Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Nicola Adams
Nicola Adams – Boxer (UK)
First
female and openly LGBTQ person to win a boxing gold at the Olympics
If you've been reading my blog posts, you'll know by now that I have a new book out soon. It's called, Girls Can Do Anything and is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August by Scholastic.
In it we tell children that girls can basically do whatever they want and that their gender does not have a bearing on achieving their dreams. You'd think that in 2018 things would be pretty equal but in reality, children still perceive some interests, careers and vocations as largely "male" or "female." Our book aims to show children that this does not have to be true, and that there are plenty of women out there doing what some might perceive as men's jobs. At the back of the book we've created a Gallery of Inspriational Women to prove to children that there's no such thing. And in that gallery, we have the amazing Nicola Adams. So why did we choose her?
Well, boxing is a men’s sport, right?
Err,
nope.
Just
like football, tennis, basketball, wrestling, tae-kwan-do, fencing, swimming,
athletics and any other sport you can name, women do it too! And women like
Nicola Adams do it rather well. She was
the first woman to win an olympic boxing title and won gold in the 2012 and
2016 olympics. She is also black and
openly bisexual.
I
wanted to include her in our Girls Can Do
Anything gallery of inspirational women because she is proof that nothing
is out of reach because of your gender - or your ethnic background or
sexuality. Nicola Adams is walking proof
that you can be yourself and achieve your dreams. You don’t have to sacrifice your personal integrity
and identity to do well in a world that is not traditionally yours. You just
have to be committed and work hard.
So if your child has a dream, whatever their gender or ethnic origin, whether they are able bodied or disabled, do them them the biggest favour of their lives. Get on the internet and find someone just like them, who is doing the thing they want to do.
Unless, of course, they want to be a unicorn. Oh, hang on... How to Become a Unicorn (That's for you, @Mellie_Green )
Girls Can Do Anything
is illustrated by Ali Pye and
published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.