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Black and white headshot of author Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.

Studio photograph of Floating gloved hand holding purse on pink background.
Politics & History

Shoplifting, for Fun and Profit

"Hoisting" at the professional level could bring a sense of pride, along with the relief of avoiding grueling domestic work.
Baptism of Lydia by Marie Ellenrieder, 1861
Education & Society

Women’s Search for Women Leaders in the Early Church

Some nineteenth-century women writers argued that the first Christians included women who were close to Paul—and maybe apostles themselves.
Beachgoers at Myrtle Beach, SC
Business

How the Beaches of the South Got There

The government funded beach construction for private developers, which displaced Black farmers from their coastal lands.
A press gang seizing a seaman
Politics & History

The Role of Naval Impressment in the American Revolution

Maritime workers who were basically kidnapped into the British Royal Navy were a key force in the War of Independence.
An illustration from the cover of America's Best Comics #11, November 1944
Politics & History

The Propaganda of World War II Comic Books 

A government-funded group called the Writers' War Board got writers and illustrators to portray the United States positively—and its enemies as evil.
A bunch of flowering sweet peas
Business & Economics

Boosters Used the Sweet Pea to Define California

In the late 19th century, Californians were eager to part with their reputation for wildness, so they adopted an "English" flower as their symbol.
Radha and Krishna Dressed in Each Other’s Clothes
Education & Society

The Bengali Religious Traditions That Transcend Gender

The Baul and Fakir lineages understand the cosmos through pairs of opposite essences, including male and female.
from Bouquet of Flowers in a Sculpted Vase by Jan Frans Eliaerts
Politics & History

The Charities That Gave Flowers to the Poor

Presenting impoverished city dwellers with a fresh bouquet might seem condescending. On the other hand, flowers are awesome.
Stokely Carmichael, 1973
Education

Stokely Carmichael, Radical Teacher

The civil rights leader who changed his name to Kwame Ture encouraged students in the Mississippi Freedom Schools to think critically.
Helen Keller, 1956
Education

What Does It Mean to Call Helen Keller a Fraud?

A TikTok trend is only the most recent example of how people often question the abilities of marginalized groups.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chess_Game_-_Sofonisba_Anguissola.jpg
Politics & History

Catherine de’ Medici Was Good at Chess

The game was a way for early modern women in royal courts to prove their skill in political life.
An image from the cover of the September 4, 1980 issue of Philadelphia Gay News
Politics & History

Discovering the “Gay Lifestyle” through 1970s Magazines

The gay men's magazines QQ and Ciao! were unabashedly liberated, but they still catered to an exclusive audience.
A postcard for the Derby Arboretum
Politics & History

Uplifting the Masses with Public Parks

Created in Victorian England, the earliest public parks were on a civilizing mission.
A poster promoting healthy eating from between 1941 and 1945
Politics & History

The Idea of “Good Nutrition” Has Changed Over Time

But one thing has been constant: the tendency to call some foods better for you than others.
1 Dollar, Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Rahway, New Jersey, 1850
Business & Economics

Banks’ Own Private Currencies in 19th-Century America

Before the Civil War local banks issued their own money. It was totally legit, too.
A bartender in 1951
Politics & History

How Women Fought for the Right to Be Bartenders

As Life magazine put it, “angry barmaids are tough opponents in any hassle.”
Close up of a basketball players feet
Politics & History

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.
A recumbent bicycle in 1935
Business

Who Killed the Recumbent Bicycle?

How a dominant technology became viewed as the only option, with no need for better-designed competitors.
A barricade in the Paris Commune, March 18, 1871
Politics & History

The Fancy Concerts of the Paris Commune

To the barricades! And then...to the opera!
Alphonse Bertillon, first head of the Forensic Identification Service of the Prefecture de Police in Paris (1893).
Politics & History

The Origins of the Mug Shot

US police departments began taking photographs of people they arrested in the 1850s.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Progress_(John_Gast_painting).jpg
Politics & History

The Myth of Manifest Destiny

Not everyone in the nineteenth century was on board with expanding the territory of the US from coast to coast.
Figures merge female to male
Politics & History

Policing Intersex Americans’ Sex and Gender 

Assigning one sex to people with ambiguous genitalia has a long history in medicine and law.
Hare Indian Dog
Politics & History

The Dogs of North America

Dogs were prolific hunters and warm companions for northeastern Native peoples like the Mi'kmaq.
17th century British newsletters
Arts & Culture

The Newsletter Boom, 300 Years before Substack

Some journalists are turning to newsletters to get their work out. But they're not hand-copying them onto folded paper, like people did in the 1600s.
: A woman adjusting her dress, London, c. 1865
Arts & Culture

How to Dress for Dystopia

Some nineteenth-century novelists predicted horrible futures, with perfectly horrible clothing to match.

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