10 Women working to change the world: The celebrities Women have a lot to celebrate right now. March is Women’s History Month, and 2020 marks the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guarantees women's constitutional right to vote. We at StreetWise wanted to take time this month to celebrate women who have taken the torch from the powerful women before them, and who continue to do work to advocate in today’s society. These are just 10 of the many, many strong women out there, but these are 10 we chose to highlight for their perseverance, dedication, and advocacy. There are five celebrities and five Chicago-based women. We hope their stories inspire you, we know we were!
by Rachel Koertner
"It is just time for us to have a voice. It’s time for us to have power."
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is a woman who, in 1997, risked everything to fight for what she believed in, and who has not stopped since. In that year, DeGeneres came out as gay on the cover of Time magazine, at the same time her character on the sitcom “Ellen” also came out. The show then received some criticism for being “too gay,” and ended the following year. However, DeGeneres kept fighting to get back on TV, and now has a huge hit with her daytime talk show of 17 seasons. During that time, DeGeneres has used her show to advocate for many different important topics, LGBTQ rights and women’s rights most of all. She has also recently spoken up against sexual assault, sharing her personal story on "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman." In addition, she has created the Ellen Fund, which seeks to protect endangered species. DeGeneres has raised millions of dollars for a variety of causes, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Photo provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)
"I’ve always stood up for the underdog and the underrepresented because I can’t escape from that myself.”
Lizzo
Time’s 2019 Entertainer of the Year may have a lot of success now, but it wasn’t always that way. Singer-songwriter Lizzo was once homeless, struggling and grieving the loss of her father. However, she used the hardship as a motivator to push herself and turn her life around. Lizzo doesn’t let her gender, color, or size stop her from going places. Now, she inspires so many people with her positive music and self-affirming attitude. This revolutionary artist works hard to break stigmas. For example, she openly talks about how she goes to therapy, even though she says there is a notion in society that black women are not allowed to ask for help. She loves her newfound knowledge on how to communicate, and wants each person to stand up for themselves and love their insecurities. She fights for everyone. Photo provided by Atlantic Records.
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