Journal Week 2 - 50 Women

CHRIS HICKS
WOMEN’S STUDIES
JOURNAL – WEEK 2

Some of the women in the group of 50 that I feel have changed the way we live are – MARGE SIMPSON
I chose Marge, as it is obvious that Homer and Bart have undiagnosed ADHD, and anti-social behavior issues but Marge loves her man and keeps the family unit going even in a dysfunctional way. The audience can laugh and relate to their struggle to cope and fit in.

MARILYN MONROE
Norma Jean – Actress
Marilyn had a tragic life mostly from her underprivileged childhood and by association with the Kennedy brothers John and Robert. Some of her movies often underestimated her acting ability as she was often portrayed as the glamorous bimbo-all “glitz and tits” (excuse my pun). Marilyn was a troubled soul, and was too sensitive for the movie industry and the vultures that sometimes, ran them. Unfortunately her sad and lonely private life, which was ruled by drug addiction, started to affect her career. Some photo’s of her show a very fragile woman whose only desire was to be loved and protected. Unfortunately this cost her, her life and we can all relate to that – A true legend!

ARETHA FRANKLIN
Titled “THE QUEEN OF SOUL”
She is an African-American singer who is an icon and an inspiration to millions of women around the world because of her endless range of soul music. Music speaks all languages and unites all cultures, a truely wonderful respected entertainer with a voice that can sing gospel or pop music. Aretha was born into poverty and was discovered while singing in her local church. Her journey to stardom inspired many black women to follow in her footsteps. The Motown record label was the biggest recording studio for African-American artists. People like Diana Ross and the Supremes and Stevie Wonder also started with Quincey Jones at Motown records.

PRINCESS DIANA
Title: Most Photographed Person.
In her short life Princess Diana produced two heirs to the throne for the English monarchy and to replace her loveless marriage she lost herself in her work. Diana worked tirelessly for her charities, which included AIDS, assistance for under privileged children and to abolish land mines. She wanted to bring this attention to the world to highlight the destruction land mines was having on communities mainly throughout third world countries. The loss of limbs affected a person’s ability to work, or even go outside safely. She did have an impact on the world and many countries had sanctions introduced to stop them being used. Unfortunately in some countries like Iraq and Afghanistan they still exist.
When Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris the world was
reminded how fragile life is even if you are a beautiful, caring Princess. On the day of her funeral the whole world was watching and saddened by her two young sons following her coffin to the church. There will never be another Princess like Diana and many people miss her tremendously especially her family and charities.

MADONNA- I don’t think Madonna has changed the way we live. She was a great songwriter and entertainer when younger but seems to enjoy a “shock and awe” status. She seems very self-absorbed and needs to give back to the people just like her fans gave to her. She is very much into her religion and needs constant attention. Hopefully as she moves on from her career she becomes more involved with the worlds plight and needs instead of her own.
I think the other women listed have inspired us or changed the way we live our lives. They deserve to be remembered in history and it’s great that many Aboriginal women were high achievers.

Some other women I think should be mentioned for their input into society and the first is-
Condoleeza Rice – the US Secretary of State. She has great communication skills and has had to negotiate many situations in the Middle East and around the world. A strong African-American figurehead who often travels with the President on his private jet -Air force one. Condi –as she is often referred to is related to the man behind the Uncle Toby’s Rice Corporation. The company is run by her father and has been in the family for many generations. She is well respected and popular amongst her co-workers. I admire her dedication to world peace- a very smart, professional woman.

Phyllis Mary Turner- An Adelaide women aged 94 who is the oldest women in the world to earn a Science degree in Medicine. She has been invited to go to New York to appear on the Jay Leno show and is hoping to do so. What a wonderful achievement and inspiration to many mature women. She said the key to long life is to keep the brain stimulated and that is why she took on the challenge.

Ellen DeGenerese-One of the first women to “come-out” to her audience while working on her own TV sitcom. At first Ellen took a lot of flack from the producers for her openness and she even lost her show over it but admits it was necessary for her to be true to herself and her peers. Ellen has now moved on, is back on TV with a live chat show and in a new relationship with an Australian actress. Her mother often appears on her shows and is fully supportive of her daughter’s sexuality. She has hosted many award nights and is admired by all for her honesty and talent. On one show she stated that if she lived under Taliban law she would be history especially being a Jewish woman, American and gay. She is more popular and in demand these day and we the audience have all grown from her experience.

Pink-aka Alicia Moore singer/songwriter/activist
Pink is one of the very few people invited to appear on the Oprah show, she was invited after her song Stupid Girls was released. Oprah was fascinated by her lyrics and told her she was a great example to all girls dealing with body image problems. With her attitude and high energy the talented Pink has just completed a world tour (including Adelaide) receiving rave reviews, she is loved and admired by many fans. While in Australia she spoke out about cruelty to animals and became quite angry when interviewed by Richard Wilkins on channel 9 about the farmers and sheep”mulezing” She was very vocal and blamed Australia for the cruelty and stress to the animals and demanded the sheep be sedated while this process took place or she would join forces and blame Australia for this barbaric practice and she wanted it to stop. Now! Richard Wilkins was rather uncomfortable while she went off and told her she had been misinformed and that if she would like to meet with some farmers they would discuss this issue with her. She said even though she only had limited time here she wanted to go see for herself. Pink did meet with the farmers and took an active part in the follow up story and withdrew her remarks and apologized on the show and said the information she received was from her people and next time she will do her own research. She showed courage and class in admitting her mistake, she won a lot of respect for going against the other activists involved in wanting to ban lamb meat from Australia to the rest of the world, she could have cost us dearly but was smart enough to get the facts right.
I am an admirer of PINK, her lyrics and shows are very professional and entertaining I’m sure we will be seeing and hearing a lot more of Pink on stage and she will probably end up being an ambassador or representative of the American Government for animal rights. What a wonderful hard working, fit and talented artistic women. I wonder if she will have time to do a movie?