Jerri Sloan

Synthetic Fabrics Inspired a Cultural Revolution

The advent of synthetic fabrics played a surprising role in bringing women into the workforce, as Mercury 13 trainee Geraldine Sloan’s story illustrates.
Woman looking at men whispering

The Pioneers in the Fight against Sexual Harassment

Some of the first precedent-setting sexual harassment cases were filed by women who were African-American, working class, or both
NYC food riot

“Give Us Bread!”

In 1917, a food riot erupted in Brooklyn over the prices of staples. These forms of protest, sadly, are not quite yet ready for the dustbin of history.
group of graduates

New Graduates’ Favorite JSTOR Articles

When JSTOR saved the day...Recent college grads remember the articles that helped them with their research before graduation.
Christine Jorgensen

Was Christine Jorgensen the Caitlyn Jenner of the 1950s?

“What is femininity anyway?” Jenner writes in her new book, The Secrets of My Life. Perhaps the famous trans woman Christine Jorgensen knew.
KKK members parade in Virginia, 1922

The History of the KKK in American Politics

In the 1920s, during what historians call the KKK's “second wave,” Klan members served in all levels of American government.
Diagram outlining how menstrual cycles connect to computer networks

Why the Future of the Internet May Depend on the History of Abortion

Our columnist’s take on the future of the Internet and the importance of grassroots networks.
Jim Bauer, via Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7562/15566635873_27d7dc07fe_o_d.jpg, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lens-cap/

Happy Mother’s Day: Kids’ Screen Time is a Feminist Issue

Portable electronics like smartphones and tablets are indispensable tools for mothers and caregivers. Why do we shame them for allowing kids screen time?
Angry housewife

The Many Lives of the Angry Housewife

The housewife novel is having a comeback, continuing the tradition of exploring domesticity and self-hood in fiction. 
Award-winning artist Betye Saar, shown here setting up her "Tangled Roots" exhibit at the Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus of Penn State in 1996.

The Assemblage Sculptures of Betye Saar

Artist Betye Saar subverts, reclaims, and draws on both public and personal spaces. Her work remains as relevant today as it did when it was first created.