Trailblazers Through the Centuries: 5 Teenage Girls Who Should Inspire Us All

History is rife with individuals who shaped our world in ways ranging from cultural contributions to political. And yet, it's hard to miss how it's often the notable men who continue to be celebrated, while women fade into the background. Their intellectual, social, and political achievements become passing lines in history books, while their appearances and relationships with the men around them take centre stage.

It's therefore important to recognise the women who helped shape our world, often facing barriers their male counterparts never had to contend with. Here are just a handful of young women who have shaped, and continue to shape, our world in powerful ways.

1. Cleopatra (69 BC–30 BC)

Easily one of the most famous women on this list, Cleopatra is a staple figure in pop culture, largely due to Shakespeare's tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra. Even so, it's her fabled beauty and relationships with the Roman generals Julius Caesar and Mark Antony that most dominates popular imagination.

It's important to remember that Cleopatra ruled Egypt for a little over twenty years, ascending the throne at just eighteen years old. She was highly intelligent, fluent in at least seven languages, and is even said to have written scientific texts. Her political manoeuvrings and diplomatic skill deserve as much, if not more, focus as her relationships with other historical figures.

Image Credit: John William Waterhouse from Wikimedia Commons

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2. Joan of Arc (1412–1431)

Another of the more well-known women on this list, Joan of Arc continues to be celebrated as a heroine of France.

Born into a peasant family, Joan claimed to have visions that she was needed to help protect France from the English. King Charles VII believed her claims and allowed her to participate in a relief army, where she boosted morale and helped the French army triumph over the English.

However, after a series of unsuccessful sieges, Joan was captured and handed over to the English. At around nineteen, she was put on trial for heresy and burned at stake.

While her name may be well-known, Joan is often reduced to a pop culture symbol and Halloween costume. It's important that we also remember her defiance of the restrictions imposed by her class and gender, and her bravery in taking ownership of her life.

Image Credit: Hendrik Scheffer from Wikimedia Commons

3. Mary Shelley (1797–1851)

As with Cleopatra, discussions of Mary Shelley often fixate on the men around her. In this case, it's Shelley's romance with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and her position in a literary circle containing the likes of Lord Byron, that get the most attention.

And yet, we musn't forget that of all the Romantic works of the nineteenth century, it's Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, that's had the most enduring impact.

Shelley wrote the text at just eighteen years old. Even today, the novel faces claims of having been written by her husband, a suggestion which misses how the text, with its themes of hierarchy, social alienation and identity, subtly explores the difficulties faced by a young woman striving for autonomy in a social order that sought to confine women to the household and their husband's authority. To lose sight of Mary Shelley's authorship of the novel is to lose sight of a significant layer of its meaning.

Image Credit: Richard Rothwell from Wikimedia Commons

4. Claudette Colvin (1939–2026)

In 1950s Alabama, racial segregation still fractured society. However, this didn't stop Claudette Colvin, a fifteen-year-old Black girl, from refusing to give up her seat on the bus for a white passenger.

Although Colvin's act of defiance preceded that of Rosa Parks, Colvin was not chosen as a figurehead for the Civil Rights Movement, due to factors such as her pregnancy and young age. Still, her defiance and bravery at such a young age deserves recognition, and her story serves as a poignant reminder to stand up for what's right.

Image Credit: The Visibility Project from Wikimedia Commons

5. Greta Thunberg (2003–Present)

Finally, a more modern example: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who, at the age of fifteen, gained attention for her "School Strike for Climate" outside the Swedish parliament. Thunberg's advocacy has since expanded to social issues such as Armenia, Sudan and Palestine. Her involvement in an aid mission to bring supplies such as food and medicine to Gaza amidst Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip gained attention worldwide.

Thunberg's willingness to speak out about social and environmental issues, both popular and unpopular, makes her an inspiration to other young people seeking to enact change in the world.

Image Credit: Anders Hellberg from Wikimedia Commons

It goes without saying that countless other young women, both historical and current, have impacted the world and are worthy of praise. While it's impossible to learn every name, we can make an effort to learn about as many as possible.

The next time you're reading a book, article or social media post and you see a passing reference to a woman who made an impact, allow yourself to go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about them. You never know who will end up inspiring you.