A New Challenger

Image: A camera man films a statue of a girl facing the Wall St. Bull, as part of a campaign by U.S. fund manager State Street to push companies to put women on their boards, in the financial district in New York

In 2017, a new figure appeared on Wall Street. Known as “Fearless Girl” the statue was created to call attention to the lack of women on company boards as well as the pay gap between men and women’s wages. While “Charging Bull”, modeled after the bull market, is supposed to represent the fast moving American economy, “Fearless Girl” gives the bull a whole new meaning, the masculinity of corporations. The girl’s dominant stance, her eyes staring straight at the oncoming bull, and the bravery flowing off of her silhouette beg us to see the issues within our businesses. The courage of this little girl makes us ask ourselves what we can do to change the world around us. The charging bull’s narrowed eyes are full of concentration and determination towards achieving it’s goal of a growing economy, not caring about the child standing in front of it. On the other hand, the girl’s eyes are not just fearless but determined as well, but not determined to run across anything in her path but instead she has determined that the problems we face now will be changed. The girl’s dress and hair being blown back in the wind shows that she knows the trials approaching but yet she still looks ahead, as if she can feel the bull coming towards her. The stance is reminiscent of Wonder Woman with her hands on her hips, a woman of power and strength with the ability to make change. The emotions behind this statue call us to make changes to our world, causing this piece to make society better morally. Will you stand up or will you back down when troubles come?