Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Christie: On the Lookout for Fearless Babes

A number of years ago, I listened to a talk by one of my favorite romance authors, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In encouraging us to dare to go our own way and pursue our individual dreams, she suggested imagining the singer/actress Madonna when we questioned ourselves. Would Madonna be worried? she asked us rhetorically.

I don’t know much of what’s up with Madonna these days, but I think we can always benefit by being inspired by fearless, far-reaching females. So who is today’s Madonna? I can think of a few possibilities. Pink. Janet Jackson (the new movie she’s in was #1 this week). And there’s an artist who is on the current playlist I’m listening to as I write my manuscript-in-progress.

Fergie. I’m loving her “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” And then I read that she has voiced the character of Sally for some Charlie Brown specials! Wow. There’s a range. So while I was sorta made uneasy by her “London Bridges” song and the accompanying music video, I did find “Fergielicious” pretty hard to get out of my head. And as I said, I really like “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” which is co-written by Fergie and not the same as the Frankie Valli song of the same title. Fergie’s seems to be about a woman who is walking away from a lover because she needs time to find herself, by herself. And while all “fairytales don’t always have a happy ending” as the song says, I like the message that a woman can choose to leave a relationship in order to do something for herself.

It’s not all been roses and roles for Fergie. From her bio on wikipedia, she seems to have been a wild child of the L.A. area (and the daughter of teachers!--always freaks me out to hear stories like this since my dh is a teacher) and did have a crystal meth addiction that she has since beaten. That’s scary stuff. But she’s able to tell me a story in song that I’m using to inspire me to tell my own story.

So what fearless, far-reaching females can you name that inspire you? We can go outside of pop music (I think of women like Madeline Albright, for example) or stick strictly to the pages of People magazine.

6 comments:

Keri Ford said...

I love fergie! off topic, but I just wish she'd find somebody else to pick out her clothes, do her hair, and fix her makeup.

back to subject...

I can't name one particular girl. I think they all have something great to look up to. They all wanted something and they all worked their backsides off to get it.

Michele Hauf said...

Pink's been on the top of my playlist for months. I love hers songs about strong, confident women that don't necessarily need a man to have fun. 'Cuz I Can, Just You and Your Hand, and Stupid Girls.

I'll pick Angelina Jolie from the actress pool. She's gorgeous, sexy, has a neat family, and is a UN ambassador. AND she gets to sleep with Brad Pitt.

And yeah, Hillary is on my list. Girl power!

Christie Ridgway said...

Keri: I also read she's dating Josh Duhamel, and I think he is sooo sexy. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of her urban funk clothes style, but a girl's gotta do...I think in her position she has to carve out her own image.

I like Gwen Stefani too, but I can't stand her platinum hair.

Michele: Gotta love Pink. And anyone who gets to sleep with Brad Pitt...well, you don't have to be fearless but just damn happy!

Cindy Gerard said...

This is a great question, Christie and I'm sitting here trying to come up with any one or two specific women. We have so many pioneers these days - so many fearless females who forge new paths and inspire us to do the same.
I often think of women athletes - Olympic athletes in particular and the sacrifices they make and the hard tedious work they endure. Not far from where I live, Shawn Johnson, of West Des Moines Iowa recently won 4 gold medals in the Pan American games in Brazil then went on to win the world championship with 3 gold metals in the World Championships in Germany - and this high school sophomore's her career is just beginning. She's being touted as America's best hope to win gold in the 2008 Olympics. If she's not inspirational, I don't know who is!

Helen Brenna said...

Fergie's an interesting choice, Christie. Not someone I would've picked but glad you brought her up.

Madonna's always been a favorite of mine. But if I were to pick someone more current, hmmm, this is tough.

Only one I can think of is Oprah Winfrey. Love her or hate her, she sure knows how to make things happen!

Christie Ridgway said...

Cindy: I wikipedia'd Shawn Johnson. Wow! I'll be looking for her.

Helen: Oprah's a great choice. I don't watch her show because I'm usually writing that time of day, but I've been enjoying the magazine, O, recently.