Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential women in the world. Oprah was a breakthrough for women in the television/broadcasting industry and most importantly for African-American women. Oprah came from a poor background and with her parent’s divorce she found herself moving a couple times growing up. Oprah knows what it is like to be very unfortunate and clearly she knows what it is like to be extremely fortunate but she definitely had to work her way up to where she is today. Oprah had a very difficult time breaking into the broadcasting business, she first started on the radio but even that wasn’t very common for women. Eventually she became a news reporter but even with that she was criticized for being too emotional on the air and crying when she was reporting someone’s house burning down. This is when Oprah found her niche on what is now emerged into one of the most successful and most watched Talk Shows of today, The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah started her show with the typical format of an issue and bringing on guests and having a lot of audience involvement and questions. The Oprah show today is now more of an interview show and she has a lot of celebrities come on to promote their new movie or authors for their new book. Oprah has used her fame to do great things; she gives more than any other celebrity and has invested multiple shows all surrounding the idea of giving. She is extremely generous and looked up to yet she is still able to relate to the common woman/mother because of her roots. She is admirable because she has worked so incredibly hard and defied the odds when it seemed it was nearly impossible. Oprah is looked up to by all women and is a symbol of what many women working today strive to be.

Women in the military

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-28-military-women-sexual-trauma_n.htm

The military is a field that has been predominately men for as long as it has existed. It is one of the more controversial fields of work for women to be a part of for many reasons. The physical strength and endurance alone is a main reason as to why many Americans, both men and some women, believe there is no place for a woman in the military. Just like many areas of work for women there are many obstacles and barriers they have to go through in order to be successful. Unfortunately, sexual harassment and abuse towards women is reported by 15% of female veterans. The fact that there are not that many women in the military the few that are don’t have the odds in their favor to be free from torment or harassment. One out of every seven female veterans reported being sexually abused or assaulted during their time in Afghanistan or Iraq. More than half of these women also suffer from PTSD which is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These numbers are incredibly high considering less than 100 men reported to be sexually assaulted. This is the first study that has screened this many people regarding sexual abuse or harassment after their deployments.
I feel that this is just another obstacle for women to have to deal with and another fear they will have when deciding if they will enlist in the military. Women have done a lot for our country through the armed forces and could do even more without the kind of threats such as sexual abuse and harassment. For a country that stands so harshly against these crimes you would think that the military would agree with our morals and laws as a country and hold strong against such violations. This is a terrible report to hear and something needs to be done about it immediately before it escalates any further.

Women in Politics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5uGQZWeiM&feature=related

This video clip is when John McCain announces his running mate, Sarah Palin. If they would have won she would be the first woman vice president our nation would ever see. Historically, politics has not made much room for women. Senator Hillary Clinton is the closest any woman has ever come to being president of the United States. As we have seen with Obama, politics not only excludes women but the majority of politicians are white males. Very slowly the process has begun that has included more races and more women in the political arena. I found it interesting that during the campaign Sarah Palin was made fun of many times for having womanly characteristics or talking about her motherhood and how that has changed her life. As many have seen on shows such as SNL, Sarah Palin was depicted as a small town hockey mom that had no experience and no business running for vice president. As much as it is quite possible that she doesn't have enough experience I feel that many people assumed this even more so because she is a woman. It is rare to hear that a man has no business running for office or going to Washington. Women are viewed as incapable of holding power and being leaders, mostly in a world where men typically take power.
I think it is going to happen soon that we actually have a woman run and win the office of either vice president or president. Our country is going through a big change when it comes to gender roles, and politics is one field yet to be completely changed. I think it is even possible to have a woman run for president in the next election but whether or not she wins is something only time will tell!