WMH: 9 Women Who Inspire Me

Hey guys! I hope everyone is enjoying their time off amidst the worldwide chaos. Fortunately, it is still Women’s History Month, and I’m still celebrating, so for this week’s blog, I will be discussing 9 women who inspire me (in no particular order).

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Ashley Graham

Plus-size model and body activist, Ashley Graham has been one of my “she-roes” for quite some time now. She rose to fame in 2016, after appearing on the cover of one of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issues as the first plus-size model. However, I first discovered her on social media. I was 14, and summer was fast approaching, so I was searching for bathing suits that I thought would hide the fact that I didn’t have a perfect “bikini body”.  Naturally, I took to Pinterest, and searched for “plus-size swimsuits”. As I was searching, I kept seeing this woman in all these cute bikinis. The best part— she looked like me. I’d never seen anything like it— a woman who was not a size 2, in a bikini, loving her body. For some reason, the concept was foreign to me, to actually love my body even though it wasn’t a certain size or shape. After that, I Insta-stalked her for hours. I even printed out photos and news articles and hung them everywhere in my room. Ashley Graham was the first stop on my journey to loving my body, and if weren’t for her, I might not be the person I am today.

Most recently, she’s just given birth to her first child and become a mother. While pregnant, Graham didn’t skip a beat. She was working nonstop with modeling, her podcast, her swimsuit line, and staying healthy and taking care of herself for her unborn child; Graham did it all. Now, she’s taking the mommy game by storm and documenting it on social media every step of the way. She has no shame is sharing in her “mommy struggles” as she is seen breast-pumping in an Uber, changing her son in the middle of a Staples store, and even breastfeeding at a coffee shop. Baby Graham has one phenomenal mom, and I can’t wait to see him grow up, as she raises him in the best way possible.

Chrissy Teigen

Similar to Graham, Teigen has also been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and is #Mommygoals. However, despite her very successful modeling career, I only learned of her as John Legend’s wife. My mother is huge fan of him, so I also became a fan. I remember watching his music video for his song,  “Stereo,” and thinking it was risque, but also how strangely captivated I was by the woman who starred alongside Legend. I didn’t think too much of it though, and eventually, I had stopped listening to Legend. A few years later when Legend released his hit “All Of Me,” I watched the video, and I realized that it was the same woman who had been in the video for “Stereo”— Chrissy Teigen. Except this time, I knew they had to be a couple with the song’s lyrics and their behavior on screen; it went beyond acting for a video. From then on, I Googled everything there was to know about Legend and his leading lady. I fell in love with their love story, and soon after “All Of Me” was released, the couple wed. I purchased their wedding issue of People magazine as soon as it was released, and I cut out photos and hung them on my wall with all the other people who’d inspired me.

Now, Teigen is known as the clapback queen on Twitter for her witty tweets and sarcastic comebacks, especially with President Donald Trump, or lack thereof now that he has her blocked (if you know, you know). Teigen is also the mother of two, and has been open about her fertility struggles and IVF journey. She is truly killing the mom game and adding some humor along the way. She’ll forever inspire to me to love unconditionally, to be transparent, and to laugh often.

Priyanka Chopra

One of my more recent stans, Priyanka Chopra, is one of the most successful actresses in India, starring in over 50 movies since her career began. Chopra got her start when she won Miss World in 2000. After that, the movie roles started piling in. Currently, Chopra is one of India’s highest-paid celebrities, but more recently, she’s starred in some American films and is known for her role on the television series, Quantico. However, I learned of her in 2018, after her marriage to The Jonas Brothers star, Nick Jonas. People magazine covers most celebrity weddings, so it was no surprise that the Jonas-Chopra wedding was plastered on the front cover of the magazine. The couple had two ceremonies— traditional, Christian and Hindu, meant to serve as the two cultures uniting, honoring both of their beliefs. The wedding not only honored them both, but it was quite possibly the wedding of the century. The couple exchanged vows in a Christian wedding set in India. They both wore Ralph Lauren, and Chopra had a 75-foot veil that was carried by 6 people. Following, they had a traditional Hindu reception where Chopra wore a red lehenga.

As a person with multicultural heritage, seeing a wedding like this is inspiring. It’s so beautiful to see two people from different backgrounds and faiths come to together, bound by love and mutual respect for one another. Not to mention, the 10-year age gap, Chopra and Jonas share. With so many reasons that could be interpreted as incompatibility, the two embrace it and love each other regardless.

Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Hargitay has had quite an impact on my life. In 1999, she made her debut as Olivia Benson in the Law & Order spin-off— Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Despite airing before I was even born, the show was an early favorite, as my mother and I share a love for crime shows. This show, however, is more than just another crime show; it’s life. The stories depicted in each episode are stories in which many people can relate. As the #MeToo movement is progressing, the show is too. It’s talking about things that aren’t being talked about enough in times like this, and it’s been doing so for the last 20 years. The cast just recently celebrated their 21st season, making it the longest-running series in America, and they have signed on to  do 3 more seasons (which my mother and I will be faithfully tuning in to every Thursday night).

Hargitay says the show turned her from “actor to activist”. Outside of the show, she is a rape crisis counselor. In 2004, she started the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit that aids victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Hargitay may play Olivia Benson on screen, but she has a little of her off screen, as well.

Mary Lambert

Mary Lambert is a singer/songwriter, poet, and advocate for crying, body positivity, and LGBTQ+ equality. When I first heard Lambert, it was in collaboration with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. She performed their LGBTQ+love anthem, Same Love, alongside Madonna, at the 2014 Grammy Awards, where 33 couples wed. I was just 10 years old watching the ceremony, so I didn’t have a clue what was going on, but I was still vibing with the music. It wasn’t until a few years later that I heard Lambert’s song “Body Love“. I’d never heard a song with spoken word or that had so much depth and so much honesty. I listened to it almost every day after that, and I remember immediately downloading every song she’d ever released after that. I even watched every interview and poetry slam she’d ever done on YouTube. Then, I stumbled across her performing her piece, “Epidemic,” that was about sexual assault. I remember crying and thinking that that’s what I wanted to do. I always thought writing about trauma made me damaged or like there was something wrong with me, but when I heard Lambert turn her trauma into something beautiful, I knew then that I wanted to write poetry.

In 2018, Lambert released her book, Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across. I went to my local Books-a-Million the week it was released and bought a copy. I read every single poem twice in two weeks. Then, I bought the audio book, and it changed everything. To hear her words in her voice with the soft piano playing added so much depth to her art. It meant so much more. Her book inspired and continues to inspire me every day.

In 2019, Lambert released an album after 5 years of having no record label. She recorded and produced the album all on her own. It is entitled Grief Creature, and it is quite possibly the best record ever released, or at least, the most beautiful. Of course, these are my opinions, but the album features spoken word with songs about trauma and healing. Although it’s not mainstream, it is valuable and honest. Listen to the album on YouTube— you won’t regret it (be sure to bring tissues).

America Ferrera

From Real Women Have Curves to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, America Ferrera has taught me to love and appreciate not only my body, but my culture. However, she is most known for her role in the 2006 series, Ugly Betty, in which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Actress, making her the first to do so. However, lately, Ferrera has been activating and advocating. She was a speaker at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, a founding member of the 2018 Time’s Up movement, a partner in The North Face’s Move Mountains initiative, an advocate for the protection of people in the DACA program, and much more. In 2018, she published a collection of stories titled: American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures that features first-person narratives of life experiences between cultures. In doing all this, Ferrara also found time to star in the NBC comedy, Superstore, and have 2 children. She is, by definition, a “superwoman”. Ferrera may have played ugly Betty on screen, but she could never be anything less than phenomenal.

Lina Esco

Lina Esco is an actress, director, producer, and activist. She’s not very well known, but some may know her for her role as Miley Cyrus’ best friend in the film, LOL. You may have also seen her star in the movie, Free the Nipple. However, many people don’t know that Esco founded the Free the Nipple campaign and directed and starred in the indie film inspired by it. The campaign advocates for the accepting of women baring their breasts, both legally and socially, as there is a double-standard. It is okay for men to walk around shirtless in public, but women aren’t allowed to in most states and even if they are, they’re shamed for it; women are even often shamed for breastfeeding in public. These are the things the campaign fights against. In Esco’s film, based on true events, a group of vivacious women come together to fight the marginalization of women and they do so by forming rallies and protests backed by prominent figures. From the message, the impact, and the cinematography, it is a truly inspiring film, and I encourage you to watch it; however, there is nudity, so be cautious.

Esco is one of those phenomenal that isn’t talked or heard enough about. She is creating change in our society, and it should be recognized more. Esco inspires to fight for what I believe in and to use my art to further my advocacy.

Amina Mucciolo

Amina Mucciolo is an Instagram influencer and YouTuber. Mucciolo is quite the woman. She is fabulous, fierce, and unafraid to be herself. Before she was an influencer, she was an aspiring writer. However, when that didn’t pan out, she moved to L.A. where she now owns and operates a design studio that sells party favors, tutus, and other crafty knickknacks. However, it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for Mucciolo, as she battled with bulimia and depression most of her life. Mucciolo is open about her struggles and how she turned her life into a “pastel paradise” after facing hardship.

Mucciolo is so incredible and quite possibly, another me. Her story and confidence inspires so much. It’s not often that you see a grown woman wearing rainbow dresses and tutus just to go to Target, but with Mucciolo, that’s her norm.

Kesha

Kesha Rose Sebert, more commonly, Ke$ha, is a singer/songwriter who is most known for her hit single, “Tik Tok”. However, to me, she’s an absolute queen. From glitter her on her eyes to Jesus on her necklace, Kesha is unapologetically herself. She’s known as the “party girl” with her electro, dance pop music. However, Kesha went on hiatus in 2014, after entering rehab for an eating disorder. Shortly after she was released, she filed a lawsuit against her producer, Dr. Luke, for sexual assault and battery. This has been an ongoing public lawsuit for years, but Kesha returned to music scene in 2017 with the release of her album, Rainbow, that not-so subtly said that the 30-year-old was no longer that party girl the world once knew. When the first single, “Praying,” released, the world was taken aback, as it was the first music she’d released in years, it was not her usual style, and the song lyrics strongly suggested it was about her legal battle with Dr. Luke. In an interview, the singer said this about the album, “I felt like Rainbow was a time and place to address some more serious things.”

Now that Kesha’s addressed these issues, she hasn’t slowed down any. In January, the singer released another album— High Road. This album is different from her party girl style, but not quite the same as Rainbow. In this album, Kesha has dark brown hair and her style is a bit grown up, as if saying that she’s still that party girl, but she’s grown up now. On one of the tracks, she even featured “old Kesha” with the dollar sign in her name.

No matter which direction Kesha decides to take her musical stylings, she will forever be an icon to me. She has always inspired me to be myself and to love myself. I still remember 10-year-old me listening to “Tik Tok” on repeat with glitter on my eyes. I’ll always be a #Animal.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo has been a role model of mine for as long as I can remember. I don’t know I learned of her because she’s not someone you learn about in school, which is really saddening, because she’s such an amazing woman.

You might know her as a famous Mexican painter or as Diego Rivera’s wife, but these weren’t always the roles she inhabited. Being disabled by polio, as a child, Kahlo beat the odds and had a bright future ahead of her. When she was 18, she was on her way to med school to be a doctor, but then she was in a terrible bus accident. This left her unable to walk or move for a year. While she was bedridden, her father bought her a paint set and easel, as she had mobility of her hands. While healing, Kahlo continued to paint. When she learned to walk again, after being told that she wouldn’t, she continued painting. She said that it was her passion and it distracted from her pain.

In 1929, Kahlo married Diego. Their tumultuous relationship is one that is studied by many historians and anthropologists. Kahlo’s art reflected their marital problems, as well. One of her more famous pieces, “Henry Ford Hospital,” is an evocative one that portrays her miscarriage and feelings of being unable to have children due to her ailments. This piece was so powerful because, at this time, women didn’t talk about issues like this or the feelings they felt, and Kahlo painted it— and with so much emotion and truth.

Frida Kahlo was an incredible woman, artist, and activist. From her scarf-braided her to her signature unibrow, Kahlo was a woman ahead of her time. Her art was powerful and raw; it explored themes that weren’t being talked about or explored. Her work inspires me to write and talk about the things that aren’t being done already, to create change, to fight for peace, and to embrace my heritage.

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These are just 9 women who inspire me daily. There are billions of inspiring women, and if I could write about them all, I would. But since I can’t, I hope this piece inspired you to write about the women who inspire you or taught you about an inspiring woman that you didn’t know about. Happy Women’s History Month!