Dissenting And Persisting

Dissenting And Persisting

Juvenile herstory
Girls and women throughout history have been told to go along to
get along. Rocking the boat was seen as a male perogative.
Fortunately things are changing. Two recent Orono Public Library
juvenile wing acquisitions celebrate females being anything but dainty
and demure.
Debbie Levy's I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
tells the life story of a Supreme Court Justice. In a time when boys
were expected to do great things and women were limited to being their
wives, Ginsburg's mother wanted more for her daughter and brought her
to the library to discover heroines and be inspired.
Ginsburg's mother died the day before her high school
graduation. She went to college at a time few women did. The anti
Jewish discrimination she had experienced and McCarthyism inspired her
to go on to law school where she could learn to fight for people's
rights. Marriage and motherhood didn't stand in her way any more than
the biases she still faced...
...and she kept on objecting to many beliefs such as "The
natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female
sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life."
Nothing timid or delicate about Ruth Bader Ginsburg!
Chelsea Clinton's She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed
The World gives readers introductions to a gutsy group of women who
refused to take no for an answer. It's a good mix of the famous and
not so well known. Each woman has a quote that helps to create an
image of her. Some of the feisty females portrayed are:
*strike organizer Clara Lemlich,
*Virginia Apgar who created the score That enables doctors to discover
newborns who need help to survive,
*and Maria Tallchief, a professional dancer who refused to hide or
renounce her Native American heritage.
I was very pleased to encounter my Shero, Margeret Chase Smith, who
had the guts to confront Joseph McCarthy and his Communist paranoia.
I will have to add her, "The right way is not always the popular and
easy way. Standing for the right when it is unpopular is a true test
of moral character", to my quote files.
My moral character gets tested a lot.
On a personal note, I really enjoyed volunteering at the Q conference
Friday and Saturday at UMaine. LGBTQ people and allies came from as
far away as Portland. I was pleased to see a lot of high school
students show up.
A great big shout out goes out to all participants, speakers, and
organizers.
jules hathaway



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