For 118 years, the Paris Roubaix bicycle race has challenged the most skilled riders from around the globe. Going from Paris to the border of Belgium, this one-day race features 160 miles of strenuous mixed-surface racing. In 2021, the media exuded much pomp as women were invited to participate for the first time, albeit in… Read more →
Tag: Gender roles
Will We Ever “Have it All”? Examining the Career Woman of the 1980s and in the COVID Era
The US government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis has illustrated just how divided the country has become on the topic of childcare and women’s role in the workforce. In October 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September jobs report, which indicated that, of the 1.1 million workers who had dropped out of the… Read more →
Tea Kettles and Turpitudes: Abortion and Material Culture in Irish History
In 1932, a Donegal woman was brought up on criminal charges after she attempted miscarriage by consuming both pills as well as a ubiquitous item in early twentieth-century households: a bottle of castor oil.1 Just a few years earlier a Belfast midwife, Isabel, defended herself in court after being charged with giving another woman an… Read more →
Take Back the Knit: A Feminist History of Knitting in the US
On a recent plane ride, I pulled out my knitting needles to finish the scarf I was making. Normally I am the only person on the plane knitting. But to my surprise, the college-age girl next to me was crocheting a toy snake and another young woman a few rows up was using chunky yarn… Read more →
Yes, I’m a Wife, But You Can Call Me the “Current Supporting Spouse”
The year my second son was born, I went to work, and my husband stayed home. It was the most luxurious year of my life. In the mornings, I nursed my baby while my husband brought our older child to preschool. When he got back, I handed off the baby, said, “bye, Sweetie, see you… Read more →
Satan’s Fortress: Christianity, Sex, and Josh Duggar
When I was 18, I attended a large gathering of evangelical Christians, just as I had every summer through high school. I looked forward to this event each year – my friends and I spent the hot August days wandering the theme park where the festival was held, going on rides and listening to our… Read more →
Happiest Place for Gender Norms
This past December, the world saw another celebrity sex scandal. Suzy Favor Hamilton, the three-time U.S. Olympian, was outed as having a “secret life” as a high-priced escort. As a resident of Madison, there was no way I could have avoided hearing about the fall from grace of one of Wisconsin’s golden girls. Her name… Read more →