The “Sob Sisters” Who Dared to Cover the Trial of the Century
The term “sob sisters” was used in the early twentieth century to make fun of women journalists who dared cover the first trial of the century.
From the Mixed-Up History of Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
Language can reveal power dynamics, as in the terms of address, or honorifics, are used to refer to a woman's social status: Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
The Marketable Misogyny of James Bond
The attitudes reflected in the James Bond franchise are wildly out of touch with social reality.
Finding the Words We Need to Talk About Sexual Assault and Harassment
"Me too." As the conversation around sexual assault has spread, it's become clear that not everybody is prepared to talk about such a difficult issue.
Did Better Household Technology Create the Baby Boomers?
The Baby Boomers have been blamed for everything from economic stagnation to America's current political situation. But where did they come from?
The Meaning of a Mustache
To shave or not to shave? At the start of the twentieth century, a trend away from facial hair reflected dramatic social and economic shifts.
When Ward Cleaver Caused Social Anxiety
In the early 1960s, an Illinois Children and Family Services worker tried to figure out how TV dads were impacting contemporary American fathers.
Female Inventive Talent
Brief commentary on one line from JSTOR: An unsigned editorial from an 1870s issue of Scientific American suggests that women can be great inventors, too.
The Gender Politics of the First Boy Bands
Crooning, a musical style of the late 1920s and early 1930s, was fraught with gender panic. Where the singers manly enough?
Jane Addams’s Crusade Against Victorian “Dancing Girls”
Jane Addams, a leading Victorian-era reformer, believed dance halls were “one of the great pitfalls of the city.”