Early 1900s Women Had an Ingenious Method for Fending Off Gropers

From History in the Headlines:

Hatpin-wielding women were some of the first voices to call rude men out on their behavior, all while using a tool from the seemingly innocent and feminine world of fashion.

As women gained independence and started walking and traveling alone during the late 1800s and early 1900s, hatpins provided a quick line of defense from the unwanted touches and words of passing men. These lecherous men were known as “mashers,” and considered to be “low-down, cowardly cumberers of the earth,” as a 1904 blurb in the Los Angeles Herald put it. “Any woman with courage and a hatpin can prove it,” the paper added.

How these six women's protests changed history

From The Guardian:

The march follows a long tradition of protests organized by women. Many happened in the US, including the march on Washington in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1978, and the Million Women March, a movement of African American women which took place in Philadelphia in 1997. And Black Lives Matter was spearheaded by three black women: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.

read more about:

• Women’s march on Versailles: 5 October 1789
• Women’s suffrage parade in Washington DC: 3 March 1913
• Women’s march on Pretoria: 9 August 1956
• Icelandic women’s strike: 24 October 1975
• Protests of abortion ban in Poland: October 2016
• Argentinian women against violence: October 2016

Women Got ‘Married’ Long Before Gay Marriage

From History in the Headlines:

In 1880, on the first anniversary of her marriage, author Sarah Orne Jewett penned a romantic poem to her partner. “Do you remember, darling, a year ago today, when we gave ourselves to each other?” she wrote. “We will not take back the promises we made a year ago.”

Jewett wasn’t addressing her husband—she was writing to her future wife, Annie Adams Fields. Over a century before same-sex marriage became the law of the land, Jewett and Adams lived together in a “Boston marriage,” a committed partnership between women.

They weren’t the only ones: For several years near the turn of the 20th century, same-sex marriage was relatively common and even socially acceptable. These women shared kisses, hugs and their lives—but today, few remember these pioneers of same-sex relationships.

see also:

• Boston Marriage - wikipedia
• Boston Marriage - Women living together
• Female Husbands - NPR
• Boston Marriage - glbtq archive

PNG women’s wartime memories cast new light on Kokoda and the Pacific War

From The Conversation:

November 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Kokoda Track Campaign. The campaign involved a series of battles between Allied and Japanese forces during the second world war, along the mountainous 96km track connecting Kokoda Station, in Papua New Guinea’s Oro Province, with the capital Port Moresby.

Women are barely represented in the popular museum at Kokoda Station, or in the Australian-funded war memorial in the provincial capital, Popondetta.

As in all contexts of remembrance, the experiences of Oro women do not add up to a cohesive, singular narrative. Rather, these and other wartime memories represent multiple accounts of a complex, transformative time that is remembered in sometimes ambivalent ways.

Zonia Baber - The Woman Who Transformed How We Teach Geography

From Science | Smithsonian:

On n the morning of October 30, 1916, Zonia Baber stood in front of four hundred government officials and leaders in the arts and sciences and told them to go to hell.

Baber’s unapologetic speech was emblematic of her work as both a geographer and activist—two parts of her life that often blended and intertwined. As a geographer, she worked tirelessly to reform geography education to make it more meaningful and worthwhile for students. At first glance, her legacy appears to be that of an educator and reformer. Yet at the same time, she transformed the field of geography, by seeing it not as a means of colonization but of connection and understanding between cultures.

read more here:

@ Trowelblazers

@ Wikipedia

@ Peace Monuments Around the World

Top 10 Japanese women throughout history

From SoraNews24:

Every nation has women who are remembered throughout history for the impact they had on their country. Today we present you with 10 Japanese women–game changers, if you will–who fundamentally altered the way the nation sees or experiences the world today. Most of these women have achieved fame abroad as well, another hallmark of success in Japan. Many names you’ll recognize, but a few may be a surprise. But they are all well-known among the Japanese and are looked up to and praised by women and men throughout the country.

See also: 

• 5 Japanese-American women activists left out of US history books
• Badass women in Japanese history
• Famous women in Japanese history
• 9 notable Japanese women
• Famous Japanese women

International Women's Day: 50 Who Made US Political History | Time

From Time:

The history of women in American politics is just as long as that of the nation as a whole. Even in the days before the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote, many tried hard to make a difference as best they could — and succeeded, not only by breaking glass ceilings and proving that women could handle the job but also by introducing important legislation, standing up for their fellow citizens’ rights and much more.

Whether they held office at the local and federal level, whether they were appointed to the most high-profile jobs in politics or to a role many would never hear about, and even if they merely ran and lost, each made her mark. Some of them wielded their influence in the nation’s earliest days and others have only recently been elected to office. And, of course, that history is still being written by many women who have yet to make it to the history books.

Victoria Police - 100 Years of Women In Policing

Victoria Police celebrated 100 Years of Women in Policing in 2017 - read more here @ Victoria Police

The Shocking Infanticide Trial That Exposed Sexual Harassment in 1868

From History in the Headlines:

When Susan B. Anthony took the stage at New York’s Cooper Union on the night of December 1, 1868, the activist wasn’t there to fight for the ballot—she was there to demand the release of a convicted murderer from prison. As she took the stage, she told the audience about the case of Hester Vaughn, a woman tried and convicted of murdering her own baby. But Vaughn wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer, Anthony insisted, she was yet another victim of a system that denied women their basic human rights.

Though her champions helped win her release, they were unable to solve the problems faced by a poor woman in the 19th century. But Vaughn’s infanticide trial became the spark for a discussion about the very morality of a legal system that seemed to punish women who were victims—a conversation that continues to this day.

read more here @ The Revolution and @ Hester Vaughan Trial and @ Lives in the Law