How LGBTQ+ Activists Got “Homosexuality” out of the DSM
The first DSM, created in 1952, established a hierarchy of sexual deviancies, vaulting heterosexual behavior to an idealized place in American culture.
How Women Fought for the Right to Be Bartenders
As Life magazine put it, “angry barmaids are tough opponents in any hassle.”
Playing Girls’ Basketball in 1930s Chinatown
Chinese American girls played an innovative style of basketball on the playgrounds of San Francisco, and dominated the court.
Policing Intersex Americans’ Sex and Gender
Assigning one sex to people with ambiguous genitalia has a long history in medicine and law.
How American Women First Learned Self-Defense
Jiu-jitsu, judo, boxing, and wrestling raised eyebrows. But physical strength and political empowerment went hand in hand.
Why Do Boy Scouts Shoot Rifles?
It wasn't a big focus at the beginning of the scouting movement. So what changed?
Erasing Women from Science? There’s a Name for That
Countless women scientists have have been shunted to the footnotes, with credit for their work going to male colleagues. This is called the Matilda Effect.
Backlash Then, Backlash Now
“No feminist ever said the women’s movement was about women ‘having it all,’” Susan Faludi said. “In the 80s, it was falsely held up as a feminist promise broken.”
Montserrat’s St. Patrick’s Day Commemorates a Rebellion
On March 17, 1768, the enslaved people of a Caribbean island planned a revolt, assuming the Irish slave owners would be drunk and distracted.
