I was recently asked in a survey/interview to give an example of a woman I looked up to. This was actually a hard question to answer. Even as I recalled my childhood – there were women that I liked, but not many that I idealized or “wanted to be like”.
Then today I was thinking of composing a little “things I like” post – reaching back to some few pivotal yet frivolous wants, likes, and once-hads… when I remembered Jane Lane. Here is where it gets dicey. Jane Lane, as you may recall – if you are of a certain age and demographic, is a cartoon. She is the artsy best-friend of Daria Morganforffer.
Pondering this for a moment further I also was reminded of another female character: Rayanne Graff. Rayanne becomes the best friend of moody (but angelic) Angela Chase in My So Called Life. Ok, so, I realize these girls would be considered my piers, not women to look up to, however I guess what brought them to mind is that they probably were responsible for forming my personality (or at least affirming it on it’s natural trajectory) more than I would like to own up to.
Which finally brings us to the point of character (in the values sense) and what we allow to form us. Is it just a sense of style? an attitude we deem apropos? What vibes do we give off that formative minds might observe? Will we give younger women anything to look up to beyond a caricature or artistic personification of what we imagine our younger selves wanting to be? (wearing our makeup and dating our idealized men?)
I dunno, I know I tend to jump all over the place with this stuff, but I guess I am just a little disappointed in myself for identifying so closely with fictional females, and indeed growing up to be kinda like them… and hope to be more eye-catching and inspirational to women younger than I – for better reasons that the ones that caused me to chose my role models.
Oh yeah, and the thing that got me into the rabbit hole? Room chimes! I am in LOVE with room chimes, and it may or may not have anything to do with this episode: