Searching for Black Queer History in Sensational Newspapers
Sometimes finding the stories of marginalized populations demands reading between the lines.
Women Made Butter a Behemoth
In the 19th century, butter production became a valuable way for women to profit off their farms-- and it soon became a major agricultural product.
The Physical Pleasures of Jane Austen’s Persuasion
Smoldering glances? Romantic letters? Forbidden love? Why Persuasion may be the most seductive of Jane Austen's novels.
The Disappointing Reality of 19th-Century Courtship
For white, middle-class women in the 19th century U.S., courtship and marriage offered less emotional intimacy than their friendships with other women.
Germany’s Real-Life “Swing Kids”
Rebellious teenagers thumbed their noses at Hitler with jazz music, wild dancing, and the greeting “Swing Heil.” But how serious was their resistance?
Cutex Hooked Americans on Manicures
How a company that started off selling cuticle remover convinced American woman to paint their nails.
The Transgressive Subtext of Teen Surf Movies
Surf movies of the 1950s and 1960s only seemed squeaky-clean. Just beneath the surface was rebellion, rule-bending, and an embrace of the "other."
What Reformers Learned When They Visited 1830s Brothels
Middle class members of the New York Female Moral Reform Society visited brothels to save women from sin. What they actually encountered surprised them.
When Home Ec Classes Borrowed Babies
In the early-to-mid 20th century, foster children in Canada and elsewhere were placed in practice homes and cared for by home economics students.
The Women Who Made Male Astronomers’ Ambitions Possible
In the late 19th century, Elizabeth Campbell helped her astronomer husband run the Lick Observatory and lead scientific eclipse-viewing expeditions.