Over the years I have learned about many different women throughout history. Some are saints, some are sisters and mothers, some have been called by other names. But all of these women have made an impact on the lives of the people around them and often on the rest of us.
As women, we have come a long way over the centuries, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have a way to go. Women all over the world are facing challenges. One woman dies in childbirth every 90 seconds, sex trafficking is still a huge problem in parts of the world, and here in the US we still rank 65th with regard to women being involved in politics. The issues are varied, but if history tells us anything it’s that we can overcome.
There are many women throughout history that inspire me. Some of these have worked in math and science in times when women were rare in those fields, some have worked for the betterment of the world in general. Some are not well known, while some are common names. As I discover and learn more about these women, I hope to share what I learn with you. Maybe some of them will inspire you as well.
So join me and learn a little history along the way. I hope we can all be inspired to do our part to make the world a better place for all women and the people in their lives.
I am a former teacher in the telecommunications field in addition to teaching math and biology at the high school/community college level. Even though I studied math and science, I have always loved history. Now that I can read at my leisure, I am indulging again in history!
Feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback.
Thanks for reading!
Susan Ozmore
Note: Susan Abernethy’s posts can now be found at The Freelance History Writer.
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Susan!!! This is wonderful. And, your blog looks so much better. I might need some advice!!!! Enjoyed, and now subscribed.
Thanks Tami! it is fun. I’ve started blogs before and not kept up with them. Hopefully it will be different now. It is nice to have a friend who has just started one too. We can encourage each other.
Hi Susan, I like the info on Saints,sisters,sluts which has three my ancestors who were Matilda of Flanders,Edith ( later called Matilda ) & her daughter Matilda ( Maud ) & St.Margaret of Scotland.
Hi John,
I’m the “other” Susan, but very happy that you like what you see here. I’ve enjoyed learning about your ancestors as well. I hope you’ll continue to read and let us know what you think. Thanks for reading!
Dear John: You are so lucky to be related to these women! So glad you like the posts. I love researching and writing about them. Susan Abernethy
Hi Susan! I love your blog!! Warm greetings from Finland :-).
Hi! So glad that you found us and like what you see. I checked out your blog too and it looks very interesting. I love ancient history as well, although I know more about other areas. So I look forward to learning from you. Thanks again for reading 🙂
Finland! Is it nice and sunny there? 🙂 So glad you like our blog. I love the pictures of the statues of Alexander on your blog. Thank you for reading.
howdy…very interesting blog……….history is indeed full of very interesting and powerful women…………….elizabeth 1 and victoria springing immediatly to mind………..my sister has a fascination with english royal history and knows every king queen,prince etc of the top of her head……im younger than her and grew up with lots of this stuff around……
im not as hooked as my sis but i got hooked when i read one of her books…..i elizabeth by rosalind miles…..fascinating.
Thanks so much for checking out our blog. I too have been fascinated by English History for a long time and really enjoy researching and writing about these women. I will write about Elizabeth I and Victoria one day!
Thanks for reading! My blog partner (Susan Abernethy) sounds like your sister. When we were kids she could recite them as well. It always fascinated me. I’m so glad to have her writing for the blog. Hope you’ll check out some of the other great women on here as well. Thanks again for reading.
Wow.. I’ve never come across a blog quite like this before.. Fascinating 🙂
Tebogo Ndlovu – I am so glad that you found our blog. I hope you will return often and give us your comments. Thank you.
You’re welcome and I’ll be sure to return.
So glad you like it Tebogo Ndlovu! Please keep reading! 🙂
I’ve been browsing through the posts and I think it’s best to start from October 2011 so that whenever you refer back to another ‘lady’ im not completely lost 🙂 So excited!
We try to put links to previous or related posts, but if we miss something or something is confusing, please tell us. And thanks so much for reading!
I think you have a good plan Tebogo Ndlovu! 🙂
super-cheers for the follow! have a nice weekend! n*
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment Nicole 🙂
Brilliant! I really love the idea for this blog! So good. There are so many untold stories, particularly of women, throughout history. I can’t wait to read and learn more!!
Thank you very much. You are right, there are many stories left to be told, or at least spread to a larger audience. We’re having a blast doing our little part. I’m glad you checked us out. Thanks 🙂
Dear mlatimerridley: Thanks for reading. As Susan O. says we are having a blast telling the stories of these women. It’s always gratifying when a reader lets us know she learned something..and wants to learn more! 🙂
Glad to see the move was a success! Looking forward to seeing what is in store next…
Thanks Grant 🙂
Your site is interesting, all the info you have about so many women! Maybe I can add some info: the picture you use for Mary of Guelders is not the same person you are describing in your entry. This picture is derived from a prayer book dated 1415, made for another Mary of Guelders, born as Mary of Harcourt, daughter of French count John VI of Harcourt, who married to Reinald IV, duke of Guelders in 1405. See Catalogue ‘The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting’, cat. 17.
Thanks for reading Thea. I knew this picture wasn’t the Mary of Guelders in the post. I was having trouble finding pictures of this Mary so I just used this as a symbol. I’m still looking for an image of this Queen!
Request to use mrs bloomer graphic for educational institution. Could you please contact me at the email listed. Thanks!
Will do! and thank you!
what and interesting blog this is !!! I definitely will return 🙂 thank you for writing and greetings from Gdansk, Poland.
Thank you for stopping by Katarzyna!
Just stumbled across this blog…great! I think young women often take their civil rights for granted and don’t understand the sacrifice of women who came before us. But then who, in a privileged position, every understands that they are indeed “privileged” (as compared to women in some other countries).
Here are some other suggestions….Emily Murphy, first female magistrate in the British Empire who challenged the notion that women were not “persons” under Canadian Law (and this was in 1929!
Look forward to seeing more.
Meredith Swanson
Canada
Meredith, Thank you for reading and commenting. It is easy to become focused on our own privilege sometimes, and I also think that many young women just don’t know about the sacrifices other women have made. Trying to do my little part to help with that 🙂
I will definitely see what I can learn about Emily Murphy. Thanks for the suggestion, she sounds interesting.
While I applaud your efforts to bring attention to strong, interesting women in history, the name of your blog is pretty off-putting. Your assertions that some women you write about “can only be called sluts” and that there “won’t be any name-calling” are contradictory. In almost any language, the word “slut” (or its equivalents, “harlot”, “whore,” etc.) is the word insult that society hurled at women like Margaret Sanger, Anita Hill, Joan of Arc–any woman who has tried to assert herself beyond traditional “women’s spheres.” By drawing attention to their supposed (usually false) sexual habits–the “crimes” of enjoying sex, having many sex partners, or earning a living through sex–society hoped to take attention away from such women’s characters, knowledge or accomplishments. You are invoking this method, maybe not intentionally, but certainly in the minds of readers like me, by using this in the title of your blog and in your intro. Also, in the past and even today the word “slut” is one of a multitude of ways that cultures have of shaming, degrading, debasing, and controlling women’s sexual behavior and values, and sense of self-worth. Have you thought of what you personally mean by “slut” and why? Is it women who enjoy sex or have a lot of partners? Unless they are hurting someone by doing so, why is that wrong? Also, consider that women in history, in most cultures, until the last 50 years or so, usually had little choice about who, when, why, or where, or how often they had sex. Is asserting their sexual agency in some way outside of marriage, for example, or other societal norms really that wrong in those circumstances? I know there’s some exceptions to this of course; a very few powerful women were promiscuous voluntarily. But is it necessary to put a value judgment on them? I’m asking you to rethink using this word that has been used to degrade and debase all kinds of women because I think you have an interesting blog and it can be educational. But a lot of people won’t read it with a title like that.
Hi Jane, Thanks for your comments. The title of the blog was intended to represent the range and diversity of women, in their lives and actions as well as in society’s perceptions of them. I see acknowledging those perceptions, particularly when women overcome them, as part of women’s history. In a sense, I’m saying that regardless of what anyone thinks of them, whether you agree with them or not, these women have made a contribution to our history. I try not to place value judgements (at least negative ones) on their choices and actions. No one writes history completely without bias, even if it’s only in the subjects and events they choose to include. But, I hope that I could write as fairly, for example, about Margaret Thatcher as I would about Emma Goldman, or Edith Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, in spite of my own political leanings.
Oddly, the word slut is one that I don’t use to describe anyone, hence the “no name calling” comment. In my opinion, a woman’s sexual choices are just that, her choices, and not anyone’s business but her own. I may have an American bias here though, in that the word and attitudes that go with it have been thrown around so much over the last few years with the renewed battles over contraception and such, that I think the word has less power than it used to. I hope that more people are seeing “slut shaming” for what it is, a cheap attempt to distract from the real issues.
I think it’s a little late to change the name of the blog, but I agree that the statement above seems contradictory and will think about how to rewrite it to clarify and maybe address some of the issues you raise. Thanks again for your comments.
I’ve just been to Neuschwanstein castle and saw where you’ve got your header image. Now, I’m curious to ask whether it has a special significance or the choice of it was purely aesthetic ?
Purely aesthetic. In fact, I need to update the look of the blog, but I haven’t found anything I like better. I liked the fact that she appeared to be studying and that it was somewhat generic. It is lovely though.