Celebrate Women’s History Month all March with JSTOR Daily. The month-long observance in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia recognizes the contributions of women around the world—and throughout history.
We hope you’ll find the stories below, and the scholarship they include in full, a valuable resource for classroom or leisure reading.
Being a Victorian Librarian Was Oh-So-Dangerous
In the late 19th century, more women were becoming librarians. Experts like Melvil Dewey predicted they would suffer ill health, strain, and breakdowns.
W. B. Yeats’ Live-in “Spirit Medium”
In the Victorian era, a different kind of ghostwriting became popular—largely because it allowed men to take all the credit.
Rachel Carson’s Critics Called Her a Witch
When Silent Spring was published, the response was overtly gendered. Rachel Carson's critics depicted her as hysterical, mystical, and witchy.
Seven Beautiful Illustrations of Women Scientists You Should Know
When we talk about inspiring girls to study STEM, do we also consider how important it is to ...
From Enemy to Icon: The Life of Emma Goldman
While alive, Emma Goldman was considered an enemy of the state. In death, she became a celebrated American icon.
When Breastfeeding Was a Civic Duty
Think people are judgmental of mothers now? In the 18th- and 19th-centuries, mothers who bottle-fed their babies were blamed for many of society's ills.
Dispatches From the Beginning of Women’s History
The origins of Women's History Month.
Ectoplasm and the Last British Woman Tried for Witchcraft
Spiritualist medium Helen Duncan was photographed emitting ectoplasm, supposedly proof of her ability to contact the dead.
Women Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement
Women leaders of the Civil Rights movement worked under the triple constraints of gender, race, and class. Their contribution hasn't gotten its due.
Did Kongolese Catholicism Lead to Slave Revolutions?
The legacy of Kimpa Vita, a Kongolese Catholic mystic, was felt from the U.S. to Haiti.
White Women’s Role in School Segregation
White American women have long played significant roles in maintaining racist practices. One sociologist calls the phenomenon "social mothering."
How Women’s Studies Erased Black Women
The founders of Women’s Studies were overwhelmingly white, and focused on the experiences of white, heterosexual women.
The Divide in Feminist Ethics on Mothering
In the 1960s, two groups of feminists had very different views about motherhood. Unsurprisingly, race and family played a role.
When Harriet Beecher Stowe and George Eliot Were Penpals
These 19th-century novelists might seem to have little in common. But for 11 years they wrote each other letters, forging an unusual literary friendship.
Women Were Pirates, Too
Maybe you've never heard of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, but they were real-life women pirates who cross-dressed to get on ships.
Chess Grandmastery: Nature, Gender, and the Genius of Judit Polgár
László Polgár raised all three of his daughters to become chess prodigies.
The Fuss About Josephine Baker
A new one-woman Broadway show puts Josephine Baker back in the public consciousness.
The Immortal Life of Joice Heth: How P.T. Barnum Used an Elderly Slave To Launch His Career
P.T. Barnum's career as a Kentucky show man, began with his ownership and exploitation of African American slave Joice Heth.
Before the Civil War, Women Were Welcomed into the Sciences
You know how the story goes. Gender discrimination is baked into science, and women were barred from the ...
When Death Was Women’s Business
In the 19th century, women called "watchers" tended to the dying and the dead.
3 Women Explorers You Should Know
Their names may not be widely recognized, but these three intrepid women explorers deserved broader acclaim for their accomplishments.
Class and the Glass Ceiling
Feminism and "women's work" have looked very different for U.S. women depending on their class.
The Feminist History of Prohibition
A look at the feminist roots of the temperance movement.
