Recent Posts
Support is gathering for a proposed national museum to celebrate women’s history.
Various leading women in politics in the arts are calling for government legislation green lighting construction of such a museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute.
“It’s tremendously important,” said New York Democratic Representative Carolyn B. Maloney. She told The New York Times,“How can you empower women if they are not even recognized?”
Adding her support, Emily K. Rafferty, former president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said, “The women’s tale has not been revealed, has not been properly identified or properly articulated.”
Supporters of the proposed project are urging President-elect Donald Trump to back the scheme which would require the government providing land or a building for the museum, which then would then need more than $150 million in private funding to open its doors.
While hopes rise, ENTITY offers suggestions for five sections we expect to see in a future National Museum of Women’s History.
Fashion has long been used to make personal statements, follow trends and reflect society’s cultural norms and values. As women’s roles change throughout history, their style follows suit.
After World War I ended, America entered a prosperous era in the 1920s where social customs and morals were more relaxed. To reflect this and women’s changing roles during this time, women’s fashion was less restrictive, hem lines were shortened and fabrics emphasized movement. The “flapper” look was popularized during this time; it was loose, shapeless and youthful.
Similarly, when America entered WWII, 1940s fashion shifted to be more comfortable with slacks and blazers. And thanks to the cloth rations during this time, uniforms were popularized in daily life. Then came the pencil skirt in the 1950s, hippie clothes in the 1960s, disco style in the 1970s, punk in the 1980s and grunge in the 1990s.
And today, you’ve got women throwing it back to vintage ’80s style. Chokers, high-waisted shorts and turtlenecks are back. But at the same time, some of them are also fearlessly rocking pantsuits like the pantsuit queen herself, Hillary Clinton.
READ MORE: There is Still Nothing Like Hillary Clinton in her Trademark Pantsuits (VIDEO)
Although the museum could probably get away with having a display of Clinton’s pantsuits, a hall of fame of all the incredible female leaders that have served this nation seems more suitable.
After women won the right to vote in the 1920s, the U.S. saw more women participating in politics. Elizabeth Cady Stanton paved the way for women in Congress by running in 1866. She only received 24 of the 12,000 votes cast, but it pushed other women to start running. Stanton was also a leading figure of the early women’s rights movement. Aside from addressing women’s voting rights, she fought for parental custody, property, employment and birth control rights in the 1900s.
Thanks to her leadership and example, Jeannette Ranking of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress in 1916. Since then, 307 women have served.
And before Hillary Clinton came close to cracking the presidential glass ceiling in 2016, only two women made it onto a major political party ticket as VP nominees: Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Republican Sarah Palin in 2008. The first woman to run for president, however, dates back to 1872 to Victoria Woodull who was in the Equal Rights Party.
As Hillary Clinton said in her victory speech after clinching the Democratic nomination, “We have reached a milestone. Tonight’s victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.”
But women getting the vote was the crucial first step and Susan B. Anthony, a pivotal member of the suffrage movement, will always be remembered as one of the women who started it all.
Women Are Leaving ‘I Voted’ Stickers On Susan B. Anthony’s Grave, And It’s Beautiful https://t.co/3yJHRssRzb pic.twitter.com/rGqC0A8k1K
— Thought Catalog (@ThoughtCatalog) November 7, 2016
READ MORE: #WomenThatDid: Susan B. Anthony
Women have been game changers in sports since the late 1800s. Even during the time they were criticized for being too aggressive, competitive and sweaty, women like golfer Mildred Didrikson and track Olympian Wilma Rudolph emerged victorious.
In the 1930s, Didrikson began as a basketball player on her insurance company’s team. Then, she won two track gold medals in the 1932 Olympics. But later, she switched to golfing, where she dominated as a major player. She was criticized for looking too “masculine,” but that didn’t stop her from winning 10 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) major championships.
Wilma Rudolph, on the other hand, was a track star in the 1950s and the 1960s. She won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics, but it was her 1960 Rome games that propelled her to stardom. Spectators across the country were inspired by her story of overcoming polio. And because the 1960s Olympics were the first to be broadcast on television, her appearance and success led to new perceptions of women in sports.
Now, young girls everywhere have powerful female athletes and Olympians like Simone Biles to look up to.
2016 saw Biles break World Gymnastics Championships records and dominate the Olympic games in Rio. As a fearless competitor, one who has worked to conquer every skill and maneuver in gymnastics, she has set a new standard for what it means to be a fierce woman in sports.
READ MORE: From Body Shaming Victims to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Models
Women have been a large part of the film industry since it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From silent films to talkies, women played pivotal roles as writers, directors, actresses and audience members.
But watching movies in the past isn’t like what it is today. Around the 1910s, women were more concerned with displaying themselves than actually watching the movie. They talked loudly and wore clothes – especially hats – that were equally as distracting. Thus, during this time, there were plenty of movie etiquette cards reminding women to remove their hats and pay attention to the movie.
And as the industry began growing through the years, it was the women on screen who helped make Hollywood the booming industry it is today. You have women like Clara Bow, the “it” girl of the 1920s flapper era who portrayed a new, more open portrayal of female sexuality. Then you had Jean Harlow of the 1930s, who emerged as the original blonde bombshell with her platinum hair and low cut dresses.
Today, however, women on the big screen are redefining these feminine stereotypes that pervaded much of Hollywood. Actresses like Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss Everdeen in the “Hunger Games” franchise, are changing the way girlhood is perceived. Women are taking on more heroic, independent roles and paving the way for girl power films like the upcoming “Gotham City Sirens” with Margot Robbie and”Wonder Woman” with Gal Gadot.
READ MORE: #WomenThatDo: Wonder Woman
Women have shaped and continue to transform the world of music. From Billie Holiday to Madonna, music has always been used as a forceful statement about liberation. Billie Holiday’s acclaim comes from her emotionally and politically charged jazz music about her race, class and experience as a African American woman in the 1930s.
Fast forward to the 1950s and you got women like Pasty Cline who transformed the country scene. Hits like “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy” were as admired as the hits of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. With her continuous rising success, she became the first woman to rise to stardom outside of the country genre. Aside from that, she was also the first female country singer to perform at Carnegie Hall, she was the first woman to get inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame (posthumously in 1973) and the first female country star to headline her own show.
After Pasty Cline came powerhouse singer Aretha Franklin in the 1960s and multi-talented artist Joni Michell in the 1970s. Then Madonna rose to fame in the 1980s, constantly pushing boundaries in her sound, performances and artistry.
Today, the music industry celebrates masterful artists like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. And although their sound differs greatly from the early trappings of Billie Holiday, female artists today continue to push boundaries and standards like their predecessors did before them.
While the possibility of a women’s museum is still being discussed, the Smithsonian has agreed to increase the representation of women’s historical contributions in its current exhibits.
READ MORE: A History of the Women’s Liberation Movement
