Day 4 - 26 -- Loss of a Role Model

The world lost an amazing woman yesterday -- Mary Tyler Moore. She broke stereotypes in sit-coms, particularly in her eponymous show. She portrayed a single woman in the workplace, fighting for equal pay and struggling for acceptance of the changing roles of women. As a character and as herself, Moore became a role model for many women. She had her own production company, so did not work only as an actress. She advocated for diabetes research and for animal rights. She showed a softer side of feminism -- one that could be just as effective as the more militant approach the word did, and still does, engender. Her laugh, smile and infectious enthusiasm for life will be missed.

For her portrayal of a single, successful woman who lived on her own and wasn't always attached to a significant other, one song came to mind today. The lyrics became an anthem in the 1970s -- the time the Mary Tyler Moore Show came into existence. Enjoy!

I Am Woman -- Helen Reddy