The other day, I did an online search for sites aboutfemale role models. I went to ask.com, then searched on nbci.com, yahoo and aolwith the keywords "female role model." Basically, all I came up withwere fashion sites and sites for the U.S. women's soccer and softball teams. Asmuch as I wasn't surprised - after all, this is a society that glorifies BritneySpears and Christina Aguilera and shuns PJ Harvey and Ani DiFranco - I was stillshocked. In 2001, I figured I could find one or two good sites among all therubble.

I feel extremely cheated. I try to discover women to view aspositive role models, but no one presents anyone other than Mia Hamm, theWilliams sisters or other people who are appreciated because they have athletictalent. That is nice for girls who want to play tennis or soccer, but leaves ahuge void for many girls.

Role models should be able to do a lot morethan run quickly or throw a tough fastball. They should be able to compete withmen in fields beyond sports. There are plenty out there, but they are kept quietbecause even though we have come far, this is still a male-dominated society, andmany males feel emasculated by women who show them up.

Females should nothave to spend large amounts of time searching for women to admire. They should beout in the open and praised without a second thought. We need to move beyond thedays when your average boy could spout off a list of male intellectuals who areopenly adored, yet your average girl can think of maybe one or two women, andsometimes even none at all.