Gender

Gender issues--disparity of pay and other problems which set off the balance of equality--continue to plague our nation. In this week's GLAMOUR magazine, President Obama wrote an article about this. He quotes: "We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding tears.We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs." He wrote this piece as an homage to his daughters--two bright, beautiful young women, both of whom have benefited from having Barack and Michelle as parents.

As a mother with a  daughter, granddaughter and daughter-in-law, I revel in the power of a woman who is competent, strong, passionate and never demure. I hope Ella will one day be that young woman, too, who observes such wonderful and powerful role models. And as a writer, I write the type of women I admire, and the president's message to his daughters and society is the message every young girl needs to grow up with! When I was younger, GLAMOUR magazine was all about make-up, clothes--how to make yourself more physically appealing. Now the emphasis, fortunately, is how SMART women are!