Gender Identity and Roles have experienced unprecedented change during the past one hundred years. In politics, sports, commerce, religion and every aspect of our culture, women have fought to break the glass ceilings and assert their capabilities on par with men.
Would it surprise you to know that during the past century, eighty-six countries have installed a woman head of government or state? This includes western allies such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The historic gender divide tracked with humanity’s survival strategies; women being the givers of life and men being the defenders of life (some may dispute this given the millions of victims from testosterone-filled wars and genocides).
We can look at history and identify cultures led by women. Even today, Indigenous peoples in parts of America, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and the South Pacific are matriarchies. Parallels exist in the animal kingdom; bonobos, elephants, hyenas, lions, orcas, among others.
History also leads us to great women in all of humanity’s endeavors, including the top jobs in a world once dominated by kingdoms. For our birthday homage to women we decided to look at great queens who impacted their worlds at the time and for posterity.
Queen Nefertiti (1370 – 1330 BC): Wife of Pharoah Akhenaten, the couple established the earliest known form of monotheism. After her husband’s death, many scholars believe she ruled in his place prior to the ascension of the boy king Tutankhamun.
Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603): Daughter of Henry VIII and Ane Boleyn, the Virgin Queen emerged as a force of power. She defeated the Spanish Armada, pursued “New World” Exploration, soothed religious tensions, ushered in peace and economic prosperity and the golden age of English art and literature.
Queen Lili’uokalani (1838-1917): The Kingdom of Hawaii’s last monarch and only reigning queen, her efforts to reassert native authority in the islands were halted by a coups d’etat of American business interests afraid of losing their stranglehold. She worked tirelessly for the Hawaiian people; establishing the Queens Bank, championing education for women, raising funds for orphans and composing 150 Hawaiian songs and chants used today in celebrations and ceremonies.
Can you hear Annie Lennox singing “Sisters?” Well, every woman has superpowers; every woman a queen.
