How War Revolutionized Ireland’s Linen Industry
During the Napoleonic Wars, Irish women, who had traditionally only spun flax into thread, took over the traditionally male job of weaving linen as well.
The Dangerous Game of Croquet
Many 19th-century observers were disturbed by the way young people took the co-ed sport of croquet as an opportunity to flirt.
A Mini History of the Tiny Purse
The purse has always been political, a reflection of changing economic realities and gender roles.
Style Tips from the Harem
When 19th-century American women visited Turkish harems, they came home with very different impressions than their male counterparts.
The Online Lie Detector Is No Better Than the Polygraph
People love the idea of a machine that tells us who to trust. But the historical analog of the online lie detector also didn't work.
Richard Wright Helped Bring Mental Healthcare to Harlem
The famous novelist worked to fight the psychological cost of black oppression.
The Bluestockings
Meet the original Bluestockings, a group of women intellectuals. Their name would eventually become a misogynist epithet -- but it didn't start that way.
Defying the Gender Binary in the 1930s
In the 1930s, experimental psychologist Agnes Landis interviewed women who identified as "tomboys."
“No Unescorted Ladies Will Be Served”
For decades, bars excluded single women, claiming the crowds were too “rough” and “boisterous” and citing vague fears of “fallen girls.”
Searching for Black Queer History in Sensational Newspapers
Sometimes finding the stories of marginalized populations demands reading between the lines.