Five Female Role Models for Girls Today

With these statistics all over the place saying that girls are extremely impressionable to the women of the media, a Hub on some female role models for girls today might be a good thing to discuss further.

There have been some out-there reports on T.V., which ultimately becomes online, and into girls' brains. Things from drunken/high nights out, to panty-free car exits. Yes, these have all been discussed enough, so that's all I'm going to be saying about that. During all those reports, I was in high school, so I was able to hear the heart of the teenage conversation. High school girls are usually pretty open about things you really wouldn't want to hear about, period. Serious debates on how not wearing underwear is more comfortable than wearing them! Personally, I was not included in these conversations/debates... but maybe that's because I was busy with my positive role models!

This 28-year old Israeli-American actress is an amazing role model for girls. She says, "Where I live, nobody who's fourteen is having sex and doing major drugs. And I think if you see it in the movies, you may be influenced by it. I think it's so important to preserve your innocence." Portman isn't only a great role model for the strong female presence she has on the big screen, but also for her outlook on life as seen in her interviews and activism. She takes action for things she believes in, whether it be animal rights and environmental causes or presidential campaigns. Portrayed as practically being her second life, is school. Natalie Portman took four years off of acting (minus the Star Wars prequels) to attend college at Harvard, finishing with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. She has also studied four languages: French, Japanese, German, and Arabic, as well as already being fluent in Hebrew! This woman is an amazing role model for girls of all ages. She influences toward higher education, activism, and a healthy lifestyle in general. Definitely a woman to be inspired by.

Otep is well-known for her gritty lyrics and death growls as the vocalist for the metal band, Otep. She is also openly lesbian. Now that all of her "controversy" is out, the real Otep will be unveiled. The truth is, this metal goddess is an amazing female role model when you get down to it. Past her initial appearance, and past her being a metal singer, she relays strong messages through her music. If she is angry about something going on in the world, you will know it. She is extremely blunt with her political activism not only in her lyrics, but also having spoken at the 2008 Democratic National Convention for the non-profit organization Rock the Vote, and writing an OP/ED on the Darfur genocide for The Associated Press. Supporting groups such as RAINN, PETA, Carbonrally, and WSPA, Otep shows she is active in things other than politics and war. She even started social networks All Shapes and Sizes, and Girls Out Now; the first educating people to love themselves for who they are, and the second a networking site for women who love women. In addition to all of this, she writes poetry (her first publication called Caught Screaming) and a few blogs (I'm Not a Monster), expressing her commentary on various subjects. She was quoted as saying Otep is all about the connection, not competition with her quote, "When people tell me they're reading books because of what I've been singing about, I'm almost in tears because I'm so touched. We're building an underground army where each person is their own regiment. It will grow out of control." In the end, Otep Shamaya promotes a strong female presence, standing up for what you believe in, and expressing yourself in your own way.

New Jersey native, Queen Latifah, is THE Queen with credits in everything, singing, rapping, acting, writing, modeling, producing, etc. She grew into success with her rapping career after a demo of hers was heard by Fab Five Freddy of Yo! MTV Raps and eventually turned to singing soul/jazz and acting. What puts her in the category of good female role model, is her honesty and heart. Queen Latifah does not forget where she came from, and is still a New Jersey resident. As a plus size celebrity, she portrays a girl who is not afraid of who she is, or what her body looks like. Her inspiration is so powerful, African American civil rights activist and autobiographical poet of well-known story, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou asked Queen Latifah to recite a poem she wrote for her at Michael Jackson's memorial service. Latifah wrote her own autobiography titled, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman. In it, again, came her honesty and heart where she wrote of her life in New Jersey, and her family. Queen Latifah is an amazing female role model, offering an example of a successful plus size black woman, leaving no room for judgement, as well as giving off the message, 'Keep your roots' telling girls out there to never forget where they came from and what they did to work up to where they are today.

Spoken word artists don't get too mainstream most of the time, but that doesn't stop them from speaking their words and inspiring those who get the chance to listen. Andrea Gibson is one of these artists. Her work taps on subjects such as gender roles, LGBT problems, politics, as well as her personal life. Even through all of the emotion, she manages to let her humor and wit shine. She has won numerous awards for her career and performance. Another women standing up for what she believes is right, expressing what she feels, and not being afraid of who she is. As a spoken word artist, she doesn't need anything more than that. Her job is to influence and inspire, and having that as a role model today is key.

Tina Fey just started becoming more and more famous from her recurring role on Saturday Night Live as vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, and then after SNL with her television production and starring in 2008 comedy, Baby Mama. This comedienne worked hard to get where she is today. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama, she moved to Chicago to take lessons at The Second City, paying for the classes with a front desk job. She focused and moved her way up into the cast, where she performed for two years while submitting scripts to SNL. Eventually she was hired as a writer on SNL and was performing in sketches by 2000. When Adam McKay stepped down as head writer of the show, Fey was approached. Since her last season, she went on to produce T.V. show, 30 Rock and star in and produce numerous films. In her personal life, she is married and has a baby. After crossing all these barriers and winning so many awards and credit, she shows that hard work does pay off. Her dreams of improv started when she was in middle school, and she stuck with it and worked up through the lines until she became what she is now.