Celebrating Strong Women

I’ve been remiss. March was Women’s History Month, and there are so many amazing women. Inspiring. So many to remember and celebrate, worthy of teaching our daughters about their accomplishments.

Celebration - and recognition - begins at home. My mom had seven kids, me the youngest. These days, an unimaginable feat (the cost alone is staggering) but when I was growing up, not a huge deal. Other families in our town outnumbered ours by at least twice as many kids.

Mom was a pioneer in her own right, a frustrated artist too dedicated to her family to put herself first. In her youth, she drew some wonderful illustrations, but never did anything with them. Decades before composting was a popular “green” activity, she practiced it. I can still recall the vivid colors in her flower garden.

I didn’t learn until the day of her funeral that she was also a writer. My dad often wrote – sometimes town history, sometimes little essays, but most often for his duties as a deacon in our church. But I had no idea my Mom won an honorable mention for a story she’d submitted to a national contest.

Her love of the piano was unfailing. She took on sheet music like Malagueña, a complicated piece. When she played, it didn’t sound like this. But she played it because she loved it. And she inspired me to teach myself piano. I wish I’d kept at it.

 

I wish, too, that she’d taken more time for herself. Channeled her creativity into the things she loved. Instead, she sewed clothes for us. And for herself, when she wasn’t filling a bag at the second-hand store. She was a whiz at stretching a buck. And she put together fantastic outfits. Her shoe collection rivaled that of Imelda Marcos’.

She may have even made the PBS list of people who define cool. Some of her outfits were downright bohemian for the times.

But she was not one who sought fame. She was a wife and mother, first and foremost. Not a saint, but none of us are.

So many women are deserving of recognition and accolades for all they do, and most do it as a matter of course. 

Kudos to you, Mom, for all of your achievements. You were one of the strongest females I knew. My earliest inspiration for my fictional heroines, determined, fierce and a force to reckon with.

And PBS, I take issue with the fact that only 24 women appear on your Top100 list. I read the standards:

“an originality of artistic vision as established through a signature style, which is to say their artistic vision cannot be separate from their personality. Second, that in a given historical moment, they were perceived as a cultural rebel. Third, that they have high profile recognition. Fourth, that they have a recognized cultural legacy.”

Something tells me you didn’t look hard enough to balance out that list. Thank goodness Georgia O’Keefe made the list. Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt? Excellent. Joan Didion and Lauren Bacall. Wonderful.

But where’s Frida Kahlo?

Helen Mirren?

Katharine Hepburn?

Tina Fey?

Maya Angelou?

Diane Arbus?

Gloria Steinem?

You done our gender wrong. All you had to do was thumb through a copy of Ladies First. Easily enough women to make a separate top 100 list.

If you’re unfamiliar with the book, I highly recommend it. Full of amazing tales of female pioneers and groundbreakers from every walk of life.

Happy (belated) Women’s History Month. I hope you celebrate the women who’ve made an impact in your life.

March is Women's History Month

March is Women’s History Month, and this year’s theme is “Writing Women Back Into History.”

Perfect timing, as I just finished up my second historical novel about two little-known subjects. The first, Angels Sinners and Madmen, reveals the history of the wreckers in 1856 Key West, Florida, and follows the journey of Livvie Collins through her shipwreck and island experience. During a visit to Key West, I found the wreckers fascinating. I’d never heard of them before, and spent two days in the library researching them, visiting the few museums and gathering up as much information as I could. Freya’s Bower will release the novel this spring.

The second novel, Follow the Stars Home, focuses on the tragic history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from its founding year, 1879. Using news accounts and researching the Lakota people, I placed two fictional characters in actual events that occurred there. I submitted the manuscript this week to a publisher.

If you’d like to take up the challenge to write about a woman in history, begin by Googling Women’s History Month to find many fascinating links, such as the Guide to Worldwide Goddesses. Reading through these descriptions revs my imagination into high gear.

Likewise the list of inventions presented on the Female Ingenuity page. I’d never have guessed a woman invented a circular saw, or the programming language COBOL, or the elevated railway, or the rotary engine!

The National Women’s Hall of Fame is also a great place to find inspiring stories of incredible women, from actresses to athletes, inventors to judges. I found it hard to believe there are currently only 236 women on the list. But there’s a page to nominate more, so I may have to do that! I encourage you to do the same. And to take up the challenge to Write Women Back Into History too.

Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.