was the challenge that she enjoyed.

"Each series of studies was like a mystery story in that we were constantly trying to deduce what the microbiological results meant, with little biochemical information to help us."

And she apparently received a great deal of pleasure knowing her research was helping people.

"When we began to see the results of our efforts in the form of new drugs which filled real medical needs and benefited patients in very visible ways, our feeling of reward was immeasurable."

She was awarded many honors in her lifetime, including the National Medal of Science, and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. According to the Wikipedia entry for her, she even has her very own chapter in Tom Brokaw's book Greatest Generation.

Now I know who to thank the next time I have a cold sore and the medicine I take works so quickly! And if I ever break out with shingles again (please, no), I'll be sure to give her extra thanks!

In the meantime, I'd like to say how thankful I am that Gertrude Elion was born on January 23, 1918.

Happy Birthday, Gertrude!

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Shout Out - Women's Adventure Magazine

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about what kind of princesses we are NOT here at SRPS. But I didn't really talk much about what kind of princesses we ARE. Some of us are the kind of princesses who like to get dirty. 

This princess, in particular, likes being outside.

A couple of years ago, I was bemoaning the fact that Outside magazine ran far too many stories about men out in nature, doing adventurous things. There had to be other women out there who liked hiking, camping, and generally being... you know... outside. Right?

A woman I knew through triathlon suggested that I check out a magazine titled Dandelion. I did. Wow! Here was a magazine that featured stories about women like me! And clothing suggestions for women like me! And generally was supportive of active, adventurous women, like me. It was about time!

I immediately subscribed. (If you know me, you know I have a magazine subscription habit, so this, in itself, isn't as noteworthy as it may sound.) When the first issue to showed up in my mail box, I read it cover to cover. And I eagerly awaited each new issue. I was hooked. And then I canceled my subscription to Outside. (That IS noteworthy.)

A couple of years ago, Dandelion relaunched as Women's Adventure, and buffed up their website and online presence.  They now have a large following and have built a great publication that is a joy to read. I find the stories of women outside doing great things very inspirational. Even if they're doing things I never would dare to try. It's inspiring just knowing there is someone out there doing it.

If you're like me and enjoy doing things in the out-of-doors, you should check them out. Also, they have some pretty fantastic give-aways each month!

PS. Note about Shout Outs: SRPS is not affiliated with any of the organizations or websites featured (or any not featured). These are sites or groups with have a message or content that is complimentary to the SRPS ideal of supporting and encouraging self-rescuing, strong, kick-ass women and girls.

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Shout Out - Superheroes are for girls, too

Who was your favorite super hero when you were a kid? I remember being fascinated with Popeye. I even went so far as to dress up as Popeye for Halloween when I was 7. It was a big deal for me. I remember people trying to talk me into getting something more "girly." But I'm stubborn, and my parents supported me in my decision, and I got the Popeye costume at Kmart. I don't know if there are any pictures of me in that costume, sadly.

I also remember liking Wonder Woman. I enjoyed the show on TV at the time. But I can't recall if I ever  dressed up in any kind of Wonder Woman costume.

Actually, I don't have a lot of memories about dressing up in costumes. I something wonder if that was my practical nature coming through at an early age. I had favorite clothes, but they were everyday clothes. I particularly loved my HeeHaw overalls, probably much to the dismay of my mother.

Were you a costume-wearing super kid? If so, you could post your photo to this super cool tumbler page: Superheroes are for girls, too. I just love the photos of little ones in capes and masks. It warms my heart to see so many brave little girls out there saving the world!

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