Wangari Maathai (born Wangari Muta) was a kickass woman from Kenya who founded the Green Belt Movement. Her work brought together women’s rights, economic opportunity, and environmental stewardship and became a global movement. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Maathai was born in 1940, in Kenya, which at that time was still a colony of Britain. She was educated in Kenya and in the United States. She was the first woman from East … Continue reading Kickass Women: Wangari Maathai →
Mary Taylor was one of Charlotte Bronte’s best friends. She was a businesswoman, and author, and an ardent and vocal feminist. She had good business sense mixed with an adventurous spirit, which let her to study in several European countries, sell cattle and run a store in New Zealand, and climb Mont Blanc in Switzerland. Over time, her fame has been eclipsed by Charlotte’s, but Mary was so much more than just “Charlotte’s friend.” Mary … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Mary Taylor →
Welcome back to Kickass Women! This month we are talking about Dr. Patricia Bath. If you’ve had cataracts, and you’ve had those cataracts treated, you can thank Dr. Bath for saving your eyesight. Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist, was the first African-American female doctor to patent a medical invention. Her patent is for the Cataract Laserphaco Probe. This terrifyingly named device removes cataracts from people’s eyes. Dr. Bath owns five patents and also developed new strategies … Continue reading Kickass Women: Dr. Patricia Bath →
In 1896, Helga Estby went for a walk with her seventeen-year-old daughter, Clara. They started off from Spokane, Washington, and ended up in New York City. The story of that walk is the topic of the nonfiction book, Bold Spirit: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America. Helga emigrated to the US from Norway when she was eleven years old. At fifteen, she became pregnant. She married a farmer, Ole Estby, and had the baby … Continue reading Bold Spirit by Linda Lawrence Hunt →
Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature is a fascinating look at the works and lives of seven English authors: Charlotte Turner Smith, Helen Maria Williams, Mary Robinson, Catherine Crowe, Sara Coleridge, Dinah Mulock Craik, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. The book profiles how their careers were shaped by the society they lived in, and how their writing, in turn, shaped society. Because the author, Shelley DeWees, is primarily writing about books … Continue reading Not Just Jane by Shelley DeWees →
This month in Kickass Women it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Sayyida al Hurra, Islamic pirate queen. She was a woman so badass that her title (Sayyida al Hurra was technically her title, not her name) means “noble lady who is free and independent; the woman sovereign who bows to no superior authority.” FUCK YEAH, IT DOES. I’m writing that on all my nametags from now on. According to my best friend … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Sayyida al Hurra →
This month in Kickass Women, it’s time to examine the life of Edith Cavell, a nurse who was famously executed by the Germans in WWI and who turned into a symbol of English heroism. Edith Cavell was born into a very conventional village family near Norwich, England, in 1865. Her father was a vicar, and her family seems to have been strict but loving. Her first job was as a governess for a family in … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Edith Cavell →
In this month’s Real Life Romance, we take a look at a brilliant eccentric, Margaret Cavendish, and her husband, William Cavendish, the Duke of Newcastle. William and Margaret married for love, and by all accounts they stayed in love through years of political exile, civil war, infertility, and economic struggle. Margaret became famous for her writing, which included a variety of genres and which she (scandalously) published under her own name. Margaret Lucas (1623 – … Continue reading Real Life Romance: Margaret and William Cavendish →
Here on Kickass Women, I like to focus on women who aren’t already well-known. But sometimes I write about women who are well-known – just not for everything they’ve actually done. One such woman is Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist, radio and television celebrity, and sniper. Yeah, that was a thing. One of the interesting things I discovered in my research (which was all conducted online) is that Dr. Ruth is almost always referred to … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Dr. Ruth Westheimer →
When I was researching my Kickass Women column for February 2016 on Mata Hari, I went down many Internet rabbit holes, as one does. Somehow I found myself on TV Tropes where it was pointed out that Josephine Baker out-Mata Hari’ed Mata Hari by being a very successful dancer-turned-spy for the French Resistance during WWII. I also discovered that Josephine Baker adopted a ton of children and raised them in a castle. Why does everything … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Josephine Baker →
Welcome back to Kickass Women! This month we are paying tribute to Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a woman who was born in Cuba and ended up serving as a soldier and spy during the Civil War. Much of what we know about Loreta’s life comes from her memoirs, in which fact may or may not have taken a backseat to entertainment value. But even allowing for embellishment, she led a kickass life, albeit one that was … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Loreta Janet Velazquez →
