Please be advised that this post contains the names of deceased persons. In lieu of images of the deceased, which are offensive to Aboriginal persons, this post contains images of art by contemporary Aboriginal artists. TW: genocide, slavery, exile, sexual violence, imprisonment, forced labor For this month’s Kickass Women in History, we go to Tasmania, an island state of Australia, home of the Palawa people. The Palwala people called their home Lutruwita, and early British … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Tarenorerer→
For this month’s kickass woman, we turn our attention to Japan and the legendary life of Queen Himiko, the first recorded ruler of ancient Japan – not only the first female ruler, but the first ruler, period. I’m going to do a little summarizing here, but I’m also going to be very link-heavy. So much legend surrounds Queen Himiko that I am waaay over my head in terms of describing her life, but I do … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Queen Himiko→
I don’t know why, but I am a total sucker for books about Arctic and Antarctic exploration. Bring me your frostbite, your scurvy, your long marches, and, above all, bring me my warmest pajamas and a hot cup of tea and we have what I consider to be the perfect ingredients for a cosy night in. The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1897ish – 1922ish) and the many efforts to locate the Northwest Passage in … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Arnarulunnguaq→
Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din lived from around 1205 to around 1240 and was the fifth Sultan of Delhi. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian subcontinent, and to date the only female Muslim ruler of Delhi. Razia was the daughter of Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, the 3rd Sultan of Delhi. Her father had quite an astonishing life story including rising from being enslaved to being the foremost power in the region. He was not … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Razia Sultan→
Tze-gu-juni, also known as Huera, was a woman whom Geronimo called “The Bravest of Apache Women.” She was a woman of intensely powerful inner strength who survived captivity, a trek across the desert, and mountain lion attack to serve her tribe as a shaman. Tze-gu-juni was born around 1847. As a child, she survived a lightning strike that killed her mother and sister. She seems to have lived an otherwise peaceful life until October 14, … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Tze-gu-juni, AKA Huera→
Most people know that Harry Houdini was a famous magician. Many people also know that Houdini devoted much of his life to debunking fake mediums during a time when Spiritualism had widespread acceptance. But did you know that Houdini’s chief investigator was a woman named Rosa Mackenberg? I did not, but thanks to a Skeptoid podcast episode I do now! Mackenberg began her career working as a private detective at a detective agency in New … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Rosa Mackenberg→
This month we are going on a field trip! I visited the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. This National Historical Park includes a small but mighty visitor’s center that has fascinating and inclusive exhibits. I encourage history buffs to check out their website. Better yet, if you are visiting San Francisco or Oakland, take a side trip to this location. It’s set along the San Francisco Bay Trail which, … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Field Trip!→
For this month’s After Dark at the Movies, I’m writing about The Damned, a folk horror film about 19th century Icelandic fishers who find themselves in desperate straits and faced with the consequences of a terrible choice. I found it interesting that the small crew included two women – an older woman who cooks for the crew and a younger woman who manages the site and the crew, and whose gender never seems to be … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Icelandic Women at Sea→
This month’s Kickass Woman is Claudia Jones. Wielding a pen instead of a sword did not make this woman any less of a warrior, one who did battle in three countries in her short life and shared not only Black anger but also Black joy. Born in 1915, Claudia Vera Cumberbatch was born in Trinidad and Tobago, which was, at the time, a colony of Britain (it is now the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Claudia Jones→
I just got back from Yosemite National Park and was curious about its Kickass Women. Happily the National Parks website has a long list of Kickass Women in Yosemite including artists, explorers, rangers, and athletes. I encourage anyone interested to check out this list! For the purposes of this article, I’ve selected Ta-bu-ce, also known as Maggie Howard and as Tabuce. TW for racism, injury, forced removal, genocide, death. Many details of Ta-bu-ce’s life are … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Ta-bu-ce→
Tamara Lempicka (also known as Tamara de Lempicka) is having a well-deserved moment. Born in Poland in 1894, she was a painter who was famous during her lifetime for her portraits, her distinctive artistic style, and her personality. Lempicka led a dramatic life. Born Tamara Rosa Herwitz, she had a wealthy Russian-Jewish father and Polish-Jewish mother. They were baptized by the Polish Reformed Church in 1891 and Lempicka was also baptized in 1897. She married … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Tamara Lempicka→
