Young Girl Aspires To Greatness In Era Filled With Possibilities

1977

In 1977, stereotypes disappeared from my world.

I was 11, in the fifth grade. I had my first male teacher and he made us read the newspaper every day. My mother’s income surpassed my father’s, as did the number of hours she spent at the office. I played football and baseball with the neighborhood boys. I believed that discrimination was something that happened in the distant past, like the ‘60s. My friends and I were the children of a new era and we aspired to greatness.

That message was reinforced by the newspaper I read. There were stories about amazing kids like Amber Hunt, 11, who was boxing with the boys, and Andrea McArdle, 12, who had the lead in the Broadway musical Little Orphan Annie.

The ERA movement was gaining strength in smaller cities, like Toledo (my hometown) and Spokane. A newspaper headline in a 1977 Spokesman-Review reads: “Firms seeking more women for executive level positions.” Ann Landers’ advice to a woman who whines that her life is stifled because her husband is anti-social: “Are you in chains, woman? Go on your own!”

I was not worried about whom I would marry. I had tough decisions to make: Doctor or war correspondent? To live in France or Kenya? Keep my hair long and straight or get a Dorothy Hamill cut? Two decades later, when I track down the newspaper on my birthdate, I am struck by how bored I am as I read it. It evokes none of the excitement that it did 20 years earlier. There’s a story about how chocolate affects women’s brains. Another headline commemorates a new track record by Gail Devers.

At first, I attribute my reaction to the changes in me and my life. After all, I was a pretty excitable, eager person 20 years ago. Now, I could be described as average - married, middle-class, mother of two. Maybe I just don’t have the same zeal that I did back then.

But after a second read, I realize that’s not the case. I still get excited about life. I still have hopes and dreams to which I aspire. They are more subtle these days and I don’t find them in the pages of the newspaper anymore.

I see images of women with which I can readily identify - professionals, mothers, even athletes. But all I see are their frustrations, none of their passion. Parents and teachers readily talk about the pitfalls of raising children in the modern world, but no one dares to discuss the visions they have for those children. There are stories about the hurdles and inequities working women face, but nothing about the rewards.

I believe the newspaper is a reflection of society. And it seems we have entered an era where we no longer articulate our hopes and dreams. Instead, we dwell on what ails us. We shout about the obstacles that stand in our way. But we only whisper when we name the goals we are trying to reach.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: For information on this and other related stories see main story under headline: Era of Change