Speaking for Rural America, 100 Years Ago
In the early 20th century, the Country Life Movement tried to make rural life appeal to women. But it ignored many truths about farms and women alike.
Judith Butler: The Early Years
Before Judith Butler’s 1990 book Gender Trouble, the influential gender theorist wrote a series of essays that offer easier access to their ideas.
Women Clergy and the Stained-Glass Ceiling
Christian and Jewish women leaders transformed the US religious landscape during the 1970s, but subtle discrimination has limited their opportunities.
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 New Legacy of Casimir Pulaski
New findings reveal that the Polish war officer who aided the American Revolution may have been intersex.
Defying the Gender Binary in the 1930s
In the 1930s, experimental psychologist Agnes Landis interviewed women who identified as "tomboys."
A Glimpse at Women’s Periods in the Roaring Twenties
A 1927 study by famed efficiency expert Lillian Moller Gilbreth revealed how American women dealt with menstruation -- and how they wished they could.
“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.”
Finding the Value of Housework
Can housework be anything other than drudgery? Maybe part of the problem is that we consistently devalue unpaid work.
Breast Milk as Medicine
Human breast milk has been recommended as a cure-all since the 17th century.