#badass women of history

[dreamsoffaerie]

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.

[the-gamling-dog]

Lois Cole Roach sounds like a fucking boss

[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."

[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

[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

[george-weasleys-girl]

[ap-kinda-lit]

I want to take a moment to tell y’all about this lady right here: meet Timoclea

Timoclea was a Theban noble woman as well as the sister of Theagenes, one of the commanders of the Sacred Band of Thebes who perished in the Battle of Chaeronea against Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great's father. On his Balkan campaign in 335 BC, Alexander the Great and his forces ransacked Thebes. During the attack, one of Alexander's Thracian captains seized Timoclea's home and sexually assaulted her.

Afterwards, the captain remained to interrogate her about the whereabouts of any hidden valuables. Timoclea told him that there was a hidden stash in the well in the garden outside, which she happily led him to. As the captain leaned over to peer into the well, Timoclea shoved him in. Then, she threw stone after stone in to the well until the captain was dead and buried beneath a pile of rubble.

It wasn't long before Timoclea's actions were discovered and she was dragged in chains before Alexander the Great himself to face severe punishment for murdering one of his men. Regardless, Timoclea stood her ground. She clearly expressed her opposition to Macedonian rule, proudly stating who her brother was, and showed no regret for killing the man who violated her home and her body. Amazingly, Alexander was impressed with Timoclea and moved by her story. He pardoned her of her crime and let her and her family go free, ensuring they would suffer no more abuse.

TL;DR: Lady Timoclea stoned her attacker to death, stuck to her guns facing down Alexander the Great, and got a pat on the back from him.

[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’

[dreamsoffaerie]

badass women of history ↝ angela davis, black american activist

i am no longer accepting the things i cannot change. i am changing the things i cannot accept.

[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

[hogans-heroes]

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

[inkher0]

Remember how I said yesterday that Tiktok makes content out of farming misery

I open the app today. FIRST VIDEO: "List of famous men who's said sexist things" like its a goddamn BUZZFEED COUNTDOWN. And you'd think "oh this must be highlighting modern men to look out for" NOPE, ALL MEN WHO HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR *YEARS*.

What is the point of that? To prove men were sexist 50 years ago? No shit?????? Do we have to see their horrible words for our own eyes to believe that???? What purpose does that serve, if not just to upset you???? You're not doing activism or praxis, you're showing them a bunch of men who said they aren't fucking human and going "wow isn't this awful" LIKE???? YES???

Why don't these people post things women have said to uplift women??? It's either "look at what this man has said about you" or "look at what this woman says about how shitty men are". I have read tons of uplifting literature about women, I know it exists.

You see what I mean when I say you still center men in your life when you engage with content like this??? This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

[designerdork]

Luz Noceda for day thirty. One more for Women’s History Month. Can you guess who it is? 🤣

[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”