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A History of Women through 6 objects. Object number 1: a statue of Boudicca.
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Boudicca was Queen of the Iceni Tribe during the Roman occupation of Britain 43AD. The Romans had already taken half the Iceni tribes wealth but they wanted more. They launched another attack on the tribe looking for plunder. Boudicca was flogged and her daughters raped by the Roman army. In response, Boudicca organised a rebellion and persuaded other tribes to join her. She ransacked the town of Colchester and London. Her army showed no mercy and killed and tortured whoever they took prisoner. She was finally brought to a halt by the Roman army at St. Albans. Here the Romans showed that their armour and weapons were far superior to the weapons of the Ancient Britons. Boudicca and her daughters probably drank poison to avoid capture. This statue of her was erected in the 1902 and stands on Westminster Bridge, overlooking the Houses of Parliament.
Object number 2: Joan of Arc’s ring A ring that belonged to the Medieval leader of the French army, Joan of Arc
How did a 13 year old peasant girl lead a French army against the English? Joan of Arc was born into a farming family in France in 1412. At 13 she had a vision that she was destined to save France from the English and the Burgundians. Joan went to the French King Charles and promised to see him crowned at Reims. Charles put his faith in her and Joan was successful in overthrowing the English. However, Joan’s success was short-lived. She was captured by the Burgundians and accused of heresy and witchcraft. Her greatest crime was that she transgressed the unwritten assumption that men go to war and women stay at home. Joan was found guilty and burned at the stake, at the age of 19, on 30th May 1431. Today she is the patron saint of France.
Criado-Perez receives daily death threats after campaigning for a female face on a British bank note
This strange contraception was designed to be placed over the victim’s head and immobilised the tongue. It prevented drinking, eating and most importantly talking. It was never an official punishment but references to scold’s bridles are found from the 16th century. It was used to shame women that were too outspoken. Women were often paraded through the street in the bridle as part of their punishment. The device was taken over to the Americas and re- purposed to be used as a punishment for enslaved people. Although nobody would try to make a woman wear a scold’s bridle for speaking out in public, women today still face abuse from trolls, threats of violence and murder. When Caroline Criado-Perez campaigned to to keep at least one female face on the banknotes of England she received a horrific campaign of abuse on social media. Is this the 21st Century equivalent to the Scold’s bridle?
James Barry studied at Edinburgh University Medical School and spent her career abroad in various outposts in the British Empire. He rose to become Inspector General of Military Hospitals. It was only when he died that it became apparent that he was actually a she. James Barry had been born Margaret Buckley. By changing her outward appearance Buckley was able to fulfil her ambitions of a career in the army and support her family. As a doctor she proceeded the first official female doctor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson by some fifty years. Barry was just one of many women throughout History who cross dressed. It is estimated that 400-700 women fought in the American Civil War. Some were motivated by loyalty to one side or another, some did it to meet up with brothers or husbands, others because they wanted the adventure.
Cathay Williams (September 1844 – 1893) was an American soldier who posed as a man during the American Civil War.
Object number 5: a railway ticket The return railway ticket of Emily Wilding Davison which was found in her purse.
Emily Wilding Davison had been sent to prison 9 times for her actions as Suffragette. She went on hunger strikes and was force fed 45 times. She attempted to commit suicide in prison by throwing herself off the balcony. After her death at the Derby the press seized on this to suggest that Emily had intended to kill herself. The Derby was filmed and Emily’s death was shown in cinema newsreels. At her funeral 50,000 people with 6,000 Suffragette supporters marched . This funeral was filmed and played in cinemas.
Object Number 6: the pill The Contraceptive pill and a poster produced by the government.
The first Contraceptive pill was invented in 1960 and made available on the NHS the following year. Margaret Drabble (novelist) commented: By the time the pill was available I already had three children; I think I would have had a child a year if I hadn’t started taking it. So yes, it made a considerable difference to one’s life. You were able to make a choice, you were able to look after yourself, and I was pleased to do.
The pill has caused much controversy since its invention. A number of religious groups have questioned the morality of a drug that might lead to promiscuity. In 1968 the pope pronounced that Catholics should avoid using any sort of birth control. Subsequent Pope’s have continued to promote the view that contraception should be avoided. The pill was only allowed to be given to unmarried women after 1974. During the 1980’s doctors tried to counter the growing rates of teenage pregnancy by prescribing the pill to girls under the age of 16. Again, this met with much opposition. Although the pill has given women the power of control their own fertility it carries many health risks : Blood clots, depression and weight gain. Fifty years after the invention abortions continue to beneeded and unwanted pregnancies still occur. Over 200,000 women across the world do not have access to the Pill.
