The Poem That Inspired Radical Black Women to Organize
Beah Richards is best known as an actor, but in 1951 she wrote a sweeping poem that influenced the Civil Rights Movement.
The Woman Teacher Documents a Feminist Labor Union’s Victory
The UK’s National Union of Women Teachers went from splinter group to union in its own right, winning on equal pay—as The Woman Teacher shows first-hand.
At First, the Guitar Was a “Women’s Instrument”
The history of the guitar shows that musical instruments have been gendered—but just how changes over time.
A Brief History of the Women’s KKK
The Women’s KKK, an affiliated-but-separate racist organization for white Protestant women, courted members through an insincere “empowerment feminism.”
How the Mercury 13 Fought to Get Women in Space
In 1962, the House of Representatives convened a special subcommittee to determine if women should be admitted into NASA’s space program.
Ynés Mexía: Botanical Trailblazer
This Mexican-American botanist fought against the harshness of both nature and society to follow her passion for plant collecting.
How Medieval Arabic Literature Viewed Lesbians
As far back as the ninth century, doctors and poets wrote about women who loved women without calling them deviants.
The Red Scare and Women in Government
In 1952, a government administrator named Mary Dublin Keyserling was accused of being a communist. The attack on her was also an attack on feminism.
What Was Women’s Liberation?
The short-lived radical movement within feminism has gotten a bad reputation for centering white women's experiences. Is that deserved?
Florence Nightingale, Data Visualization Visionary
The woman who revolutionized nursing was also a mathematician who knew the power of a visible representation of information.