From the Department of Why Didn’t I Think of This? comes a brilliant idea for portraiture. It doesn’t take much effort, but it radically changes the individuals that young people look up to. For young women in particular, the focus is either body image or social standard. It’s nice to look nice in a photo, but it doesn’t say much about a person: what have you ever learned about a person by looking at a senior portrait? Instead of being objectified, this provides young girls with the opportunity to pay tribute to their role models or, if they are like most children and don’t admire historical figures, to discover some people to look after.
The artist in the blog post chose a few individuals for her daughter to model after, so I thought it would be fun to create my own list of people who I would choose for an assignment like this. I tried to use women from a variety of backgrounds, and although it’s a bit U.S.-centric, I’d like to believe I chose five women who could provide a wide array of inspiration for a young girl.
Rosa Parks
“…The only tired I was, was of giving in.”
Look, we can get to the lowest common denominator set in Barbershop and look at Mrs. Parks through the lens (pun not intended here) of her inspiring the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It’s a funny scene in a funny movie, and it can be fun to say outrageous things from time to time. But it really cuts out the legs from under Parks’ life, in which she played an important role in organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
For her portrait, I’m running with her booking photo from when she first refused to leave her seat. There’s something about the expression in her face that is reserved—as if the impending fight were lying right behind her eyes. Her life and the rights she struggled for embody perseverance and the courage to defy those beholden to power for what is right. What a great example to set for a young mind.
Billie Jean King
The NBA player Jason Collins received a flurry of attention a few weeks ago by coming out. Much was made in recent years of an athlete coming out, but always with qualifiers: the athlete had to be male, active, in a “major” team sport. In short, they had to be marketable.
While Collins had the power to share his news as he saw fit, Billie Jean King did not have the same privilege, forced to reveal her sexuality in an alimony lawsuit. As a result, she had to come out of retirement to financially support herself. Fortunately, King is one of the all-time great tennis players, winning 129 titles in her career. But her most memorable victory was an exhibition match against Bobby Riggs in the second Battle of the Sexes matchup. Speaking of the match, King said she thought a loss “would set (women’s tennis) back 50 years.”
Though not a traditional portrait, this ends up being a bit more fun than sitting in a studio and nitpicking at posture. To achieve her accomplishments took a lot of bravery, and that gutsiness is demonstrated in this photo.
Sally Ride
When first considering women in the field of science, one of the things that I recalled from my own childhood was a PSA about science and young girls. A mother reads her daughter a bedtime story, but instead of a princess finding true love, a woman makes a grand accomplishment in engineering; the daughter, enthralled, asks for one more story. In hindsight, I get a big kick out of the ad; it takes a societal norm and spins it on its head. But it also makes me realize the importance of feminism and trying to break down gender barriers; more women are scientists now than ever before, yet major barriers still exist.
These nuances aren’t lost on women in science. Sally Ride spoke of how she needed her first shuttle ride to be a success at the risk of people using a failed mission against all women. But what impresses me about Sally Ride is her life after NASA. Continuing in science fields, she also co-founded a company that created grade school-level science programs for girls and wrote books encouraging children to engage in science.
Her portrait for NASA probably isn’t anything out of the ordinary for astronauts. (The flag over her right shoulder is a nice touch and undoes a monotonous background.) But for me, the kicker is the model of the space shuttle in the background. A simple model like that can make kids interested in engaging in science, and I’d much rather have a young girl play with a realistic, important toy than an unrealistic (and probably damaging) Barbie.
Somaly Mam
Sex trafficking is a tough subject to broach with any person, let alone a child. Our childhoods aren’t immune from unpleasant facts, but they’re usually presented in a sanitized manner (i.e., the heroism and sacrifice of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). I think that’s why it’s important to use a picture of Somaly Mam with a radiant smile. 
Overcoming any kind of personal crisis and still being able to smile takes a tremendous effort, and that can really help to instill a sense of confidence in young people.
Perhaps the most amazing accomplishment of Mam is to try and help out other women who are trapped in sex trafficking. Many people I know tend to want to move up and out, whether it’s the place they live or the job they have or the social status they hold. I understand it at a base level, but I’m a person who would rather look at what they have and make it better instead of leaving it. Even then, it’s nothing on a plane of sex trafficking, and I wouldn’t blame Mam if she tried to move as far from it as possible.
Julia Child
When trying to round out the list, I thought a successful businesswoman would add an interesting dimension. My first choice was Coco Chanel, but it turns out I knew less about her than I do fashion—apparently, she was a Nazi spy. So I turned to another French entrepreneur, Julia Child. Whenever I decide to learn to truly cook, I’ll certainly use Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a reference; it’s hard to deny a book when it is both popular and critically acclaimed.
I could’ve gone with a more traditional portrait I found of Child, but this picture captures so much more than posing in a studio. There’s a joie de vivre she shows when cooking, and creating a good meal, whether for oneself or others, should be a rewarding experience.
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Of course, there’s always room to consider family members as well. My mother is an interesting mix of business and political success; she left the workforce to be a full-time mother for my brother and me, but also became very active in our educations and the local PTA. What I have the most admiration for, however, is how she took care of my grandmother as she slowly deteriorated from lung and brain cancer. It was tough for all of us to see—the slow pace makes it so much more real—but my mom was the primary caregiver, and though she helped mightily, she wasn’t able to save my grandmother. I certainly hope I have that courage when the time comes.
Brain Nourishment 