Kickass Women in History

Kickass Women in History: Margaret Beaufort

Brace yourselves, Bitches, for a very abbreviated description of the life of Margaret Beaufort, one of the most Kickass Women in Tudor history, a period of time during which Kickass Women rather abounded despite their lack of legal rights. Here’s the basics. Lady Margaret Beaufort was born on May 31,1443. She was a descendant of King Edward III. Margaret became the sole heir of her father’s fortune in infancy and survived all manner of complicated … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Margaret Beaufort

Kickass People in History: Thomas(ine) Hall and Mary Jones

This month I’m doing something a little different. Instead of a long post about one person, I’m sharing a set of links about two different people. We don’t know how they would have identified themselves if they lived today. They might, if alive today, have thought of themselves as Kickass Women, or Kickass Men, or Kickass Nonbinary People, or, in Thomas(ine’s) case), a Kickass Intersex Person, or something different. What we do know is that … Continue reading Kickass People in History: Thomas(ine) Hall and Mary Jones

Kickass Women in History: Marlow Moss

Marlow Moss was an artist who defied conventional art rules as well as conventional ideas about gender and sexuality. Since she referred to herself during her life as “she,” I will do so here. However, critics today speculate whether today she might have defined herself as non-binary, gender-fluid, or transgender. Marlow was born Marjorie Jewel Moss in 1889 in London. She loved music, but a miserable attack of tuberculosis halted her chances of becoming a … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Marlow Moss

Kickass Women in History: Annie Montague Alexander and Louise Kellogg

This month we have two Kickass Women: Annie Montague Alexander and her partner, Louise Kellogg. Annie was born in the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1867. Her grandparents were missionaries and her parents were wealthy colonizers.. She went to school in Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts before going to Paris to study painting. Annie fully intended to become a professional artist, but she found that painting for too long gave her horrible headaches. She subsequently had the … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Annie Montague Alexander and Louise Kellogg

Kickass Women in History: Ynez Enriquetta

Y’all, I am obsessed with this month’s Kickass Woman, Ynez Enriquetta Julietta Mexia. Born in Mexico, she didn’t become a botanist until she was in her fifties. She traveled all over the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America collecting specimens and discovering new plants and she usually traveled alone, wearing trousers and riding astride. And she did most of this in the 1920s and 1930s. A true badass. Ynez’s father was a Mexican diplomat to the … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Ynez Enriquetta

Kickass Women in History: Edith Maude Eaton and Winnifred Easton

This month’s Kickass Women was found in the pages of Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers by Lauren Burke and Hannah K. Chapman, illustrated by Kaley Bales. The book traces the connections between different authors and their common motivations for writing, and depicts some of the turning points in their lives. I had never heard of the author Edith Maude Eaton, who … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Edith Maude Eaton and Winnifred Easton

Kickass Women in History: Stephanie St. Clair

TW: rape, racism, mob violence, murder, anti-semitism This month’s Kickass Woman is a woman of complex morals who, despite making a lavish living through crime, was adored in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Stephanie St. Clair, known as Queenie, ran a numbers racket throughout the 1920s and 30s and kept control of it despite efforts of the Mafia and the Law to take her down. She was also a civil rights activist, who invested in … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Stephanie St. Clair

Kickass Women in History: Zabel Yesayan

Zabel Yesayan, a kickass Armenian woman, survived the Armenian Genocide, exile, and WWI, all while reporting on and speaking out about injustice. She was a feminist and a pacifist, as well as a reporter who told the world about the Armenian Genocide and its impact with passion and empathy. She was an unconventional wife and mother who spent long periods away from her family, assisting Armenian refugees and reporting on the many atrocities that she … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Zabel Yesayan

Kickass Women in History: Queen Amanirenas

The Kingdom of Kush existed along the Nile Valley in what is now parts of Sudan and Egypt. It included the city-states of Kerma, Napata, and Meroë. The inhabitants of this kingdom spoke and wrote in the Meroitic language, a language that is currently almost completely untranslated. Kush existed for over 3,000 years, and during much of that time it was ruled by women. Queen Amanirenas is famous for having successfully resisted the Roman army’s … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Queen Amanirenas

Kickass Women in History: Elvia Carrillo Puerto

While many women in Mexico’s history have been kickass, Elvia Carrillo Puerta is known as “Mexico’s First Feminist.” She campaigned for women’s suffrage and the right to equal access to birth control, divorce, and economic equality. She was especially instrumental in advocating for the rights of Mayan women. Her passion for feminism and socialism led people to call her “The Red Nun.” Elvia was born in 1878 in Motul, Yucatán. She was one of fourteen … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Elvia Carrillo Puerto

Kickass Women in History: Regency Era Boxers

This month’s Kickass Women column is inspired by The Boxing Baroness by Minerva Spencer, which features a female boxer in Regency England. This was not as unusual in the Regency period as one might think. Literal kickass women entertained crowds and gained Regency fame and fortune in the golden days of bare knuckle boxing. Bare-knuckle boxing was wildly popular in England during the 18th Century, with the peak of its popularity falling during the Regency … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Regency Era Boxers

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