2015 marked the centenary of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP), a professional network who celebrated at their conference in Cardiff, Wales that year. It was also the centenary of Edith Smith being sworn in as a constable in…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
Disability and the Perpetually Unwell Woman in Late Victorian Medical Literature – by Lucy McCormick
‘Perfect health is a blessing to all, but it means even more to women than men.’[1] Eminent Victorian doctor Thomas Smith Clouston’s statement implied that women’s health limited them in a way that did not apply to men — a…
Liberation from Nukes: Lessons from Greenham and Grandma – by Sophie Sharp
As a pacifist who is deeply concerned about environmental devastation, I have been captivated by the stories of the women who dedicated their time and energy to protest the positioning of ninety-six nuclear cruise missiles at the Royal Air Force…
The Politics of Tallulah Bankhead – Ashley Steenson
American actress Tallulah Bankhead experienced a resurgence in popular culture after the release of Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood (2020) and Lee Daniels’ The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday (2021). Both Paget Brewster’s portrayal of Tallulah in Hollywood and Natasha Lyonne’s portrayal in…
Hero or helper-maiden? Medea in the Argonautica – Maddison Kelly
Medea is one of the most well-known characters in Greek literature and perhaps the most changeable. Made famous in antiquity by Euripides, Apollonius of Rhodes, Seneca, Ovid, and others; betrayed by the man she loved and made infamous for her…
Call for Papers: Women, Money and Markets (1600-1950) – Sheffield Hallam University 12-14 June 2023
This annually-held conference addresses the role of women in consumerism, shopping, global trade, domestic trade, markets (literary and otherwise), currency, and varying practices of exchange. The conference is interdisciplinary in nature, bridging literature, material culture, gender studies, theatre and economic…
The ‘ambiguity’ of equal pay for equal work : Ethel Watts, ICAEW and the 1944 Royal Commission on Equal Pay – Jane Berney
Following the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) admitted its first female member. To mark the centenary of the Act, I researched and wrote a booklet published by…
Fat is STILL a Feminist Issue – Re-reading a classic of the second wave by Saffron Kricha
At university, I became interested in women’s embodied experiences – considering how women’s bodies are not only passive entities, but a site of empowerment and activism. Hence, when I was introduced to Fat Is A Feminist Issue, an inquisitive nerve…
Hannah Brutton and the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 – by Charlotte Fairlie
While the limitations and inequalities of the 1857 Divorce and Marital Causes Act have led to debate over its significance, the case of Brutton v. Brutton illustrates how it empowered ordinary women to escape unhappy and dangerous situations.[i] Certainly, factors…