Why don’t women’s clothes have more pockets? Who are the female writers and artists my education forgot to include? How does a woman go about seizing control of her government? What was it like to be a female slave and how did the lucky ones escape? When did women get to put their own name on their credit cards? Is the life of a female spy as glamorous as Hollywood has led me to believe?
In short, what were the women doing all that time? I explore these and other questions in this thematic approach to women’s history.
I hope you’ve never had a hair day quite like that of Corinna, the mistress to whom the Roman poet Ovid wrote Amores, or The Loves. Corinna dyed her hair so hard, it all fell out. And of all the strange things, Ovid wrote a poem about it.
It’s possible that Corinna was not a real person or that this wasn’t a real incident. But the poem ranges from hair dye, to hair texture, to ancient Roman curling irons, and the proper treatment of hairdressers, so it is enlightening about Roman women and their hair anyway.
Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
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The origins of footbinding are lost in time, but I think it is safe to say that the first woman to do it could not possibly have imagined what was coming. This episode covers the earliest evidence (in the 1100s) through to the final demise of the practice in 1957. The historical records are heavy on hormone-inspired odes to beauty. They are relatively light on the actual lived experiences of hundreds of millions of women, but to the extent that I can, I talk about how it was done and why it was done, and finally why it finally stopped.
Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee.
Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows.
Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
