who in the public eye do you really admire, and who do ypu not, who is generally looked up to?

[SHRIIIEEEKPoolingBearBlood]

And why, of course

Miranda, lobe or hate? This thread partly inspired by hearing her on the radio this morning

Admire: Helena Kennedy.
She's just an amazing woman who has done so, so much for other women and the good of the world generally. Very, very clever, very brave, very dedicated. And witty and likeable and just great!

Also really admire writers like Dacia Maraini, Slavenka Drakulic, Edna O'Brien. All incredibly brave, generous, outspoken, and write brilliant books.

These are all people who spring to mind instantly. I'm sure there are many more.

Who not. Erm, Tony Blair. Need I say more?

What do you mean by 'who is generally looked up to'?

And Alice Walker. (Admire)

And Catherine MacKinnon. (Admire)
Balls of steel.
Difficult reading some of her writing and not feeling that she's overstating the case, but that's because the world has changed so much since she wrote/pushed forward massive changes in law that we all benefit from massively. So if it's hard to recognise the world that she describes, then it's worth remembering that it's largely because of her fantastic work that the world has changed so much.

J K Rowling this woman has come from the depths of despair and truly made it. She's a real inspiration but seems to get a lot of flack
Also love Kirstie Alsopp although she has had a really slightly more advantageous start to life I just love her

Thank you, will look into these, could do with some inspiration. Mango, I just meant is there anyone that a lot of other people look up to and you think doesn't deserve it?

Thank you, will look into these, could do with some inspiration. Mango, I just meant is there anyone that a lot of other people look up to and you think doesn't deserve it?

I look up to Madeleine Albright, I read her memoir a couple of years ago and I thought she was intelligent, driven, compassionate, honest and supportive of women.

I don't look up to Kate Middleton as she appears never to have worked, been born with a silver spoon in her mouth and be famous for who she married rather than any personal achievement.

Can someone explain the point of Kate Moss to me please?

Role models include...
Shami Chakrabarti: intelligent, articulate, principled.
Mary Beard: well, obviously.
Miranda Hart: hilarious.
Victoria Coren: funny and multi-talented. I mean, she's a sponsored poker player and presents an obscure BBC4 quiz - can't argue with that.
Susie Dent: she may not have Rachel Riley's glam wardrobe, but she knows her origins of words.

Oh, I'm sure lots more will come to me as my brain wakes up. (And yes, I agree, Kate Mosse much more worthy of admiration than Kate Moss, IMO.)

The female in the public eye that I most respect at the moment is Malala Yousafzai. For obvious reasons. What kind of cowardly person shoots a schoolgirl?

The female I have little or no respect for is Louise Mensch. There are many reasons I dislike her but the fact that she claims to be a feminist but is now writing for the Sun is reason enough.

J.K. Rowling for her refusal to become a tax exile and explicitly states that this is because the State supported her when she was in need. take that Ashcroft, Zac Goldsmith and other tax exiles and non-doms

Just wanted to add Chimanda Ngozi Adichie (Admire - was just reminded of her over in Adult Fiction board...)
Her writing is dazzling - and informative. I think she has that sort of talent that leaves you breathless and I love reading work by writers who shine brightly in that way.

Can someone explain the point of Kate Moss to me please?

Sorry, no I can't, but I suspect that the poor woman often asks herself the same question. Which would explain why she looks so pissed off a lot of the time. I can't imagine it can be much fun being that much of a subject of interest to the press when there's no discernable reason for that interest. IYSWIM.

Julia Gillard at the moment! Standing up for women everywhere

And all of the women of the Olympics. I can't wait to see who's on the honours list this year.

And agree with Inde, I hadn't heard of Malala Yousafzai before she got shot and she should have been a household name for her truly selfless acts.

I have a soft spot for Claire Balding.

Oh I agree on Kate Middleton, then againI felt the same about Diana.

Actually, I have an oblique link to Kate Moss and from what I hear, she doesn't reflect on anything very much. She never gives interviews, hardly ever heard speaking in public. This is not because she is aloof or mysterious. She just really has nothing to say.

Knew we'd end up talking about kate Moss!
... but why should she have anything to say?
Since it's fairly obvious that this is so, credit to her for not doing interviews. (There are many slebs with a lot less insight into their inherent dullness, no?)

Thank you everyone this is really helpful. I am embarrassed to know how few of these I've heard of, some research needed!
On a slightly less serious note, what do people think about pink? Can't stand her music, but the more I hear about her the more I come to grudgingly respect her.

Shriek I don't know about her music, but I really respect the way she handled herself with her marriage breakdown. I don't read those tacky celeb magazines but it was very clear that she broke up with no ill will and didn't 'sell' her story to anyone- which must have been sorely tempting. She also seems to hate and respond to the way women 'celebs' are expected to act.

Gotta respect anyone that does't conform in that way despite the obvious pressures

No thoughts about Pink, SHRIIIEEEK, but want to add Xinran to 'admired' list.
Xinran's a Chinese radio journalist and writer whose work is amazing.
A couple of her books are available in English, including 'The Good Women of China'.
She's a great writer, original, brave, compassionate. Her work is frighteningly moving, speaks about (and probably for) millions of women. She's great.

And speaking of immense bravery and integrity, just remembered also Anna Politkovskaya.

Pink is one of those ones I don't get - she is of the "exhibitionism and shouting and empowerful pole dancing" school of feminists, despite loudly claiming not to be. I did like the message in a couple of her earlier videos though.

I admire Sunita Williams, a highly-experienced and highly-regarded astronaut who recently became the second female commander of the International Space Station.

I admire the writer Nicola Barker, mainly for The Burley Cross Postbox Theft, because her writing makes me laugh out loud.

yes, that's what i thought. The "I want to start a fight" stuff just made me think she was an idiot. But sinc then I've heard/learned morew and started to change my opinions slightly

Sunita Williams sounds fantastic! I've just learned Sally Ride died a couple of months ago :(

Sayeeda Warsi for overrated. Not intelligent and used her race and sex to get on in the Tory party and then whined when Dave went off her.