#but it was in 1992 in Brooklyn

[racetrackmybeloved]

i would give anything to watch a full movie on how the entirety of brooklyn came to be "spot conlon's territory". half of the brooklyn newsies are practically grown ass men, and they answer to this scrawny blond fifteen year old??

like come on

[military-newsboys]

Air horn sound Second air horn sound Sleep deprived Jack: This isn’t deodorant.

[highfalutin-son-of-a-gun]

Jack: Wait for it, wait for it.. 9:01, Davey Jacobs is officially late for the first time ever.

Jack: Alright, let’s do this. Who’s got theories?

Crutchie: Uh.. alarm didn’t go off?

Jack: All three alarms, all with battery backup? Cmon, who wants to take this seriously?

Albert: He was taken in his sleep!

Jack: That’s what I’m talking about! Super dark, Al, but way more plausible than Crutchie’s idiotic alarm clock theory.

Race: I bet he tucked himself into bed too tight and got stuck.

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

92sies Jack wears his cowboy hat when he’s nervous and 92sies David’s ny accent comes out when he’s nervous

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Race: My biggest talent is being stress!

Mush: Don’t you mean stressed?

Race: No

Davey, Jack, and Spot: *tired* No.

[one-highfalutin-sonuva-gun]

Newsies: Buck and Trend

Buck and Trend are twin Brooklyn Newsies working on the frontlines for Spot's army.

Buck has big rabbit teeth and dresses in an orange shirt and brown vest. He's the athletic twin. Notice the slingshot in his hand.

His twin prefers a darker look with a grey shirt under a black vest. Unlike Buck, Trend doesn't have any athletic abilities. He's just there to cross his arms and look imposing.

Trend's more of a trendsetter, combining two fashion styles into one, the double collared look and the shorter sleeves over long sleeves look. His fashion choices are ahead of its time, about a century ahead. These looks didn't catch on until the early 2000s.

Some random guys found on Reddit sporting both looks from that era. (They would've been Newsies had they been around a hundred years earlier.)

The only thing these twins have in common is that they like to pop up behind walls like Whac-a-Mole.

Spot's army consists of multiple sets of twins (one set in white text, the other yellow):

All the guys in the above pic have to do is pout and stare menacingly.

While these guys man the slingshots. Spot's tactic is to use the first set of twins as a diversion, while the second set attacks.

Buck joins Spot as one of the millions of voices singing. His twin is nowhere to be seen (probably because they're played by the same actor).

[doththymayo]

Jack: C'mon Davey, we're friends. I was building up to call you "Day-Day" one of these days. Davey: That will never happen. In fact, you just lost "Davey" privileges. From now on, you can call me "Jacobs" or "hey you". Jack: Come on Davey... Davey, glaring: Jack: Come on hey you....

[newsiesrewritten]

boots and spot are best friends in the “i’m going to call you the worst possible names every time you’re mentioned or i even see a glimpse of you.” kind of way..

[brooklynbadboys]

A History of Girlsies

After a rise popularity of the 'girlsies' after Newises UK introduced Brooklyn as an all-female group of Newises, I decided to look deeper into the history of newsgirls at the time.

This is only for fun and a way for me to acknowledge the women at the time who until Newsies UK, were rarely given a spotlight in Newsies media.

Late 1800s

In 1868, there were roughly 300 newgirls and 2000 newsboys living in New York, but exact numbers were hard to state as newsies were 'at all hours in all public places’

Prior to mid 1800s, many newsgirls had to dress as boys in order to bypass social prohibitions

There were newsgirls of different backgrounds, education, class and age, but most were age 8-20

Many newsgirls were expert sellers, making names for themselves, having their own territories and gaining devoted customers

Multiple sources state the intelligence of the newsgirls being higher than that of the newsboys, likely having to work more than the newsboys to make the same wage

The media at the time presented newsgirls as pretty, witty and resourceful, whilst the newsgirls described themselves as real people in unfortunate situations

People within society had opposing reports on newsgirls, as some stated them to be stylish, respectable and intelligent, whilst others stated their crudeness, and raggedness and coarseness

There are many more mixed accounts, as others report newsgirls as heroic, behaving far better than the newsboys, respecting the city more and going out of their way to help civilians

The newsgirls were widely disliked as the idea of girls working on the streets was seen as evil and it was believed that the girls would put the newsboys out of business

It was also believed that the girls would be corrupted and lose their innocence and therefore should leave the work to the boys

This led many newgirls to work in less seen areas of the city, as the newsboys ran the city, making their presence known

What was most loved about the newsboys, such as their camaraderie and hardwork, was hated about the newsgirls

The girls often faced injustices and dangers far greater than the boys. Newsgirls as young as eleven were often harassed, robbed by male street workers, abducted and assaulted. This was used in the defence of banning all newsgirls under sixteen

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

In the late 1880s, the community disliked the newsgirls so deeply that they wanted to get the girls off the street for good. It was passed that girls under 16 were no longer allowed to sell papers

They disguised this cruelty as an act of kindness to protect the girls and guide them to a life of motherhood and domesticity

The girls listened before one day fighting back, all swarming to the streets

A few years later, another attack on the newsgirls occured due to complaints from newsboys, publishers and patrons

Newsgirls were given warnings, and if they were to return to selling papers, then and their parents would be arrested and punished severely

By the end of the 19th century as few as 12 newsgirls under 16 were left in New York City

This ban extended to the newsboys in 1899, but little consequence was given and enforcement was low, unlike the ban on newsgirls

Newsgirls in New York:

Notable New York Newsgirls

Winnie and Sadie Horn (‘the soubrette newsgirls’)

In the late 1800s, they were two of the most famous newsgirls, working from 3pm to 3am everyday

Winnie was blind in one eye and dressed eccentrically, reporting to have spoken in Shakespearean English. She would scribble quotes from literature, such as the bible and Shakespeare, on her newspapers

Winnies loyal customers ranged from the New York City mayor to Theodore Roosevelt

Winnie was known as ‘winsome Winnie’ and ‘queen of the newsies’

They stated that them and their sisters were ‘born newsgirls’

Winnie was notable and had many mentions in the papers up until her death:

Mary Welter

Marywent to school until she was 13 and wanted to continue, but she had to support her family

She sold papers at twenty-third street ferry and upwards of 10 dollars a week ($328)

She would stay focused on business when and the competing newsboys inevitably began to act up throughout the day, she would take their customers

Newsies the musical

Before Newsies UK, there were no newsgirl characters. Despite claims of characters such as Smalls being women, they were dressed as newsboys and the Smalls Broadway actress, Laurie Veldheer, stated that Smalls is a boy.

Smalls in Newsies OBC:

With characters as old as 17 (Jack Kelly), and newsgirls of over 16 being allowed to work at this time, along with evidence of newsgirls taking part in the strike, there is no reason for newsgirls to have been left out of the story. There are arguments that may be made about Brooklyn being all women and the inaccuracies of this, but I pose to that how accurate is it for the newsies to be singing, dancing, and flying.

Brooklyn in Newsies UK:

A final note: This may seem redundant after titling this post ‘the history of girlsies’, but I feel the need to point it out: ‘Newsies’ isn’t a gendered term. Newsgirls throughout history have referred to themselves as ‘newsies’. There is no need to other newsgirls and separate them from the term. They are newsies and their gender doesn’t change that.

I hope this can shed some light on newsgirls and their history, and why their stories should be heard alongside the retellings of the newsboys.

Sources:

Extra: The history of America’s girl newsies

Backstage at “newsies” with Ben fankhauser and Tommy bracco

“The newsgirl question”: competing frames of progressive era girl newsies

Newsies vs. The World

[scopophilic1997]

scopOphilic_micromessaging_1064 - scopOphilic1997 presents a new micro-messaging series: small, subtle, and often unintentional messages we send and receive verbally and non-verbally.

[chaotic-starlight24]

The Newsies fixtation is coming back, so expect some content soon. But I need a heck of a lot more practice when writing the newsies characters and I need it for my fanfic, so please do requests ficlets or headcanons.

(IM STILL WORKING ON THE OUTSIDERS HEADCANONS I SWEAR, I AIN'T LEAVING Y'ALL HANGING!)

[racetrackmybeloved]

whoever decided to remove the gay pirate vibes from the brooklyn newsies ... why

[military-newsboys]

Davey: can i date your brother?

Crutchie: what is this, the dark ages? you know what, since you've asked, no you can't. beat me in a duel first

[knockoff-conlon]

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

he always feels uncomfortable walking through brooklyn. spot has brooklyn divided up, so that she controls everything but she has other people handling certain areas. and mack runs the area that borders manhattan- she does not like him. "jackie boy!" he freezes at her voice. "i ain't seein' you walkin' on by and ignorin' me, now am i?"

"course not, mack. i ain't ever ignorin' ya!" he replies, turning to see her. she's only a few steps behind him. he gives davey a little push, so he stays shielded, a little, from mack.

"what's we got here?" mack asks, using the stick she always carries to point at davey. "step up, kid, who are ya?"

"davey," he says timidly. she steps forward, crowding his space a little.

"davey," she repeats, clicking her tongue. it sounds wrong in mack's voice, threatening in a way jack hates. "tell spot i says hi, jackie." she shoulders her way between them, walking off with a little spring in her step.

"who was that?" davey asks quietly, watching mack head off.

"that was macdonald," jack replies. "everyone calls her mack. the first stop on spot's grand welcomin' tour. spot conlon and her girls ain't ever been fans o' mine."

"spot conlon's a girl?" davey asks.

"a lotta brooklyn newsies is. keep movin' or else we's gonna have to talk to mack again." he pushes davey forward, looking around. he can feel spot's girls watching them everywhere.

"why are so many brooklyn kids girls?"

"spot rose to power about three years ago. she was twelve about. first girl t'ever really run a borough. a lot of girls who show up in boroughs realize there's a girl in brooklyn and ship off."

"that why we have so little girls?" jack nods. he's seen a lot of girls from manhattan head off to brooklyn to work under spot. spot cares a lot for the girls she gets. "and she's the most feared newsie in all of new york?"

"you's gonna understand, dave." the docks where spot holds court are crowded with girls.

"jack!" hotshot grabs his shirt and yanks him around. "and a new kid. spot's waitin' for ya two. better get a move on, she don't like to be kept waitin'." she shoves them both toward spot's throne of crates. spot is sitting on it, holding her cane between her legs. she leans back when they get into view.

"jack."

"conlon." he sets his shoulders.

"oh, have some respect," she chides. davey fidgets a little beside him. "stop movin'." davey stills.

"his name's davey," jack tells her. she stands up, pushing off her throne. all five feet of her stares up at davey, who has over a foot on her. even so, he shrinks back.

"yeah, okay." she sits back down. "so."

[newsiesficchallenges]

Happy Day One of Made ‘Em in a Dumpster!

Happy Day One! For today, just share the name and photo of your most beloved OC!!!

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Scent of a Woman (1992, Martin Brest)

09/08/2024