Should Girls Be Brave Like Katniss?

One of my facebook friends was questioning the right of Katniss Everdeen, of Hunger Games fame, to serve as a female role model. She felt like Katniss's choices, which in the first book of the series, were brave and admirable, became exceedlingly less so as the series progressed.

Her comment came the day after my daughter and I went to see Pixar's latest release: Brave. The movie tells the story of Merida, a fiesty, fiery, red-headed princess who does not want to be betrothed. She likes to ride horses, shoot arrows, and climb mountains. She abhors needlepoint and wearing restrictive queenly costumes.

I couldn't help but note the similarities between Merida, the pixelized heroine of Brave, and the flesh and blood portrayal of Katniss Everdeen.

Both of them have adoring, if sometimes misguided, mothers.
Both of them are experts at archery.
Both of them prefer male to female companionship.
Both of them are fighting for the right to their own destiny.

For Katniss, her destiny is being controlled politically. She must fight - even at the expense of her own morality - for the survival of herself and her family. For Merida, her destiny means being able to NOT choose one of the three strangest male suitors ever to be portrayed in cartoons. It also means being able to be a queen and a woman in her own way.

While I agree that no girl should ever take a fictional character as a role model, I do believe that there are some basic lessons that most girls can take from these two characters.

1) Learn to shoot a bow and arrow (just kidding!).

2) Find and learn to trust your own instincts.

3) Don't settle for what is expected of you by your parents or by society.

4) Refuse to be limited by the stereotypes of what a girl should be.

5) Realize that marriage and men are not solutions to life's problems - in fact, in The Hunger Games, they complicate everything.

5) Aim for excellence (that's the bow and arrow part).

Now, I must go and sign up for archery lessons...

Mary McLeod Bethune: She Has Given Her Best

I first heard about Mary McLeod Bethune when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. She was an early graduate of my college - and an African American woman. I knew she had gone on to become one of the greatest women in our country. She was so well known that she earned the status of being featured on our postage stamps. But I didn't really know much about her. As I researched Mary McLeod Bethune for my book, When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up . I learned a bit more about her remarkable life: She was the 15th of 17 children, born to former slaves. From an early age, she hungered for education. She graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a desire for missionary service to Africa - an opportunity she was denied because of her race. Undeterred, she started a school for African American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, that went on to become Bethune Cookman University. She was asked to work with Franklin D. Roosevelt and led many ...

Pacific Garden Mission: A Bed, A Meal and the Bright Light of Hope

In 1877, a woman named Sarah Dunn Clarke and her newly-wedded husband George started a rescue mission on Chicago’s south side. They were wealthy, but their hearts were broken by the men and women who struggled to survive on the city’s streets. The Pacific Garden Mission is the 2 nd oldest operating rescue mission in the United States. Now located on 14 th St and Canal – just south of Chicago’s loop – they offer shelter to as many as a thousand men and women on any given night. As part of my book research to understand how the work of Sarah Clarke continues today, I visited the mission with my friend Dawn Pulgine. Entering through the side, we felt a bit out of our element. Men, black and white, old and young, clustered near the doorway. Some carried bags of personal belongings. Others were working the desk and security. It was mid-day at the Mission. We were given a tour by one of the “program men” – residents who choose to stay a...

My Life as a Cosplay Mom

Cosplay?! What's that? When I tell people that my teenage daughter loves to cosplay, they often have no idea what I'm talking about. About five years ago, my daughter created her first costume to attend a cosplay convention. What I quickly learned is that her love for "cosplay" (defined as costume play) would definitely involve her mom! Together, we have made countless trips to the fabric and craft store as I learned to sew, trace, and glue, create patterns from scratch, and apply stage make-up. In the photo to the left, you can see my husband and I, with our daughter, in full Pokemon cosplay. Attending ACEN (Anime Central) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, two mild-mannered parents were instantly transformed into Team Magma. Our daughter had full design control, helping me create our group costume. Apparently we did it right, because the moment we entered the conference center, we were stopped for photos. Milt and I had to fake i...

Jamie Janosz

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