“What’s in a name?” Juliet asked. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare put these words into Juliet Capulet’s mouth, to show that her love for Romeo was not restricted by his membership in the Montague family. The label of his name was immaterial to her, but, tragically, it would
Articles Categorized Women’s Issues
#BreakTheBias —International Women’s Day 2022
I’m posting this blog on Monday, February 28. Tomorrow, March 1, is Mardi Gras. Next Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day. I mention this because the words Mardi Gras are instantly recognized as an amazing festival with parades, parties, and raucous behavior. But the words International Women’s Day exist in a sort of limbo,
Women’s History Month: An Unfinished Revolution
Fifty years ago, with some notable exceptions like Eleanor Roosevelt, women were invisible in history. White males led corporate America while secretaries took notes and made coffee. And marriage was the goal of most college educated middle class young women. Though many issues remain unsolved, Women’s History Month is an opportunity to celebrate positive changes
Women’s Equality Day
FEMINISM: THE FIRST WAVE The fight for women’s equality in the United States began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Advocates worked tirelessly circulating petitions, holding rallies and conventions, and marching in public parades. In this parade, 20,000 women marched in New York City, many of them wearing white as a symbol of purity.
DNA TESTS “PROVE” FEMALE VIKING WARRIOR
It is impossible for anyone to look at anything with a completely unbiased eye. No matter how much we try to adjust for personal and cultural bias, none of us can completely escape what we think of as obvious. In 1871 Hjalmar Stolpe, a trained entomologist, went to the Swedish town of Birka looking for
HAPPY ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS’ WEEK
Once upon a time, perhaps around 1955, there were four career paths for women. In alphabetical order women could become nurses, secretaries, teachers, or wives. Wives, of course, didn’t work. [Note the fictional aspect here. Of course wives worked, and there were lots of jobs done by women. But technically a job isn’t a career.
RAMA’S LABYRINTH – Free Kindle Edition April 2-6
Wednesday, April 5th is Pandita Mary Ramabai’s saint’s day in the Church of England and Episcopal Church. In commemoration and as a special thank you, the Kindle edition of Rama’s Labyrinth is available at no charge until Thursday, April 6. WHO WAS MARY RAMA? Mary is Rama’s baptismal name. When Rama traveled to the Community
ART, HISTORY, POLITICS, & DOLLS
You know it’s March when cherry trees prepare to bloom. It’s also a month of female-oriented events. In the U.S. the entire month carries the label “Women’s History Month.” Go to any library or school campus, and you’ll probably see displays of notable women. Visibility in a good thing, but is it enough? Wednesday, March 8
Old Maid’s Day – Really?
Darn – I missed it. Saturday, June 4th was National Old Maid’s Day, still on the list of June holidays and observed with reluctance by writers who rush to assure us modern women do quite well without marriage. And yet, I think the day shouldn’t pass completely unnoticed. Up until the 21st century,
AUTHORITATIVE FEMALE VOICES
Since today is the last Monday of Women’s History Month 2016, I thought it might be interesting to look at why the majority of technological voices are female. A few weeks ago we looked the popularity of “female” robots. Realistically, most of us are unlikely to ever encounter a life-size robot of any gender, but
25 YEARS OF WOMEN’S STUDIES
March is National Women’s History Month – Today it’s a time to celebrate women’s achievements, but in March of 1978 women were virtually invisible. The most public position women held was as wives and mothers. Professionally women were teachers, nurses, and secretaries – at least until marriage took them away from all that drudgery. The
International Women’s Day: We Can Do It
The “We Can Do It” poster was first produced in 1943 by Westinghouse Electric to boost worker morale. It was part of a series of posters displayed by the company. The phrase “we can do it” wasn’t about female war workers in particular. It meant Westinghouse employees could war reach production goals by working
Maria, Ava, and Frieda the Shredder
Meet the antiquated shredding machine my co-shredder and I called “Frieda.” We were doing a community service project. Neither of us was good at construction work, but we were quite the shredding team. And there were boxes and boxes of documents that Frieda wanted to, shall we say, consume. [Sidebar: The name Frieda comes from
HARAJUKU: Hello Kitty’s Fashion Successor
The Honolulu Museum of Art is an oasis in busy Honolulu. The institution was founded by Anna Rice Cooke. She and her husband Charles Montegue Cooke collected art. Eventually the collection outgrew their home on Beretania Street and Anna decided to establish an art museum on the site. She wanted it to be multi-cultural
A Shed by Any Other Name . . . Is Still a Shed
This is a blog about sheds. It happens to many people. It happened to me. One day the Handsome Bloke said: “I rather fancy a shed.” “But we have a storage closet.” “They’re on sale.” “We don’t need a shed. It’ll take up space.” “I’ve always wanted a shed.” The Rubbermaid shed sits across
POST MOTHER’S DAY REFLECTIONS
Now that the flowers are in water, the brunches eaten, and the cards placed somewhere conspicuous, it might be fun to take a look at the history of the annual sentimental celebration called Mother’s Day. As far as I’m concerned, mothers are those women in our lives who nurture us, believe in us, and love