Make Difference Ordinary
Scroll down to see if you were able to identify all the women on this painting.
1. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice whose groundbreaking work for gender equality helped change the legal landscape for women in America.
2. Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican artist whose deeply personal self-portraits explored identity, pain, resilience, and the female experience.
3. Amanda Gorman (b.1998 ) is an American poet and activist whose work explores identity, race, feminism, and the possibilities for social change.
4. Hedwig Reicher (1884–1971), A German-born actress & suffragist who became a striking public symbol of the fight for women’s voting rights in America.
5. The Revolution (1868–1872) was a pioneering women’s rights newspaper founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, giving a national voice to the fight for women’s suffrage and equality.
6. Iris Apfel (1921–2024) was an American designer, businesswoman, and fashion icon celebrated for her fearless personal style and belief in individuality at every age.
7. Sally Ride (1951-2012) was an American astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman in space in 1983, breaking barriers for women in science and exploration.
8. Irena Sendler (1910–2008) was a Polish nurse and social worker who bravely rescued approximately 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
9. Grace Jones (b.1948) is a Jamaican-American model, singer, actress, and cultural icon who shattered conventions of beauty, gender, and style with her fearless, uncompromising individuality.
10. Aretha Franklin (1942–2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist whose extraordinary voice earned her the title “Queen of Soul” and became a powerful soundtrack for freedom, strength, and equality.
11. Reshma Saujani (b. 1975) is an American lawyer, activist, and founder of Girls Who Code who has worked to close the gender gap in technology and encourage women and girls to choose bravery over perfection.
12. Jane Goodall (1934–2025) was a British primatologist and conservationist whose groundbreaking research with chimpanzees transformed our understanding of animals and our relationship with the natural world.
13. Rosa Parks (1913–2005) was an American civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat became a defining act of resistance and helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.
14. Lady Gaga (b. 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist known for challenging conventions around identity, beauty, and self-expression while championing LGBTQ+ rights and mental health awareness.
15. Chrissie Hynde (b. 1951) is the iconic frontwoman of The Pretenders who challenged rock’s male-dominated status quo with fierce independence and unapologetic attitude.
16. Dorothy Pitman Hughes (1938–2022) & Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) were pioneering feminist activists who fought together for women’s equality, racial justice, and a more inclusive women’s movement.
17. Venus of Willendorf (c. 28,000–25,000 BCE) is one of humanity’s earliest representations of the female form—bold, unapologetic, and still commanding attention more than 25,000 years later.
18. “Teach her to reject likeability. Her job is not to make herself likeable, her job is to be her full self, a self that is honest and aware of the equal humanity of other people.” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017)
19. “Teach her about difference. Make difference ordinary. Make difference normal.’ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017)