Sheroes

In honor of it’s 70th anniversary Glamour magazine staff answered the question “Which woman of the past 70 years has inspired you?” in the April issue. The answers run the gamut from feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem to model Kate Moss. Michelle Pfeiffer, Oprah Winfrey, Marilyn Monroe and Hillary Clinton also made the list.

The April issue also features a fashion spread called American Icons in which some of today’s hottest talents are styled to look like some of history’s greatest groundbreaking women. There’s Hayden Panettiere as Amelia Earhart, Paula Patton as Billie Holiday, Lindsay Lohan as Madonna and Alicia Keys as Michelle Obama, just to name a few.

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, I want you to pose the question to you: What woman in American history has inspired you most?

As I tried to answer the question myself I realized it was impossible to pick just one person. Different women have inspired me in different ways and at different times in my life. When I was younger it was Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni who inspired me to express myself through poetry and the writings of Toni Morrison pushed me to try my hand at fiction too. When I decided I wanted to be a journalist I dreamed of being the next Susan L. Taylor, former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine.

Today Michelle Obama inspires me to be smart, eloquent, stylish and graceful, yet down-to-earth, compassionate and supportive of my man.

I have found, though, that these days I am mostly inspired by my peers — women who are around my age but are doing great things, young women who are making history before my eyes, women like Jessica Valenti, noted author and founder of the blog Feministing.com.

Now it’s your turn. Tell me about the women who inspire you.