Amelia Earhart: The Woman in the Sky
Amelia Mary Earhart, the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, is known as one of America’s first celebrities. She was born in 1898, where women were not thought of being as capable as men. She challenged common perceptions by breaking world aviation records, to show that women were equal to men, and could even succeed to do things that men failed to. As a child, she was raised as a proper Victorian woman, but, to her grandmother’s disapproval, decided that she didn’t fit the norm, hence she was known as a tomboy, who enjoyed spending time outdoors climbing trees, sledding, and hunting rats, which was thought to be extremely abnormal at the time. Amelia collected pictures of women who were
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Her husband, George Putnam repetitively proposed six times before she finally accepted marrying him. She wrote him a letter that stated “You must know again my reluctance to marry, my feeling that I shatter thereby chances in work which means most to me… Please let us not interfere with the others’ work or play… In this connection I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself, now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinements of even an attractive cage” (Brain Pickings -). She believed in equal responsibilities between the pair, and refused the bride’s promise to obey her husband. She had a modern view on marriage, pushing the envelope for women in relationships. Amelia conveyed her wariness of the entire situation, and laid out her expectations, including her requirement for privacy and respect for her career and accomplishments. She even argued taking her husband’s last name, and kept her own, which was very unusual at the time. However, even her husband had modern views and agreed with her, encouraging her career in flight. In an essay from 1932, he wrote, "Women who earn their salt are entitled to have what they want to put the salt on!" (Huffington Post 2012). Amelia stood up for women’s rights and equality to fly, which in return helped her stand up for women’s rights in marriage.
Amelia Earhart wasn't afraid to challenge the status quo and stand up for women’s rights in both flight and marriage. Her actions inspired generations of women to come to follow their dreams in different career choices, even if they were not available to them at the time. Her legacy still lives on, where her namesake Amelia Rose Earhart completed her flight around the world, showing that Amelia Mary still changes lives