Before Hidden Figures
Who knows how many social and culture advances have been lost to the biased and inaccurate recording of women’s accomplishments throughout history? How many ideas have been lost, destroyed or simply overlooked by male historians? I suspect a great many. Have you heard of Emilie Du Chatelet, Sophie Germain, Mary Somerville, Ada Lovelace or Hypatia? Just a few female mathematicians who precede the women of Hidden Figures. I do not suggest that the women of Hidden Figures are not critical to our history in any way, I am merely pointing out that the struggle to value women has been going on for eons.
History tried hard to bury Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 370 CE - March 415 CE, some historians believe her birth was c. 350 CE). She was called a witch by the members of the growing new Christian religion, Christians were insane about women as witches long before the Malleus Maleficarum was written, and she was attacked by a mob of Christian men, the parabalani, a volunteer militia of monks serving as henchmen to the archbishop, Theophilus, who destroyed the last of Alexandria’s great Library. Not content that they had already destroyed the remains of the Library of Alexandria they pulled the elderly teacher from her chariot as she rode through the city and dragged her to a temple. She was stripped naked, her skin flayed with jagged pieces of oyster shells, her limbs pulled from her body and paraded through the streets. Her remains were burned in a mockery of pagan sacrifice. Thus ending the life of a brilliant female philosopher (philosophy at this time would be considered science in our era) and mathematician.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hypatia-ancient-alexandrias-great-female-scholar-10942888/
She was the daughter of the mathematician, Theon, the last Professor at the University of Alexandria, who tutored her in math, astronomy, and the philosophy of the day, giving his daughter another option besides the traditional role assigned to women. He raised her as a father would have raised a son in the Greek tradition at the time; by teaching her his own trade.
Scholar Wendy Slatkin writes:
"Greek women of all classes were occupied with the same type of work, mostly centered around the domestic needs of the family. Women cared for young children, nursed the sick, and prepared food."
Hypatia was recognized in her own time as an exceptional counselor and learned teacher. We know that she wrote a commentary on Diophantus's thirteen-volume Arithmetica and another commentary on Apollonius of Perga's treatise on conic sections, which has not survived. Most scholars also believe that Hypatia may have edited the surviving text of Ptolemy's Almagest, based on the title of her father Theon's commentary on Book III of the Almagest.
Rome was going through a religious civil war, due to Constantine’s Edict of Milan which ultimately led to Christianity being the official religion of Rome. Initially the parabalani aided the dead and dying but often they terrorized pagan groups and leveled pagan temples, attacked the Jewish quarters, and defiled masterpieces of ancient art they considered demonic by mutilating statues and melting them down for gold. (Sounds a little familiar doesn’t it?)
Historical documents from the time describe Hypatia as a woman who was known for her generosity, love of learning, and skill in teaching the subjects of Neo-Platonism, mathematics, science, and philosophy. As we have learned from history right up to current times religious fanatics do not tolerate intelligent, decent women.
Hypatia was an exceptional woman not just in 4th century Rome, but for any time and also a popular public speaker, the ancient historian Damascius described her public lectures:
Donning the tribon [the robe of a scholar, and thus an essentially masculine item of apparel], the lady made appearances around the center of the city, expounding in public to those willing to listen on Plato or Aristotle or some other philosopher...There was a great crush around the doors [of her house], a confusion of men and horses, of people coming and going and others standing about for Hypatia the philosopher was now going to address them and this was her house.
Unfortunately, Hypatia was caught in the cross fire of the archbishop Cyril, and Orestes, the Praefectus augustalis, Roman governor of the province of Egypt. Hypatia’s death was brought about by their clash. The Christian chronicler John of Nikiu explains the situation from Cyril’s point of view:
And in those days there appeared in Alexandria a female philosopher, a pagan named Hypatia, and she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music, and she beguiled many people through her satanic wiles. And the governor of the city [Orestes] honored her exceedingly for she had beguiled him through her magic. And he ceased attending church as had been his custom.
As we see so often in religion those who caused harm to those who disagree are often revered as saints. Cyril was no exception, he was declared a saint by the church for his efforts in oppressing pagans and promoting the true faith. Historians often Hypatia's death is sited as a milestone mark in history defining the end of the classical age of paganism to the age of Christianity.
Have women gained power and rights since that time? Of course, but as we can see by today's politics and world events, we are not equal and we are not equally valued. The work of women is not finished, only continuing despite much animosity.
We live in the cyberpunk future.
JDN 2457258 EDT 17:59.
William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Android: Netrunner, Blade Runner, Deus Ex and Shadowrun. Cyberpunk is one of the most venerable subgenres of science fiction, both one of the oldest and one of the most popular.
But I'm not so sure it's science fiction anymore.
Multinational corporations that are more powerful than national governments? Check.
Digital technology integrated into every moment of our lives? Check.
Virtually nonexistent privacy, with the intimate details of our lives available to governments, corporations, and the public at large to see? Check.
Space elevators? Well, if you count space fountains, check.
Cybernetics? Well, there are cochlear implants, hip replacements, and prosthetic limbs. This activist self-identifies as a cyborg.
Monopolization? Our banking industry is controlled by 10 banks; our mass media is owned by 6 parent companies; most of our scientific publishing is owned by three for-profit companies. Basically, we've stopped enforcing antitrust regulations. I'd call that a check.
Intellectual property protection that advances the interests of corporations against those of consumers and society as a whole? Check.
Rampant inequality that makes a tiny handful of people fantastically rich and leaves millions of others languishing in poverty? Very big check.
More people have cell phones than toilets in their homes. What greater demonstration could you ask for that we live in a world of digital abundance but real impoverishment?
Even some of the subtler aspects of a cyberpunk world have come to pass, like brand names on everything: If you've watched a baseball game recently, you'll know that US Cellular Field and AT&T Park have Wallside Windows pitching changes, Comcast high-speed pitches, and the GM “high-strength steal” of the game. I'm not joking, those are real things. I was never very big on sports anyway, but I just can't watch anymore; they've given up the pretense of being a game that's paid for by advertising, and now are just openly a sequence of advertisements vaguely arranged in the shape of a game. Meanwhile, who actually pays to build the stadiums? State and local governments, of course.
I'm typing on an MSI laptop with a Microsoft mouse, wearing a Casio watch and New Balance shoes, with a Samsung phone in my pocket while a Samsung TV plays NBC News from a Comcast cable box, taking breaks on Facebook and periodically checking my GMail. (At least my clothes are brands you probably haven't heard of, like Urban Pipeline.)
They call this “free-market capitalism”, but that's not actually what it is. This is oligopoly corporatism, crypto-plutocracy. In a free-market capitalist economy, there might be brand-named stadiums but they'd at least be actually paid for by the companies that put brand names on them. There would be media companies, but there would be more than half a dozen that matter. In fact, if the market were really competitive, brand names wouldn't be on everything because nobody would care what brand something was, because they all make basically the same thing. (Your milk and tomatoes are sold by some company, but could you tell me what brand without checking? That's what competitive free-market capitalism looks like.)
But we were warned this was where capitalism was going. Warned by science fiction authors, specifically. William Gibson and Philip K. Dick tried to tell us: If we stay on this path, cyberpunk is what we'll get.
But we didn't listen. And now we live in the cyberpunk future.
[Oppressive intellectual property laws are a key part of cyberpunk existence, so I think it's a bit ironic that those very same policies made it hard for me to find a good image for this post, since everything I most wanted to used was copyrighted. I ended up using "Neil Harbisson cyborgist" by Dan Wilton/The Red Bulletin - Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neil_Harbisson_cyborgist.jpg#/media/File:Neil_Harbisson_cyborgist.jpg]
Returning Women to Our Place in History
https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/womens-voices-in-the-medieval-period
Since I love writing on a plethora of different topics; sometimes for my own perusal, sometimes to help other people with their writing, sometimes just reading and hearing about authors, I thought I would look for a female writer in my favorite historical era- Medieval History. After searching and ‘googling’ I discovered the first known female writer in France, Christine de Pizan (1364 – c. 1430), a poet and author at the court of King Charles VI of France. In fact, she was a feminist writer! Why have I never heard of her before? Oh, yeah, because men have dominated the writing and teaching of history in their favor.
I consider her book The Book of the City of Ladies to be a piece of feminist literature and her moralistic writings and thoughts on politics in medieval France are wonderful to discover. Perhaps not exactly promoting women to be the CEO of the local mill, but still not what was expected in that era of history. She worked for royalty and significant citizens, sometimes even books of advice to them.
Christine de Pizan was born 1364 in Venice, Italy. Her father worked as a physician in Venice Italy, also court astrologer and Councilor of the Republic of Venice before he moved his family to Paris for an appointment to the court of Charles V of France as the king's astrologer. Christine married a notary and royal secretary, Estienne du Castel, had 3 children with him before he died of the plague in 1389, leaving her to support her mother and her children. Initially she worked as a copyist in various shops in Paris gradually composing her own poetry and ballads which were well received by the king’s court. Christine became a prolific writer. She was personally involved in producing her books and used her skills in patronage to promote her work making her one of the first professional woman of letters in Europe. Despite her Italian heritage Christine was an avid nationalist for France attaching herself to the French royal family by donating or dedicating her early ballads to its members, including Isabeau of Bavaria, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Berry. She wrote of Queen Isabeau, "High, excellent crowned Queen of France, very redoubtable princess, powerful lady, born at a lucky hour".
In 1402, while reading "Querelle du Roman de la Rose" (Romance of the Rose) by Jean de Meun, Christine became angry and it was this that prompted her to write her own novel, The Book of the City of Women. Romance of the Rose satirizes the conventions of courtly love while critically depicting women as nothing more than flirts and whores. During the midst of the Hundred Years' War between French and English kings, she published the dream allegory Le Chemin de Long Estude (The book of the path of long study) a narrative where she and Cumaean Sibyl travel together and witness a debate on the state of the world between the four allegories – Wealth, Nobility, Chivalry and Wisdom, suggesting that justice could be brought to earth by a single monarch who had the necessary qualities.
In 1404 Christine chronicled the life of Charles V, portraying him as the ideal king and political leader, in Le Livre des Fais et Bonnes Meurs du Sage Roy Charles V (“Book of the Deeds and Good Morals of the Wise King Charles V”), a chronicle commissioned by Philip the Bold. However before she completed the book, Philip the Bold died, and Christine offered the book to Jean of Berry in 1405. Thus finding herself a new royal patron, she was paid 100 livre for the book by Philip's successor John the Fearless in 1406 and continued to receive payments from his court for books until 1412.
Finally in 1405 Christine published Le Livre de la Cité des Dames (The Book of the City of Ladies) about a city where famous women throughout history are shown as the builders of an imaginary city where they argue against the common misconceptions and slanders against women, presenting intellectual and royal female leaders, such as Queen Zenobia. Using three allegorical figures, a common style of literature in her time – Reason, Justice, and Rectitude – she has a dialogue from a completely female perspective. The discussion speaks on issues of consequence to all women.
Christine also wrote a political treatise discussing the customs and governments of medieval European societies. She favored hereditary monarchies, (remember, she was still a product her time and history) arguing that Italian city-states governed by princes or trades was not "such governance is not profitable at all for the common good". Writing several chapters on the duties of a king as military leader and describing in detail the role of the military class in society.
After civil war had broken out in France, Christine, in 1413, offered guidance to the young dauphin on how to govern well, publishing Livre de la Paix (The Book of Peace). It was her last major work and contained detailed formulations of her thoughts on good governance. She argued that "Every kingdom divided in itself will be made desolate, and every city and house divided against itself will not stand". Sound familiar? Matthew 12:22-28 and Lincoln's House Divided Speech.
In 1418 Christine wrote a piece for women who had lost family members in the Battle of Agincourt, Epistre de la Prison de vie Humaine (Letter Concerning the Prison of Human Life). She did not express any optimism or hope that peace could be found on earth. Christine believed that the soul was trapped in the body and imprisoned in hell. After Joan of Arc's military victory over the English, Christine seemed to regain her optimism and wrote the poem Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc (The Tale of Joan of Arc). She is believed to have died in 1430, before Joan was tried and executed by the English, saving her from the sadness that would have been.
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/maid-of-orleans-joan-of-arc.html
Christine produced a vast number of works, 41 known pieces, in both prose and verse. Her works include political treatises, for princes, epistles, and poetry. She also included other women to collaborate in her work. She mentions a manuscript illustrator we know only as Anastasia, describing her as the most talented of her day.
http://jessehurlbut.net/wp/mssart/?tag=christine-de-pizan
She has a place at Judy Chicago’s 1979 artwork The Dinner Party. In the 1980s Sandra Hindman published a study of the political events referenced in the illuminations of Christine's published works.
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/christine_de_pisan
Women have been an integral part of human life but who was listening, who was documenting and publishing? It’s time for us to learn equal history for our daughters and sons.
The Wild West, Lady Style
Recently I was watching my 14 year old grandson play a video game, it was a story that took place in the Wild West and a player could pick the character they wanted to be. I asked him if there were any female characters. He said, “No Memaw, there aren’t famous women in the Wild West.” Oh really?! I asked him if he had ever heard of Calamity Jane. Not surprisingly, he hadn’t. Challenge accepted. I was going to prove to him that there many women who helped settle and/or pillage the West.
It wasn’t hard to find women who were part of the Old West, a simple google search yielded many. Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Belle Starr, Pearl Hart, Eleanor Dumont and Mary Fields, gunslingers all. Mary Fields was one I had never heard of before.
Mary Fields, was the first African American woman and the second woman in the United States to be a mail carrier. She was born into slavery around 1832, freed after the Civil War and lived to be 82. She started working as a groundskeeper at the Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart in Toledo, Ohio where she got in an argument and was kicked out. She had 2 nicknames, Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary. Delivering mail in the early days of the West was not quite like the job of delivering mail today. You were not hired as a direct employee of the US Post Office rather you were awarded a route and had to process posted bonds and sureties to substantiate your ability to finance the route. Fields was awarded the star route contract for the delivery of mail from Cascade, Montana, to Saint Peter's Mission in 1885, driving the route for two four-year contracts: from 1885 to 1889 and from 1889 to 1893. You can imagine this was not a job for the faint of heart and required that you be able to defend yourself as there were no local police departments along the way. Stagecoach Mary, sported men’s clothing, a bad attitude and two guns. I would have trusted her to bring me my mail.
Pearl Heart was born in Canada in 1871 and is believed to have died in Arizona around 1955. It is believed she was influenced by Annie Oakley, however, unlike Oakley, Pearl used her sharpshooting skills for a life of crime. It isn’t clear what Pearl was doing before she began her career as an outlaw, some say she was a cook in a boardinghouse, others say she ran a tent brothel near a local mine. Apparently one day she was low on money and happened upon a man named Joe Boot and the two of them robbed a stagecoach. Because who doesn’t like to tag along with their man on an expedition? Right? It is believed Heart and Boot were responsible for one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the U.S. The couple were caught and brought to trial. During her sentencing, it is reported Pearl said, “I shall not consent to be tried under a law in which my sex had no voice in making.” Gotta admire her spunk! She served some of her sentence, but became pregnant in prison and was quickly pardoned by the governor. Not a lot is known about Pearl after prison. She attempted a show, renacting her crime and speaking of the horrors of Yuma Territorial Prison. This was not successful so she worked under an alias for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In 1904, Heart was running a cigar store in Kansas City when she was arrested for receiving stolen property, but was acquitted of the charge. In 1940 she was shown as living with her husband of 50 years, George Calvin “Cal” Bywater by census takers. She is considered to be the only known female stagecoach robber in Arizona’s history earning her the nicknames of “Bandit Queen” or “Lady Bandit”.
Eleanore Dumont, born as Simone Jules, but also known as Madame Mustache due to her physical characteristic of a heavy growth of hair on her upper lip, was one of the first known professional blackjack players in American history and, for over three decades, made her name famous across the mining camps of the American West. It is believed she was born in New Orleans, Louisiana about 1829 eventually making her way west during the California Gold Rush, arriving in San Francisco around 1849, soon becoming a gambler of renown, favoring the game of Blackjack. She was described as a petite and pretty French woman in her early twenties, known for her elegance dignity, and poker face.
After being escorted out of a gambling saloon under suspicion of card sharking she headed to Nevada City, California where she opened “Vingt-et-un” (21 in French) creating public interest by circulating a handbill which advertised the opening of the best gambling emporium in northern California to enjoy a game with Madame Dumont as well as free champagne for all. It was an extravagant facility and Madame Dumont only allowed well-behaved and well-groomed men in, cursing was discouraged in her presence. Dealing like the seasoned pro that she was, the miners more often lost than they won, very much like Las Vegas. Soon she had saved enough money to buy a ranch and started raising cattle. But then she fell in love. Sadly, the love of her life was a conman and swindled her out of everything. Jack McKnight. She decided some Wild West Justice was in order so she hunted him down and killed him, two shots from her shotgun. Suspected of the crime, she was never charged and denied doing it only confessing many years later.
Alone and destitute, she was forced to return to the mining camps and take up gambling again. In what was to be her last stop, Bodie, California Eleanore misjudged a play and lost a lot of money. She left the bar, wandered around town and was found outside of town. Dead. It is believed she died of an overdose of morphine, apparently a suicide on September 8, 1879.
Women have always particpated in human history, good and bad, we just haven't been given the same attention. We need to change that, one story at a time.
Santa Responds To My Lawyer
(This is just too much! If I'm ever going to get my monkey I need to take matters into my own hands but I'm just too pissed off to think straight. What to do....)
TO: The Law Offices of Rush, Phibbs & DeLay
C/O: Dick DeLay
FROM: Mr. Kristopher Kringle
North Pole Toy Mfg, LTD
Yada, yada, yada...
FIRST CLASS MAIL - SIGNATURE REQUIRED
RE: Reply to Your Notice of Intent to File Legal Action
Dear Sir,
Bite me!
Regards,
Santa
(To Be Continued)