National Women’s History Project Honoree: Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago was born in 1939 and is a well-known artist, author, feminist, and educator. It was her ideals and views that helped begin the Feminist Art Movement. She was a leading pioneer in Feminist Art and art education, and she helped create the Feminist Art Project. The Feminist Art Project eventually resulted in Womanhouse, which was the first installation from a purely female point of view in art.
*********************************************************************
“Each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns she is worthless.”- Myra Pollack Sadker
History helps us learn who we are, but when we don’t know our own history, our power and dreams are immediately diminished. Multicultural American women are overlooked in most mainstream approaches to U.S. history, so the National Women’s History Project champions their accomplishments and leads the drive to write women back into history. Recognizing the achievements of women in all facets of life – science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine – has a huge impact on the development of self-respect and new opportunities for girls and young women. With an emphasis on positive role models and the importance of women from all backgrounds, the NWHP has developed a nationwide constituency of teachers, students, parents, public employees, businesses, organizations, and individuals who understand the critical link between knowing about historical women and making a positive difference in today’s world.
Source quoted: http://www.nwhp.org/aboutnwhp/index.php
**********************************************************
The very words we use in society show the mindset of our times. Let me share with you the etymological roots of the word HIStory, from the American Heritage Dictionary.
History à from: Latin, historia-à from Greek, histor, which means “a learned man”.
Therefore the word history doesn’t mean the actual retelling of all that has happened in the past it is “the story as told by one learned man”. Women in the US weren’t allowed to learn to read and write until the 1850’s, when some women began attending both private and public schools that included girls as well as boys.
But, the story of the past should naturally include the women who were active in more roles than solely a domestic one, yet our stories are routinely excluded, even today in the 21st century.
Why?
Consider this, in ancient times when a battle was to be waged the kings would each send a bard to the top of the hill to witness the battle. (If the bards stayed among the fighting men, they’d be killed as well; then who would live to tell of the glorious battle?)
Indeed, who? When the story is told, who tells the story? The bard who represents the victor tells the story of what happened from his perspective! The conquered are rarely given their proper place in the telling of the story from their point of view.
Fast forward to today’s world where statistics show that in the US men are still predominantly in power in most circles of society, including; judicial, the heads of the government, a majority in the US Senate and House of Representatives, the owners of the huge media organizations that dispense information, and the legal system.
Hence, they still basically control the information flow and education in this country, so it is up to women to rewrite ourselves back into the story, and to take an equal place in society. I don’t think equality means we have to “be like men”, or “the same as men”, of course not! I’m talking about being given the equivalent in respect, wages, and personal control over our own lives, that’s all.
Please leave a comment, question or observation of your own to let me know you’ve been here, I love feedback!
Energetically Yours,
Diane Tegarden
