There are continuous talks about gender equality and women’s empowerment but, while during official meetings governmental organisations often state that there has been significant progress in achieving equality between women and men also thanks to specific legislation, in reality things are actually rather different.
A quick analysis of the job hierarchy in labour markets shows indeed that there are very few women in power positions even when they are more qualified than men.
Then there is the “Berlusconi syndrome”, a malaise that has spread all over the world and that essentially consists in men thinking that women are very keen on prostituting themselves in return for money and jobs or that women are just objects to be used for sexual fulfilment (what about the Head of the International Money Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of having sexually assaulted a hotel maid?)
The media have so far helped spreading these perceptions: open your average women’s magazine and you will realise it’s full of pictures and features about vapid celebrities, superficial role models and bland icons of style usually claiming that buying a designer bag can save our lives rather than encouraging us to read more and be outspoken.
As a consequence it has become rather unusual for a woman to speak her own mind and dissent about specific topics; if you do, you often end up being considered as a subversive anarchist and a dangerous threat to society.
I really think we should stop all this now by starting to redefine some words, aims and objectives, understanding that “daring” doesn’t mean "wearing well" clashing colours such as electric blue and bright orange, but it means fighting for your rights, challenging society and maybe even finding more inspiring icons of style.
If you want to start with spotting new role models, check out the exhibition currently on at the Casa Museo Francesco Baracca in Lugo, near Ravenna in Italy, about early aviator women (on until 30th October 2011).
The event is entitled “L’altra metà del cielo. L’epopea delle donne pilota” (The other side of the sky. The epic story of women pilots) and chronicles the life of 50 female aviators from 1913 to our days, through images and biographies.
You will find endless inspirations in this exhibition: from Adrienne Bolland, the first woman pilot to fly over the Andes to Amelia Earhart who died in 1937 during an attempt to fly around the world; from aviator and parachutist Elsa Andersson to Bessie “Queen Bess” Coleman a Chicago-based manicurist who, fascinated by flying but being unable to study in the US because she was a black woman, moved to France, becoming the first Afro-American aviator.
Many of these women, from Hélène Boucher and Gaby Angelini to astronauts Judith Resnik, sadly died during training sessions or during missions.
The most fascinating aspect of their lives is that, though they came from different countries and social classes, they all share something very important: they all struggled and fought hard to make themselves heard.
Valentina Tereshkov worked in a tire factory first, then in a textile factory while studying and eventually becoming the first woman in the world to fly in space on board of the Vostok 6.
While many of these stories would produce amazing films (and some have actually been already shot, remember for example As White as in Snow directed by Jan Troell with Amanda Ooms as Elsa Andersson? see first image in this post), women aviators are also inspiring from a fashion and style point of view: early women pilots are usually portrayed wearing leather skull caps, goggles, jodhpurs and leather jackets.
Actress Ruth Elder, who left behind her career in the movies to become a pilot, is often pictured wearing a scarf as a headband, a white shirt matched with a printed tie, knickerbockers and stripy socks.
Elder attempted to be the first woman aviator to fly to Paris, but, crashing in the Atlantic mid-flight, ended up being credited with the longest flight made entirely over water (2,623 miles).
If you’re interested in aviation and style, it may be useful to visit a science museum near you with a section dedicated to flying.
At London’s Science Museum you will be able to see early flying suits from 1910 and discover that they were actually modified motoring clothes (interesting enough woman aviator Aloisa Guarini Matteucci Degli Angeli first developed a passion for motoring and then moved onto flying).
These special garments and outfits in gabardine cloth lined with camel fleece were usually produced by Gamages or Burberrys. So, is anybody interested in creating a collection inspired by women aviators?
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