Sweden’s history provides insight into how it has quietly established itself as one of the most gender equal countries in the world, while the United States continues to loudly squabble over legislation guaranteeing equal legal rights regardless of gender.
Category: World History
Forget About Jack, You Don’t Know Matilda (but you should)
Matilda Joslyn Gage, who wrote about how cumulative advantage (a principle not named until a century later) erased women and their achievements from history, was herself erased from history because of cumulative advantage. The reason why You Don’t Know Matilda involves the Bible and science.
Pictured // Hisssss…tory
“It all began with the type of lucky break many creative people struggling for success dream of.” Read more in, … More
On International Women’s Day, Women in History Who Pressed for Progress
As the World Economic Forum suggests gender parity is 200 years away, a look at how researching and writing about women from the past 600 years give me purpose and motivation, and constantly remind me that another 200 years is far too long.
A President’s Son-in-Law, Nepotism and Treason
When the son-in-law of POTUS 2 John Adams used the valuable government position he had gained through nepotism to help a Venezuelan friend start a revolution against Spain, he threatened a precarious peace between America and Spain, and endangered the lives of unsuspecting American citizens. Two centuries later, it’s a salient reminder of how nepotism and politics can be a disastrous combination.
Excerpted // Rescue or Death?
“The prisoners could be forgiven for looking with fear upon the buses that arrived at the concentration camps in the … More
The Surprising 17th Century Origins of Radical Feminism
Almost 350 years after it was written, the feminist philosophy of François Poullain de la Barre still resonates on subjects like gender, prejudice, intersectionality, and the role of men in women’s fight for equality.
Countess Emilia Plater and the Perpetual Anomaly of the Woman Warrior
Joan of Arc, Countess Emilia Plater, Wonder Woman: Singular women placed on a pedestal, carefully arranged and served on a silver platter of inimitable exceptionalism, meant to be admired for their sacrifice, but not duplicated. These are the flawed foundations of the stories of “heroic” women that have helped insure that the concept of the women warrior remains an anomaly more akin to a fictional superhero than an accepted reality.
Pictured // Woman of the Year
“I knew well that the only way I could get that door open was to knock it down; because I … More
The Serpentine Journey of an Iconic Art Nouveau Jewel
From Art Nouveau theatrical poster to a Japanese art gallery, a unique serpent bracelet designed by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha for French actress Sarah Bernhardt has coiled its way through more than a century of history – disappearing, reappearing, and intertwining itself with an eclectic group of extraordinary people.