the "New Woman" was a concept highly written about at the end of the 19th century. I suppose this conception of women is no longer 'new', but I like it...
According to E. Gainor's book Shaw's Daughters, the new woman,
"was noted for independence of spirit and action; she refused to conform to the conventional, male-determined code of feminine behavior or to accept an inferior
status legally, intellectually, or socially. This personal adventurousness manifested itself externally in such 'unwomanly' activities as cigarette smoking and in the rejection of traditional, purely decorative and cumbersome feminine attire in favor of a more practical wardrobe that suited an active lifestyle."
Maybe today's status quo already qualifies as New Women. We certainly don't wear lung-restricting corsets anymore. Although, today's highly fashionable stillettos and tight jeans are certainly not the best to fit my 'active lifestyle.' Neverthess, now we women have a choice between sweatpants, jeans or a tight-ass skirt. We also have to count our blessings in that we're no longer forced to learn home economics, if higher education appeals to us. We have 'come a long way, baby' and maybe these New Women had something to do with it. While over a century old, I still appreciate the New Woman's independence of spirit and action and refusal to conform. We should all aim to be 'New' and maybe one day things like corporate glass ceilings and male-only presidencies will be a thing of the past, too.
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