#badass women of history

[scionafreynan]

badass women of history ↝ sayyida al hurra, the pirate queen of morocco

sayyida al hurra, real name lalla aicha bint ali ibn rashid al-alami, was hakimat titwan between 1515–1542 and a moroccan privateer leader during the early 16th century. she became the wife of the wattasid sultan ahmad ibn muhammad.

[tickldpnk8]

Hedy was beautiful and a great actress, yes. But she was also a badass who invented things her spare time. During WW2, she worked with George Antheil to patent a mechanism for frequency hopping signals.

Hedy Lamarr as Sandra Kolter ZIEGFELD GIRL (1941) dir. Robert Z. Leonard

[washingtonmarvel]

Trapeze artist, strongwoman, and all around badass Laverie Vallee, stage name Charmion, flexes for the camera in this (colorized) picture from around 1905. Born in 1875 in Sacramento, Charmion was a pioneer. She shocked conservative Victorian/Edwardian men with her daring "Trapeze Disrobing Act" (which was the subject of one of Thomas Edison's first films) and her insanely jacked body. But the ladies loved her, and her performances, which were viewed as practically pornographic by the extreme standards of the time period, were mostly attended by women. Throughout her career, she inspired women to exercise and to free themselves of the restrictions society placed on them. Charmion criticized the prudish attitudes of the time and told women they could be just as strong as men (this was a radical claim for that era, but her own body was the proof). A brilliant woman, she was fluent in six languages and regularly lectured and wrote newspaper articles about fitness. She was the highest-earning performer on the vaudeville circuit for much of her career, sometimes earning as much as $500 per week (equivalent to almost $20,000 today). Charmion was known to curl 70-pound dumbbells as part of her workout regimen and she could walk 12 miles without feeling fatigued. Charmion's biceps reportedly were almost exactly the same size as those of Eugen Sandow, who was widely considered the world's strongest man, and in a friendly sparring match she fought on an equal footing with the then-famous boxer Terry McGovern. She retired in 1912 and lived a quiet life outside the limelight until her death in 1949.

EDIT: I made a second post with some more info about Charmion if anyone's interested:

[occultesotericart]

Salome with the head of St John the Baptist

[city-of-ladies]

"In the mid-1700s, a seawoman in Iceland named Björg Einarsdóttir composed a poem teasing men on her boat for their weak rowing:

Do row better my dear man, Fear not to hurt the ocean. Set your shoulders if you can Into harder motion.

Einarsdóttir was not only a talented poet but an excellent fisher. She often caught more fish than other crew members, and people believed that her ability to lure the animals was supernatural. When she was dying, she reportedly passed on this uncanny skill to a farmer by writing a poem about him catching trout.

Her work at sea may seem unusual. After all, fishing is generally considered a man’s job. But recent work by an American researcher, Margaret Willson, suggests that Einarsdóttir was one of hundreds of Icelandic women in the 18th and 19th centuries who braved towering waves and icy waters to catch fish. Willson’s team combed through historical archives and publications to gather examples ranging from a female captain who led crews made up entirely of women, to expectant mothers who rowed late into pregnancy.

The sea “wasn’t a male space,” says Willson, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and a former seawoman. “It was not a feminist act in any way for them to go to sea.” It was just part of everyday life."

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Our first teaser for the Six Triple Eight movie was included in Netflix's 2024 upcoming releases promo!!

For those who don't know, the Six Triple Eight is about the 6888th Central Postal Battalion which was the all POC regiment of the Women's Army Corps during World War II. They served in England sorting through the massive backlog of mail that had accumulated. Receiving mail from home was such an important morale boost for the men and high morale wins wars so sorting this mail was a priority. It was a nearly impossible task that the Army predicted would take them years to accomplish but they completed the task in half the time, processing 17 million pieces of mail and sending them to soldiers awaiting news from home. They worked in cold, dirty, dark rat infested aircraft hangars with broken windows. They were so good at their work that the unit was sent to several other areas to do the same thing. The unit was active from 1945 to 1946 and consisted of 855 women under the Command of Major Charity Adams, Captains Mary F. Kearney and Bernice G. Henderson. Their nickname was “Six-Triple Eight" and their motto was “No Mail, Low Morale."

I'm so excited for this film, you have no idea. An entire movie completely focused on telling the story of women. And not just women, black women! It's so exciting! And it looks fantastic just from this short teaser. I know the historical consultant of the show personally and she knows WAC history better than anyone and it definitely shows. The uniforms are pretty perfect. The only mistake I've seen so far, which is in a behind the scenes photo, is the utility bag (their purse) is on the wrong side. But that's a nit picky complaint from me I can overlook. But even the shots are so good!! They're recreating at least one original image I can think of. Which is so cool. God I'm so excited!!!!

Here are some original images of the 6888

[gayeilgeoir]

Historical woman- “I freed my people from a draconian dictatorship while also fighting off the king of said dictatorships marriage advances. I spoke 9 languages and was famed for my brains. I taught young girls how to fight and trained them in battle tactics. I lived with my girlfriend all my life, she helped make key decisions with me about the good of our people, took over running when I could not, and fought alongside me in the battle I died in, we were found dying in each others arms after the battle ended”

Male Historians- “SHE WAS A HOT SEXY WOMAN WHO LOVED MEN SO MUCH!!!”

[arevolutionaryinparis]

Can I just say something. This young woman right here is the face of Snow White and yet she is one of the most important figures in the internet today. Her name is Hedy Lamar and she is known was the mother of Wi-Fi. So girlys, if any boy not man cause real men support women tells you you can’t do something and change the world for the better. Tell them that a woman made the thing that they adore so much. The Internet

[cottoncandytrafficcones]

10 Jewish Women from History Part 2

Shushandukht (4th to 5th centuries, Persia)

Jewish wife of a Sasanian emperor and mother of another. She was said to be the daughter of an Exilarch. She reputedly created the Jewish neighborhoods of Jouybareh in Isfahan and also communities in Susa and Shushtar. She is believed to be fictional by some.

Benvenida Abrabanel (1473-1560s, Italy)

A Sephardic philanthropist, banker, and businesswoman mentioned in literary, rabbinic, legal, and archival sources. Born to a prominent Spanish family, the Abravanel family, she received an education in both Jewish and secular subjects. Following the Expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, her family moved to Naples, where she became the tutor of Eleanor of Toledo. After the Holy Roman Emperor declared an expulsion of Jews in 1533, she co-protested and managed to get the order postponed by ten years. She and her family eventually moved to Ferrara. After her husband's death, she was made heir to almost all of his property, and she took over his business affairs, opening five banks in Florence.

Shlomtzion (1 century BCE, Judea)

A regnant queen of Judea, and the wife of Aristobulu I and Alexander Jannaeus. She ruled for nine years in the times of the Hasmonean dynasty. On his deathbed, Alexander trusted the government to his wife instead of his sons. She installed her eldest son as high priest and reestablished the Sanhedrin, and protected the Pharisees. Judea enjoyed much prosperity under her reign.

Licoricia of Winchester (1200s-1277, England)

An English Jewish businesswomen, described as the most important Jewish woman in medieval England. She was a moneylender, and appeared to have had a close relationship with King Henry III. She first appears in records from 1234 as a young widow with three sons and a daughter. In 1242, she married her second husband, who was known as the richest Jew in England. After her husbands death, she was detained by the king so that he could acquire part of her husband's estate; however, she repurchased his estate for 5,000 marks. Over the next thirty years after she was released, she became a highly influential businesswoman.

Esther Handali (?-1588, Ottoman Empire)

A Sephardic Jew reportedly from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, she was married to a Jewish merchant who sold products to the Ottoman Imperial Harem. Due to the separation of the sexes, she would enter the harem as an agent for her husband. When she was widowed, she took over her husband's business. She was kira, or agent, of Nurbanu Sultan from at least 1566 onward, after Nurbanu became the favored consort of the sultan. She was trusted with political and diplomatic matters, including acting as intermediary between Nurbanu and Catherine de' Medici, as well as contacts in the Republic of Venice. She earned an enormous fortune, and was a benefactor to the Jews of Istanbul, especially widows and orphans and victims of the 1969 fire.

Esperanza Malchi (?-1600, Ottoman Empire)

A Jewish businesswoman in the Ottoman Empire and agent of Safiye Sultan. Reportedly from Italy, she acted as an agent for her husband, a Jewish businessman, in the Ottoman harem. It's difficult to separate her from Esther Handali since their careers overlap. Esperanza was trusted with political and diploamtic matters such as correspondence between Safiye and foreign powers, including the Queen of England.

Qasmuna (11th or 12th CE, Andalusia)

A poet from medieval Andalusia, and the only female Arabic language Jewish poet from the region. Three poems of her have survived. The most famous one is about how she looked in the mirror and decided she had reached the time of marriage.

Sarah of Yemen (6th century CE, Yemen)

A female composer of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. She was potentially a member of Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia and was one of the major three Jewish tribes, along with Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir.

Wife of Dunash ha-Lebi ben Labrat (920/925-after 985, Morocco or Spain)

Wife of a medieval Jewish commentator, poet, and grammarian from the Golden age of Jews in Spain. She is believed to be the author of a poem on Dunash's exile, making it the only known medieval Hebrew poem written by a woman.

Henrietta Szold (1860-1945, Baltimore)

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the daughter of a rabbi and the eldest of eight daughters. Educated in Jewish studies, she edited Professor Marcus Jastrow's Talmudic Dicitonary, and attended lectures at Johns Hopkins and the Peabody Institute. She also studies at JTS, and studies in the rabbinic school on the promise she would not seek ordination, as the rabbinic school was restricted to males. A religious Zionist, she and six other woman eventually founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. She funded hospitals, a medical school, soup kitchens, and other services for both Jewish and Arab inhabitants of Mandatory Palestine. In 1933, she immigrated there and helped run Youth Aliyah, an organization that saved 30,000 Jewish children during the Nazi regime. She also supported Brit Shalom, a small organization dedicated to Arab-Jewish unity.

[cottoncandyringmaster]

Day 2-Princess Zelda

🎮🎮🎮

Second day and we have the Princess of Hyrule 🪬

The first Zelda game I ever played was Ocarina of Time 3DS. I saw that Robin Williams commercial and I needed that game (huge Robin Williams fan as a kid). I had only known about The Legend of Zelda through Smash Bros before then so it was a very interesting experience. I had an Ocarina of Time themed birthday party as a kid, and I’m actually having another one this year! I also maybe had the fattest crush on this specific Zelda as a kid

🍬🩷🩵🩷🩵🩷🩵🍬

Keep Clownin’

[scionafreynan]

badass women of history ↝ frida kahlo, mexican artist and activist

feet, what do i need you for when i have wings to fly?

[rigginsstreet]

Blair would ruin Nancy’s entire life by outing Karen’s extramarital jailbait affairs so goddamn fast please be serious right now

Katherine… well that’s self explanatory

[theclassicsoflife]

Mary Wollstonecraft the "Mother of first-wave feminism." Also the mother of the famous author, Mary Shelly.

[badassbitchesandbastardsblog]

Become Inspired

It was a period characterized by compassion. Tamar abolished her father's severe criminal  penalties, banned torture, and the death penalty, and chose not to employ punishments like  whipping, blinding, and castration. Tamar also endorsed remarriages and upheld Georgia's  longstanding tradition of religious tolerance. This period elevated Queen Tamar to a position  unparalleled in her country's pantheon of heroes, surpassing even her male medieval counterparts  like Vakhtang Gorgasali and David IV Agmashenebeli. 

[city-of-ladies]

(Photo: Carmen Escobar Carrio)

Juana Galán - Heroic guerrillera 

When the French invaded Spain during the Peninsular War, some women were determined to resist. Among them was Juana Galán (1787-1812), the daughter of a prosperous tavern keeper. 

On June 6, 1808, a column of 1,000 enemy troops attacked the town of Valdepeñas. Juana rallied the townswomen under her command. They manned the windows and threw boiling water and oil at the enemy.

Juana went to the street armed with a club. She reportedly pulled several French soldiers from their horses and dispatched them with a blow to the head. The townspeople’s fierce resistance forced the French to retreat and never return.

Juana didn’t live to see the end of the war. She died in 1812 while giving birth to her daughter. Her legacy lives on and she was made a local heroine and a symbol of resistance. She now has her own monument in Valdepeñas.

Like Juana, other women fought in desperate situations or during riots, sometimes with improvised weapons. In 1809, an unnamed woman armed with a sword rallied the inhabitants of Penafiel (northern Portugal) and led them in battle against the raiders. In 1811, María Marcos, a tavern keeper from La Palma del Condado, played a key role in repelling a small group of French soldiers. 

There were also cases of women involved in guerrilla warfare. The Catalan Somatén, a paramilitary defense organization, had female members such as María Escoplé, Magdalena Bofill, Margarita Tona, María Catalina and Catalina Martín. Francisca de la Puerta reportedly fought in Extremadura and commissioned the Junta of her province for permission to form her own guerrilla band. 

Wanting to avenge her father and brother, Martina de Ibaibarriaga Elorriagafora disguised herself as a man and led a guerrilla band until she gained a commission in the Spanish army. An unnamed woman was given the command of a troop by the Junta of Molina de Aragón in 1809. A British officer also mentioned women serving with bands of irregulars as active combatants. 

For more heroines of the Peninsular War, see Agustina de Aragón. 

Feel free to check out my Ko-Fi if you want to support me!

Further reading

Esdaile Charles J., Women in the Peninsular War

Sheldon Natasha, “Juana Galan: A Spanish Heroine of the Peninsula War”

[hogans-heroes]

Turns out historic women have been really misrepresented to us, honestly.