“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.
Making Men Online
How the internet has both reinforced and tweaked traditional gender pathologies, especially for boys and men.
Light Bulbs for Beauty
When electric lighting was first introduced to U.S. households, marketing departments tried to convince women that better lighting would be flattering.
Gender Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
Gender studies developed alongside and emerged out of Women’s Studies. This non-exhaustive list introduces readers to scholarship in the field.
The Women Who Made Male Astronomers’ Ambitions Possible
In the late 19th century, Elizabeth Campbell helped her astronomer husband run the Lick Observatory and lead scientific eclipse-viewing expeditions.
Valentina Tereshkova and the American Imagination
Remembering the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and how she challenged American stereotypes.
When Clairvoyants Searched for a Lost Expedition
When Captain Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition went awry, clairvoyants claimed to be able to contact the crew members. Why did people believe them?
The “Queer Innocence” of the Brady Bunch
The squeaky-clean Brady Bunch family symbolized the avoidance of the sexual revolution, feminism, and other social forces that were coming to the fore.