Female Adolescents in Need of Strong Role Models


Hillary Clinton almost wrested the Democratic nomination for president last year. In endorsing Barack Obama she spoke of being unable "to shatter that highest hardest glass ceiling this time [but] thanks to you it's got about 18 million cracks." Clinton did for women what Barack Obama did for blacks. Women were no longer content to remain second class citizens; playing second fiddle to males and acting submissive to them.

Just as significantly as Clinton being a woman was the fact she had flaws . . . more than a few. It was her complexity that made her so compelling. She was someone women could identify with, not the perfect female heroine with the sizzling body and glowing personality. Women saw a lot of themselves in Hillary Clinton and supported her despite her failings.

Adolescent girls now more than ever need literary protagonists they can identify with - warts and all. Too often females are secondary characters (significant, yet subordinate). The Harry Potter series revolves around, well, Harry Potter (ironically proving a woman can create compelling male characters).

Adolescent girls, so confident in elementary school, face an identity crisis and a battering to their self-esteem beginning in middle school. As an educator for 28 years I'm the first to admit teachers are often to blame (girls aren't as capable in math and the sciences far too many teachers believe. It's rubbish, but that's what pre-teen and teenage girls are taught to believe). Parents aren't as involved as they should be so adolescent girls don't get encouragement from the home.

Girls at this age need to read about others like themselves. They need to read about other girls who lack self-confidence, are full of contradictions, are childish, headstrong, selfish, jealous and bitchy. They need to see, too, that these same literary characters can be confident, inspiring, compassionate yet strong. They need role models who are able to make almost impossible choices and live with the consequences; female protagonists who can lead and accomplish as much or more than their male counterparts.

Teens have to read about girls who get knocked down, bloodied and battered, yet get up to fight another day. They need literary protagonists they can say, "That could be me. I'm not a freak. Others have the same self-doubts and insecurities as I have. I'm not alone . . . and I can prevail."

Girls need strong-willed and flawed literary role models to shatter stereotypes that hold them back. Boys protect girls. They strut their stuff when their girl is challenged or endangered. Women couldn't fight in wars until recently and even now can't fight in combat units. Girls are nurses (not even doctors, for the most part) in relative safety behind the lines helping to patch up the wounded.

And we can't ignore the double standard when it comes to sexuality. A girl who is sexually active is a slut or "easy." Yet, sexually active boys are studs. On the other hand a girl who doesn't let her boyfriend get to second or third base (much less home) is a tease. Is it any wonder girls are confused? Sexually, regardless how an adolescent girl responds she faces negative connotations, yet for boys to be aggressive is "manly."

Where are literary role models to counteract these stereotypes? Far too few exist. And with the vast number of heroic males literature only reinforces stereotypes males have of females and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Boys lead and protect. Girls follow.

Authors need to follow the example of Hillary Clinton and provide flawed, complex yet heroic female protagonists. We need female characters who refuse to submit to their male counterparts. Female characters adolescents can identify with.

Barry Hoffman is a magazine and book publisher, an award-winning author and was an inner-city public school teacher for nearly three decades. He is the author of the newly published young adult dark fantasy novel, Curse of the Shamra Barry is also the editor and publisher of Gauntlet Magazine, the only mass market magazine dealing with censorship and the limits of free expression.

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Dark Chocolate apparently can cause diabetes

Did you know that a benefit of dark chocolate is that it can help reduce insulin levels ? Unfortunately dark chocolate can be an acquired taste but for those suffering with diabetes it is well worth persevering as a benefit of dark chocolate is that it can counteract insulin resistance. But the really good news is that there is a new brand of chocolate on the market that has removed the usual bitter taste of dark chocolate thus producing an awesome tasting chocolate with huge health benefits. Yes, dark chocolate can now be viewed as a healthy food and used on a regular basis it has outstanding benefits especially for diabetes sufferers.

A benefit of dark chocolate is that due to its concentration of flavonoids it can can help in the battle against diabetes as it is rich in antioxidants. Which brings forth the question "what are antioxidants"?

Antioxidants are neutralizers of free radicals. Free radicals are simply explained as a phenomenon of today's living. Free radicals are a by product of breathing oxygen, they occur through general everyday pollution in the air, they are basically unavoidable in today's living environment. Molecules become damaged and split, the result being that the damaged molecule becomes a free radical. Environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides spawn free radicals.

It used to be that the body could handle free radicals, but as free radical production has become excessive, damage to the body is occurring. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age. So the older we get the more susceptible we are to damage.

Why are antioxidants showing to be a benefit of dark chocolate and diabetes ? Cocoa powder is rich in flavonoids which in turn is rich in antioxidants and as such helps to counteract insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can be reversed by maintaining healthy weight, eating a good diet, exercising and stopping smoking. Those fabulous flavonoids help in keeping blood vessels healthy and they improve blood flow. That is extremely important for diabetics because they can develop circulation problems which can cause loss of extremities to occur.

Another amazing benefit of dark chocolate is that it is a terrific source of epicatechin. This compound is naturally occurring in cocoa powder that is used in commercially made chocolate, however, it is the main reason for the bitter taste, so commercial chocolate makers process this compound out to remove the taste problems. What this does in effect is to remove one of today's most beneficial compounds. Research at Harvard Medical School has doctors believing that epicatechin could potentially rid the western World of 4 major diseases, stroke, heart failure, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

This new chocolate, called Xocai, has developed a process of removing the bitter taste of epicatechin without removing any of the benefits. The result is a product laden with thousands of ORAC units. The ORAC scale was developed by the USDA to measure the amount of antioxidants in each fruit or vegetable. An optimal daily dosage is between 12,000 and 15,000 units. The average US diet contains 800 units. Now with Xocai chocolate all that is needed is 3 squares per day to provide the optimal recommended dosage. Those 3 squares a day only amount to 190 calories and just 8 grams of sugar, so it will not impact your calorie intake. Also Xocai chocolate suppresses craving so just another benefit of dark chocolate.

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