Well, since the thread title says ladies, first and otherwise, I'd like to add the woman who I currently think is the most brilliant politician of my lifetime. If you'd read some of my posts in the PF, you know that would be Stacey Abrams. She grew up with little more than a very loving family, which imo, is a great start. She wrote a series of romance novels while putting herself through law school and for those who are science geeks, she minored in physic in college. She was the minority leader in the Georgia House and at that time, she had the respect of both parties for her ability to pragmatically work across the aisle. Finally, she did more than anyone I've ever known to get out the vote and help turn Georgia blue, well at least for now. I don't want to sound like I'm starting a Stacey cult, but when I attended one of her rallies during her run for the Gov of Georgia, I was ecstatic. She's a charismatic person who can excite and motivate people.
Now that her skills have been recognized, she's seen as a threat by the other side, but I think she's strong enough to keep on keepin' on. Time will tell.
But, back to the first ladies. Of course, I love Michelle, although to be honest, I'm not so sure she loved being in the WH as First Lady. I think she did it as many wives do at times, they support their husbands. I'm happy for her now that she's free. I'm becoming very fond of Jill Biden, who is keeping her teaching job while also being First Lady. I can't say that I know enough about any of those who lived before I was born, but in my life time, Michelle was the best and I think Jill will probably be in that category as well. Give her time.
Once we have a female president, if she's married, then we can talk about first men.
Here's a few more amazing ladies from the past.
Margaret Sanger. Okay, she was far from perfect, but as one who judges people from the times that they lived in and not the times that we live in now, without her activism, OCPs might not ever have been developed. She watched women line up for 50 cent abortions when she was very young. She knew that women often died in child birth after having 8 or more children without the option of effective birth control, so she made it her life's mission to change that.
There were many brilliant free thinking women in the past. One of my favorites is Ernestine Rose. She had courage that few women before her were willing to demonstrate, as she gave lectures on atheism and women's rights during the 19th Century. She once said, "I was a rebel at the age of 5" I love that, partly because I've been a little bit of a rebel since the age of 5 too.
Do people realize that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were also freethinkers? Stanton was known for speaking about the "degraded status of women in the Bible" She told women they'd be happier if they left religion behind. I know that worked for me. Leaving the religion of my childhood behind set me free. Susan B. worked with Stanton as an abolitionist feminist. Yet, women from that period of time rarely get much recognition, and few people realize how many of them were atheists.
Finally, let's got to the arts. When I was in my 20s, almost 50 years ago, I discovered the music of Billie Holiday. I used to go to the library to listen to her soothing music on vinyl, long before we had CDs and long before I could afford my own stereo. I read about her life, how she was treated as she fearlessly gave concerts in the Jim Crow South, and of course about the song, "Strange Fruit". The song was originally a poem and then a protest piece against southern lynchings. But, the authors, two Jewish guys from New York, said that when Billie sang the song, she owned it, so they let her claim it as her own.
I loved her so much, despite being a little white woman from Jersey, that I used the name Billie as my screen name many years ago, on a nursing discussion board, and I named a little chichi of mine, Billy ( he was a male, hence the male spelling ) because Billie had a chihuahua that she adored. For years, I felt like the spirt of Bille was with me because Billie was a strong women who kept on despite all the hatred and discrimination that she faced. Of course, I never had to face what Billie did, but I wanted to believe that if I had, I would be as strong as her. She was only in her late 40s when she died in 1957, when I was still a child.
Those are just a sampling of the fantastic women that I've read about and sometimes felt that I knew personally, even if they lived long before I was born.
Thanks for the OP Athena. Great idea!
The only reason I suspect it's not referring to gay is because I had a similar discussion back when H. R. Clinton was running, trying to figure out what we'd call Bill.