Thank you for my father, who alone raised two girls from the ages of 2 and 6. He guided us through horrid teenagedom, taught us to expect a lot (but not so much as to be ridiculous) from ourselves, and to not be dependent on men, but to be fiercely INdependent, and to never cower.

In other words, he raised us to be feminists without ever having to, or without even probably thinking to, apply a label to the behavior he wanted us to adopt. It was just his natural inclination.

(Love you, Dad.)

To my great-great-grandmother, Nora, who had to live her life a prostitute after becoming pregnant in the early 1900s; who raised three children who, out of shame, told other kids their "father" had died on the railroads. We - my family - have her last name because she wasn't married. Our family has slowly climbed up from her struggles: her children owned homes, their children could read, their children graduated high school, and I'm the first to go to college.

To Nora K., who was burnt with hot water by other women for being a whore, I thank you a thousand times for enduring your world: illiterate, single, impoverished prositute raising children in a one-room home with a dirt floor. I hope to make you proud.

Thank you to my grandmother, Marjory, for getting a college education when it was a seriously strange thing for a woman to do. Thank you for being an extremely kick-ass FBI codebreaker during WWII who helped make D-Day possible and got letters of recommendation from J. Edgar Hoover. Thank you for going on to give your whole self to raising a cerebral palsy child to become a fulfilled, functional adult, and for becoming a teacher to do the same for other disabled children. Most importantly, thank you for showing me how to find joy in everyday life.

http://nenacraven.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album12&id=121_2193_IMG

Thank you to my Grandma, Mary, who showed us all to never let us be defined by a man and proving that no amount of dehumanization is worth a marriage. Towards the end of her marriage, my grandpa started saying nasty things about her, like calling her slop-bucket, etc. Eventually he beat her to the point that she had to go to the hospital. She left him that night and filed divorce papers soon after. She showed my mom and my sister and I that we are worth something and that people who treat us that way aren't worth *anything* to be around. Thanks to her example, she helped my mom get through her divorce and she too left an abusive relationship.

Both my mom and grandma taught me and my sister that we're worth something as women and that the idea that men are better in some aspects is absurd. Together, they planted the seeds of what eventually became feminism for me.

Thank you to my mother who always told me I could do anything and believed in me no matter how far I strayed. And for showing me that women are funny and have great senses of humor.

Thank you to my great-grandmother, Nicolette DeFlavis who came to the US from Italy. And was among the first women to vote in New York, before the 19th amendment was passed, granting women across the country the right to vote as well.

Thank you to my Aunt Donna who showed me that women can be strong physically as well as mentally.

Thank you to my professors in Women's Studies at USF who probably never knew how much they influenced my life and the path that I am on. They taught me not to be afraid of the F-word (feminist :P), gave me the knowledge to verbalize my thoughts and concerns about how society treats women and other marginalized groups,and totally changed my ideas about body image.

Thanks to Feministing for helping me feel like I'm connected to other feminists and the feminist movement. Because try as I might, I don't find very many in real life.

Thanks to my partner's mother for finally understanding that I can "take care of her baby" without picking up after him, doing all the cleaning & cooking, and getting on my hands and knees every time I clean the floors.