Article Title: Role Models Who Break the Mold Fortify Identity Construction

Article Summary

The article at hand tracks the author’s journey into personal liberation and high-endurance sport, placing his role models as road maps on the way to success. In the wake of studies that show that iconoclastic role models help develop spirit of character in adolescents, the author was inspired to revisit his own role models, after a conversation with his currently-geographically-apposite daughter. He names each of these models for us, and points out their exact roles in his psyche’s development. The first couple on this list is Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert. In a very aggression-driven sporting culture, the author admired Borg’s calmness. As for Evert, he admired her prowess as a tennis player. The second couple is “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman”. The author seems to have a fascination for the automated in his adolescence, ad both of them carried a robotic appeal. Apart from that, they seemed relatable and approachable. The third couple is Elton John and Billie Jean King. Both of them were flamboyantly homosexual role models, which helped the author embrace his unconventional sexuality. The fourth pair is Diana Ross and Donna Summer. The both of these helped the author avoid racist and homophobic sentiments characteristic of the era he grew up in, and were instrumental to his resistance against the HIV epidemic. The last pair consisted of Billy Idol and Madonna, both agents of resistance against despotic, mainstream norms of the day.