Strong influential women.

[Magneticred]

I wasn't sure where to put this but after reading a lot of threads on this board I thought that this might be a good place.
Dd1 is 10 and has mild sn she is in a special provision school. An incident happened today where a boy told her to pull down her underwear. She refused and told me as soon as she got home. She explained she didn't feel like she could tell the member of staff present as they were male. I have spoken to school they are taking it seriously and are dealing with this.

Dd has anxiety and this obviously upset her and I'm trying to be supportive but she keeps telling me she hates that girls are weak and not as good as boys and how it's always been like that and will always be like that. This has got to me because I have dc of both sexes and I've tried my best to bring them up to believe they can do anything and stereotypes mean nothing.

I want to make a list of strong influential women who I can sit down and show her. So far I have Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes, Marie curie, Rosa parks, Marie stopes (I'm not sure she's old enough for this one yet) and Amelia Earhart.
I do feel ashamed I should know more. I have pointed out people like Theresa may and Angela markel but her response to them was that when they are on the news it's never for good things.
Her reading isn't very good so I have been looking at videos on YouTube and I'm starting a play list so I can sit down with her and watch.

Is there anymore I could and should add to this list?

Im sorry there's a lot more intelligent and interesting discussions then this and any help would be appreciated.

Angela Merkel
Margaret Thatcher
(No need to agree with their politics but they are undoubtedly very strong influential women)

MArie Currie. Germaine Greer. Michelle Obama. Christine Lagarde. Hilary Clinton. Melinda Gates... The list is endless!!

Malala Yousafzai!!!!

What does she understand as "strength" and "weakness"? Can you broaden out the conversation? Point out the hypocrisy of the way women are portrayed as difficult or aggressive when they're ambitious or stand up for themselves (e.g. Serena Williams) in a way men aren't.

OP - that's awful but good for your daughter in being assertive. As well as good role models it is worth pointing out to her that she wasn't weak - she was instinctively brave - she said no - and wise - she told you.

And I'd start mentioning all the women sportswomen - from the older generation - Martina Navratilova, Sharon Davies, Dame Kelly Holmes etc to the current women football teams, the Williams sisters, Coco Gauff, Simona Halep, the Netball team etc..

Dr Cicely Saunders who founded the hospice movement. She was a nurse, someone told her she couldn't change things as a nurse so she became a doctor...

Beatrice (Tilly) Shilling, aeronautical engineer and motorbike racer en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling

Christine Lagarde who chairs the International Monetary Fund

Ashley Graham, Serena Williams, Lucille Ball, Joan Rivers, Sally Ride, tarana Burke, Mary Tyler Moore, Oprah Winfrey... I could go all night.

Oh and yes yes yes to Malala! Theres that mighty girl website I've seen mentioned on here too for plenty of inspiration.

The Fantastically Great Women books would be an ideal introduction to this. They are edited by Kate Pankhurst and pitched at young children even though they contain some strong themes. You could read them together and then look up more information online etc. Good luck!

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, too.

Through history? There have been a ton of them. Don't confine yourself to women who did stuff that men normally do. Lots of women have been influential and powerful as women, too.

There are female monarchs in various places who were fairly significant, certainly in England, or in Russia, as well as other places. So were some of the spouses of monarchs, Elenor of Aquitaine comes to mind immediately. But also plenty in s the important and influential families of he medieval and early modern period had very influenntial women among their numbers.
There have been plenty of women who did social justice work, like Elisabeth Fry. Lots of women writers and poets. Lots of women saints who did significant things. Elected leaders of countries. Artists. Educators.

There are so many, through many periods of history, that you can't name them all.

Greta Thunberg

Ana Carasco - she’s a heroine for the next generation. First woman to win a motorbike world championship and well on her way to doing it again and she’s only 22.

And I love Megan Rapinoe. I know some people find her a bit much, but I love that unashamed pride in her own achievements. We need to teach young girls to be proud of themselves and not step aside or downplay themselves.

Others would include Ada Lovelace, Beatrice Shilling, Caroline Herschel, Mary Shelley, Poppy Northcutt, Serena Williams, Barbara Castle. There are so many, but it’s sad that we have to really look for them.

Thank you all so so much.
The being weak seems to be down to the fact she went quiet and wouldn't tell the male staff member. I have tried to explain that not feeling comfortable tell a male is understandable and that when we feel violated it's common for women to feel wary of all males including those we normally trust. She had an incident happen when she was 4 in another school it was worse and she still hasn't fully gotten over it. It has made her hyper aware of boundaries. I'm trying to reinforce that she was strong and brave because she refused and spoke up but her anxiety means she does tend to focus on the negative, its why I thought the list may help her.
June I will look for those books thank you.

Grace Darling and Catherine Douglas spring immediately to mind.

Teresa Mattei, at only 25 elected to the first post-war parliament in Italy and helped drafting the Constitution.

Oh and some of the great queens of history. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Matilda, Maria Theresa, Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I , Altani Khan, Zenobia, , Boudicca. I vaguely remember reading a book that was a series of short pen portraits of the warrior queens of history. I think it was by Antonia Fraser. Probably a bit much for your DD, but definitely a good source!

Harriet Beecher Stowe
Mary Seacole
Josephine Butler

Hope your DDs alright and that it doesn’t knock her confidence too much, it’s a great idea to give her a list of strong woman.

Thank you all so so much I may make 2 playlists up and have 1 that of those who I think may be better suited to when she's older.

What about this website? The Kids Should See This- if you search for women?

Not sure if this is valuable but I would look at Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg too, both fought like hell to get where they are and are successful women, great suggestions of monarchs and scientists too.

If she's interested at all in space stuff she could watch Hidden Figures and there is a Documentary on Netflix about women making sanitary pads called Period. End of a Sentence. Depends on if she knows about periods or not yet but it's very inspiring.

Also Alexandra Ocasio Cortez is young, strong and very eloquent. Think there was a Netflix doc on her too.

I see someone mentioned Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls above. They are also in a podcast, which your dd might find more accessible (we listen to them in the car). Also, Grainne Mhaol (Grace O'Malley) was a kick ass Irish pirate and a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I. Constance Markievicz was a military leader during the Irish 1916 Rising and the first woman to be elected as an MP, although she never took her seat.

Sounds like your dd is a strong girl with firm boundaries. Wish I had her knowledge at that age or now. 💪

Jacinda Arderne - amazing woman.

Clara Barton - founded American Red Cross.

Check www.amightygirl.com. Lots of resources about intelligent, capable women and girls. They regularly post on Facebook highlighting individuals and their stuff is aimed at girls, so age appropriate. They have booklists featuring “mighty girls”, both fiction and non-fiction.

Women you should know are also on FB and Instagram, featuring women lost to public knowledge. womenyoushouldknow.net

And Max Dashu’s Suppressed History archives is another wonderful source, but probably one to pick and choose from. www.suppressedhistories.net