In honor of the Crasstalk Day of Womanly Things, here is a list of the ten American women who are the epitome of female badassery. What makes a woman a badass? Her smarts, fearlessness and ability to be a pain in the ass of those who would keep her down. Feel free to criticize my picks in the comments and add your own.
10. Margaret Sanger
Her ideas about eugenics are pretty awful, but Sanger’s commitment to removing the stigma from birth control and making it accessible to women everywhere puts her in the ten spot. My uterus loves Margaret Sanger, even if my head is all, “Ummm… Y U gotta be so racist, Peg?”
9. Hillary Clinton
Let me explain before you dump an Igloo cooler of haterade all over me. Clinton is the first woman to have had a real shot at winning the Democratic nomination and, in my opinion, the American presidency. She works the system to her advantage and is a master of political manipulation. She has shown a long-standing commitment to nationalized health care, which I find exceptionally admirable. And, let’s face it, she’s one smart, tenacious bitch. Love her or hate her, she’s kind of a BAMF. Haters gonna hate.
8. Sojourner Truth
Truth was a former slave and abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Her speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention called out the injustices directed both toward women and African Americans. Buddy of Frederick Douglass, fiery speaker and determined abolitionist, Truth was an influential model of strong, determined womanhood. When a skeptic called into question her gender, she took off her top and showed him her breasts. She was also a part of a cult. Badass? Survey says YES.
7. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
You might not have heard of her, but this lady pretty much ran the country while her husband, Woodrow (oh yeah, THAT GUY), was feeling “a little under the weather” in 1919. Was she our first female president? Maybe not the first elected one, but she was a secret badass nonetheless. Her life was like that movie, Dave, but minus Kevin Kline and Annie showtunes. Wilson was a stealth BAMFirst Lady.
6. Lucy Parsons
Again, you don’t know who she is, but trust me, she was a true badass. Not a lot is known about Parsons’s early life, but it is likely that she was born a slave in Texas. This site describes her as a “an African-, Native- and Mexican-American anarchist labor activist who fought against the injustices of poverty, racism, capitalism and the state.” That sums her life up quite well. Her husband, Albert, was a former Confederate soldier; they had to move from Texas to Chicago because of their scandalous interracial marriage. In Chicago, the two were deeply involved in radical labor activism, and Albert was executed after being found guilty of involvement in the Haymarket Affair. After Albert’s imprisonment and death, Lucy continued to be a speaker and advocate for workers’ rights. The Chicago police labeled her “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.” Badass, indeed.
5. The Grimké Sisters
These ladies were true feminists before the word existed. These are the women that we all assume we would have been if we had lived in the mid-nineteenth century. Sarah and Angelina Grimké were stanch abolitionists and women’s rights advocates. Sarah Grimké articulated women’s frustrations with their place as second-class citizens thusly, “All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks and permit us to stand upright.” The Grimké sisters: Badasses in Bonnets.
4. Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan spent her early years as a labor activist, though it was her tenure as bored suburban housewife that propelled her to national recognition. Her diagnosis of the “Problem That Has No Name” in The Feminine Mystique gave voice to millions of American women who felt stifled by their domestic confinement. Friedan helped found the National Organization for Women, which agitated for legalized abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, and equal pay for equal work. Ladies, every time we are able to apply for credit without a husband or father to co-sign, apply to law school and worry that it is was all those nights eating Papa John’s and watching Dawson’s Creek and not studying for the LSAT that might hold us back and not our gender, or watch our daughters kick ass on the basketball court, we should tip our hat to Ms. Friedan, feminist badass extraordinaire.
3. Ella Baker
Much of the success of the NAACP during the mid-twentieth century can be attributed to Ella Baker’s mad organizing skills. She knew how to get people dedicated to a cause, and she is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Even though she was effectively shut out of the organization that catapulted Martin Luther King, Jr. to fame, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Baker continued to devote her life to organizing behind the scenes. She was the mother of the sit-in movement, and her guidance was essential to its success. We should all spend a little more time loving Ella Baker.
2. Jane Addams
Addams defined the ideal of community service through her tenure at Chicago’s Hull House, a settlement house devoted to making life better for the city’s vast immigrant population at the turn of the century. She lived a life of self-imposed poverty, dedicating her life to service. Addams practically created the entire profession of social work while championing playgrounds and kindergartens, the arts, the preservation of immigrant cultures, and civic improvement for all. Addams was an inspiration to others around the nation and a spokeswoman for peace and community. She was also a founding member of the NAACP. The first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Addams earned her nickname, “Saint Jane.” She is the original badass peacenik.
1. Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer’s life is the true pinnacle of American female badassery. Hamer was a sharecropper and fearless supporter of civil rights; she truly was unafraid to put her life in danger for something she believed in. This woman was the original honey badger. Not only did she put up with the shit served to her on a racist platter, including a doctor removing her uterus without her consent on top of beatings and harassment for her activism, she helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party when the national Democratic Party was all, “Oh, civil rights are nice and all, but we can’t lose our Dixiecrat support! Sorry! Stop being such a bossy lady!” Her speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention was the ultimate “fuck you” to Lyndon Johnson and others who were willing to sacrifice civil rights in order to keep conservative white votes. If this speech doesn’t stir you, then you are truly soulless. I prescribe a regimen of puppy pictures and viewings of Eyes on the Prize to melt your icy heart.
Honorable Mentions: Ida B. Wells: anti-lynching advocate, civil rights pioneer, and general pain in the ass to those who opposed her. All-around badass. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: feminist lawyer and Supreme Court Justice. She might be petite, but don’t fuck with this JD. Emma Goldman: socialist lover of hobos and sexy sex. Michelle Obama: smart and composed in her role as First Lady and an accomplished woman all on her own. A great role model for all American girls and women.
