Recently, I have been reading about people's lives, namely Queen Elizabeth II and Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. What a great chasm between these two women.
In Sally Bedell Smith's account, Elizabeth The Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, we see a woman raised in the lap of luxury and educated in the ways of a royal leader.
In an autobiography, My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life as a Puerto Ricana raised in the projects in the Bronx where education and hard work were the keys to a new life.
And what a dissimilar life both women lead. Queen Elizabeth had to always be aware of her public image, no matter what the circumstances. Sotomayor was a manic workaholic who could "argue like a man." What both women had to struggle with is the recognition of the fact that they are up to the job usually done by men. Over and over, the need to establish this fact is demonstrated.
It is my hope that there will be a time when people are accepted for who they are rather than being judged by their gender. In the meantime, it is very thought provoking to read this pair of books in tandem.
