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— WRITTEN BY CHEYANNE MUMPHREY AND RACHEL DEXTER
Dear Diary, You have the power to make a difference and it starts with an idea. That idea is formulated into a well-thought-out plan. The only thing left is action. Every word, every sentence and every book was carefully crafted with the most basic goal of being read and shared with others. In our lives we’ve read books that have made a difference; the most influential, emotion-tugging and mind-provoking words have often come from books and their authors, male and female alike. Female authors, the less common demographic, are especially important to note. A study conducted by Suzanne Grégoire finds “women are found to lead the process of linguistic change.” Yes, women. You have the power to make a difference and you have the ability to change language. With that being said, we’ve looked at who we believe has made an impact on language and has really influenced us throughout our lives thus far. Women be inspired, be original and make change. If nothing else, crack open one of these authors’ books and enjoy the read. Maya Angelou Marguerite Johnson, better known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928, and passed away in May 2014 at 86. As a proclaimed poet, educator, historian and passionate civil rights activist, she has influenced women of all ages all over the world. With more than two dozen written works and many other accolades, we have probably been witness to the best African-American female mind to ever incite change. One of her most popular novels is I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1969) which details what it meant to be a young black female in the United States. Mary Shelley Mary Shelley, born in 1797, was an English novelist, poet and is best known for her novel Frankenstein(1818). Shelley’s novel was published anonymously, with a preface by her husband Percy. This led many to believe he wrote it, considering writing was not a woman’s profession. It wasn’t until 1822, when she released a second edition and announced herself as the author, that she gained recognition for her work. She was a phenomenal author who paved the way for many more women to write science fiction and share their work publicly. Shelley is widely considered the mother of science fiction. Her novel Frankenstein is the first that used what we would now consider science fiction. Shelley passed away in February 1851. Jane Austen Jane Austen, born in 1775, was an English novelist best known for her novels, Pride and Prejudice(1813), Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Emma (1815). If nothing else her novels addressed the issue of female status and challenged the norm of female behavior in the Romanticism era. For once a woman in this time could be independent and stand up for who she loved. Aside from being the classic model of a love story, her novels reflected her class. Austen died in 1817, but her influence is still seen today within novels and films. Sincerely, The Opinion Editors
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— WRITTEN BY CHEYANNE MUMPHREY AND RACHEL DEXTER
Dear Diary, We only hope that one day women will see themselves for who they are — beautiful and endearing human beings. Each and every one. Yes, you. Look in the mirror and you will see you — inevitably, undeniably and uniquely you. With that being said, don’t compare yourselves to anyone else. Not Marilyn Monroe, not Audrey Hepburn, not Beyonce and not the Kardashians. You don’t need a thigh gap to feel beautiful, you don’t need push-up bras to get the attention of men and you don’t need contouring to look like anyone other than yourself. It has really become a societal problem. The Kylie Jenner Lip challenge is just one of the examples that distorts the idea of beauty. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book We Should All Be Feminists speaks on the issue by saying, “We teach girls to shrink themselves to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to each other as competitors, not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” She talks about marriage as a goal, but it is also one of the many reasons females fight with each other. It goes back to the beginning of time. Women were used as a bargaining chip between families. We fought for men’s attention and over time we have tailored our appearance, our behavior and sometimes our morals for them. Now, we’ve gone so far as to call each other out — slut, whore, b**** and c*** — and it needs to stop. It should not be a “girl thing” to talk behind each other’s backs. It should not be a “girl thing” to gossip. We should be accepting of ourselves and not comparing and competing. We should be embracing friendships, and not clawing at each other. We should be building each other up, not bringing each other down. Being a female should not be the shallow, deceiving thing that it is stereotyped to be. Women, stand up for yourselves. Prove that we are stronger than what we are perceived to be. Sincerely, The Opinion Editors |
About A Pen & A DressA Pen & A Dress is a column by Cheyanne Mumphrey (and often features Rachel Dexter). Created in December 2015, A Pen & A Dress started publishing in The Lumberjack. Mumphrey's goal is to strike conversation about issues women face on a day-to-day basis and challenge the social norms for females across the globe. Archives
April 2016
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