littleOne19

"I believe that there’s a world out there, who wants to hear music like this, who wants to put music on to be fed, to be nourished, to be held up and enlightened and excitened. And I believe that artists do that for people, and that I can do that for people." - Melissa Etheridge

So I want to be completely honest here, I'm trying to do my best on this prompt in light of my many anxieties this week. I had a paper and two tests this week, the hardest one being tomorrow (I'm still freaking out a little), and maybe this is my break from studying which would be weird because it's still homework. Anyway! I like my topic of research because not only is it something I don't know much about, it is something that I would likely become an advocate of after much research. So when starting this blog, I decided to take from our lecture Tuesday and do some "research."

The quote I picked above represents a very strong woman in my eyes, Melissa Etheridge, who writes not for the money, but for what people take from it. Her music is strong and her own, which makes me look up to her as an artist and as an empowered woman. The image is also one I have done in research, and I think it's interesting in the way that it represents women's roots and their capabilities of growing. The image also resembles women coming together, which is also empowerment.

This image also sparks me as interesting, as I would describe it as a women breaking through the threshold and learning to fly, as if finding her inner self-esteem and power. It's poetic almost, and makes you think of the capabilities we have as women. Some strong examples of empowered women include artists like India Arie, Lauryn Hill, and Melissa Etheridge, who use music to speak from their souls, and no matter how successful they turn out to be, they let their music empower them, which makes them role models. Other women who have shown significant power are women in politics, a world seen dominated by men, such as Condoleezza Rice or Hillary Clinton, who is currently running for president. Women like this show that anything is possible, and these women are working towards a future that welcomes gender equality. Although I do not know much music from the artists I have mentioned, with more research, I think that their music and lyrics would prove to be empowering and those who would like to learn from them would be advised to research that. Until then, this is my beginning steps of research. To end on a high note.. a quote from Jane Fonda, novelist, actress, and women's rights activist.

"I was making a speech – there must have been 5,000 people, and I said, ‘you know I grew up thinking that a woman couldn’t change anything’ and I was numb and I came from a very personal place, and said, “If I can change – anybody can change.� And I remember that felt right." - Jane Fonda