I LOVE WOMEN'S HISTORY

Sonya Thomas

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:49:14 -0400

Sonya Thomas is a Korean American competitive eater nicknamed the Black Widow; she is ranked 5th in the US and 6th in the world. She weighs around 100 pounds and began competitive eating in 2002 after seeing another thin person be successful; her small size is thought to be an advantage because her stomach can expand more easily. Ms. Thomas holds records for eating 80 chicken nuggets in 5 minutes, 183 chicken wings in 12 minutes, 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes, as well as many others.

Sonya Thomas is the Black Widow.

Gertrude B. Elion

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:46:32 -0400

Gertrude B. Elion (1918-1999) was a Jewish American biochemist and pharmacologist whose research led to the development of AIDS drug AZT. Ms. Elion never received a PhD but began working as lab assistant to George H. Hitchings in the 1940s; the pair received the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Working individually and with Hitchings, she developed the first treatment for leukemia, the first immuno-suppressive agent used in organ transplants, as well as drugs for gout, malaria, and herpes. Ms. Elion’s name is attached to 45 patents.

Two years before her death, Gertrude Elion received an MIT Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sarah Silverman

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:22:53 -0400

Sarah Silverman is a Jewish American comedienne, actress, and writer known for her Comedy Central show that aired from 2007-2010. Her comedy often addresses social taboos such as racism, sexism, and religion. She gave her first standup performance at age 17 and spent a year writing for SNL (93-94). She has appeared in supporting roles in numerous movies and tv shows, and her film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic—based on her act by the same name—was released in 2005. Ms. Silverman’s content is often controversial, but she argues her comedy is mocking bigotry through irony.

Kate Rigg

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:21:00 -0400

Kate Rigg is a Canadian American (of Asian heritage) actress & comedienne. She started acting on Canadian tv as a teen, studied acting in Melbourne Australia, and graduated from Julliard receiving the Interarts award for inter-disciplinary work. Her comedy uses edgy sociopolitical commentary, Asian American themed jokes, and dirty girl talk. Her famous standup shows include m/Other/land, Kate’s Chink-O-Rama, and Birth of a nASIAN. Ms. Rigg is also lead singer for the band Slanty Eyed Mama.

Watch a bit of Kate Rigg comedy.

Or check out her homepage.

Mazie Hirono

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:18:10 -0400

Mazie Hirono is a Japanese American Democratic politician serving as US Representative from Hawaii since 2007. From 1980-1994, she served in the Hawaii State House. From 1994-2002, she served as Lieutenant Governor; among her accomplishments was spearheading the first universal pre-school program in the US. In 2002, she ran for Hawaii Governor and lost the historic race (two women running) to Linda Lingle. In 2007, Ms. Hirono became the first Buddhist member in the US Congress. She is now running for Senate against Linda Lingle.

Mazie Hirono announces her Senate campaign.

Linda Lingle

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:15:37 -0400

Linda Lingle is a Jewish American Republican politician who served as Governor of Hawaii from 2002-2010. Getting her start in county politics, she served as Maui County Mayor from 1991-1998. After losing a governor’s race in 1998, she served as Hawaii Republican Party Chair from 1999-2002. Throughout her career she has focused on performance based budget cuts and bringing new (younger) life to the Hawaii Republican Party; she is a pro-choice Republican. In 2008, Ms. Lingle spoke at the Republican National Convention introducing Sarah Palin as Vice President. Ms. Lingle is now running for US Senate against Democrat Mazie Hirono.

Here’s Linda Lingle introducing Sarah Palin at the 2008 Republican Convention.

Robin Tyler

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:29:35 -0400

Robin Tyler is a Jewish American GLBT activist who most recently gained notoriety for being the first lesbian plaintiff to sue the state of California challenging the ban on same sex marriage (2004). In the 1970s, Ms. Tyler was the first out lesbian comic. She called for and served as producer for the 1979, 1987, 1993, and 2010 Marches on Washington for GLBT rights; she has also produced many AIDS & women’s rights events. Ms. Tyler and her partner were granted a marriage license by the county of Los Angeles on June 16, 2008; the city council unanimously voted June 16 to forever be known as Marriage Equality Day in LA.

Robin Tyler in Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Groom.

Urvashi Vaid

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:25:47 -0400

Urvashi Vaid is an Indian American GLBT activist. In 1983, while a law student at Northeastern University, she founded the Boston Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance. From 1989-1992, she served as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force where she pushed gay issues into the public eye through media campaigns & protests. In 1997, she published Virtual Equality, a book about mainstreaming gay rights, and in 2011, she co-authored an It Gets Better book with Dan Savage & Terry Miller.

Here’s Urvashi speaking at the National Equality March in 2009. I was there!

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:38:00 -0400

Aimee Nezhukumatathil is an American (Filipina & Malayali Indian) poet known for her jovial style. She has published three collections of poetry; her first titled Miracle Fruit (2003) won the Global Filipino Literary Award in Poetry. In 2009, Ms. Nezhukumatathil received a poetry fellowship with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil reads one of her poems.

Muriel Rukeyser

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:36:36 -0400

Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) was a Jewish American poet and activist known for her work on feminism, social justice, and Judaism. She wrote The Book of the Dead (1938) about the Hawk’s Nest incident. Her poem To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century (1944) was selected to appear in Reform & Reconstructionist prayer books. In the 60s & 70s, she was active in the feminist movement, anti (Vietnam) war movement, and participated in a war tax protest. In 1965, she wrote a fictional memoir titled The Orgy.

Muriel Rukeyser reads one of her poems.

Diane von Furstenberg

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:22:49 -0400

Diane von Furstenberg (Jewish German American) is a fashion designer known for her iconic knit wrap dress. In 1969, she married a German prince. They divorced 3 years later and although she kept his last name, she could no longer be a princess. Ms. von Furstenberg started her fashion career while still married, not wanting to just be a woman who married rich. Her business ventures have included women’s fashion, cosmetics, home-shopping, and a French publishing house. Ms. von Furstenberg has appeared as a judge on Project Runway and in 2009, she became president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Diane von Furstenberg talks about her philanthropic work supporting women’s empowerment with Vital Voices.

Andrea Jung

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:19:03 -0400

Andrea Jung (Canadian American of Chinese descent) is chairperson of the board & former CEO of Avon Prodcuts Inc. Ms. Jung joined Avon as an executive in 1994 and was promoted to CEO in 1999. She announced her resignation as CEO in 2011 after controversies over falling sales, dropping stock prices, and alleged international bribery. Prior to working at Avon, Ms. Jung also served in executive roles at Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of the most powerful business women.

Andrea Jung talks about Avon as the company for women.

Velina Hasu Houston

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:16:45 -0400

Velina Hasu Houston is a Japanese American playwright; her works draw on her experiences in a multicultural immigrant family and often focus on shifting gender, racial, and ethnic identities. She began her writing career as a teenager (poetry), at age 22, her play Morning Has Broken won two national awards. Her most well known play Tea is performed around the globe. Ms. Houston has received countless awards and fellowships; she is currently professor of theatre and associate dean of faculty at USC.

Velina Hasu Jouston is multicultural with Japanes, African, and Native American heritage. Here is an interview.

Eve Ensler

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:14:01 -0400

Eve Ensler is a Jewish American playwright best known for her 1996 work the Vagina Monologues which has been translated into 48 languages & performed in more than 140 countries. In 1998, she created the V-Day global activist movement to stop violence against women & girls. Ms. Ensler has received countless awards and honors including an Obie award (1997) & a Guggenheim Fellowship (1999). Her other works include the play The Good Body and the book Insecure at Last.

Here’s Eve Ensler talking about her work on the City of Joy in Congo.

Lisa Stein

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:11:18 -0400

Lisa Stein is a Jewish American Air Force veteran. Joining the Air Force after graduating college in 1987, she earned a navigator position (when there were only 9 open to women in the country). She flew unarmed over hostile territory despite the existing rule that women could not fly combat missions. While she was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990, the US military told all women to wear black gowns & veils and told all Jews to use discretion when practicing their religion. Out of principle Ms. Stein refused to cover her hair or hide her religion.

Tammy Duckworth

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:08:00 -0400

Tammy Duckworth (whose mother is Thai and Chinese) is the current Democratic candidate for Illinois 8th District (US House) and an Iraq war veteran. She joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps while a grad student at GWU and chose to fly helicopters because it was among the few combat jobs open to women. Ms. Duckworth lost both legs in combat (Iraq 2004). She has since worked in public service and was appointed Director of the IL Dept of Veterans Affairs in 2006.

Tammy Duckworth spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Theda Bara

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:06:00 -0400

Theda Bara (1885-1955) was a Jewish American actress best known for popularizing the role of the vamp (short for vampire & slang for a sexually predatory woman) in silent films. Ms. Bara is considered one of the earliest sex symbols and was known for wearing very revealing costumes (such costumes were banned in the 1930s). Ms. Bara appeared in more than 40 films between 1914-26; sadly many of the films were lost in a 1937 fire at Fox studios. Her best known role was in the 1917 epoch Cleopatra as the title character.

Short clip from Cleopatra and a radio interview with Theda Bara. Pretty cool.

Tsuru Aoki

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:03:00 -0400

Tsuru Aoki (1892-1961) was a Japanese American stage and silent film actress. Ms. Aoki appeared in nearly 40 films in the 1910s; her frequent leading roles marked her as the first Asian actress to gain top billing in American movies. Her best known role was in the 1919 film The Dragon Painter. Ms. Aoki married a fellow Japanese actor and in the 1920s, retired (mostly) from acting to raise the couple’s adopted children. Her first appearance (with her husband) in a “talkie” film was in the 1960 film Hell to Eternity.

An image from The Dragon Painter.

Sheryl WuDunn

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:39:00 -0400

Sheryl WuDunn is a Chinese American journalist and businesswoman. In 1989, she was hired as the first Asian American reporter at the New York Times; soon thereafter she became the first Asian American to win a Pulitzer Prize (shared with husband Nicholas Kristof) for reporting on the Tiananmen Square protests. Ms. WuDunn has co-authored 3 books with her husband including the 2009 bestseller Half the Sky which posits the worldwide oppression of women is the “paramount moral challenge” of the current era.

Definitely worth a read.

Susan D. Gubar

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:26:00 -0400

Susan D. Gubar is a Jewish American professor of English & Women’s Studies. Ms. Gubar joined the faculty of Indiana University in 1973 and worked there until her retirement in 2009. Her books The Madwoman in the Attic (on women writers in the 19th century) & Norton Anthology of Literature by Women (both co-authored with Sandra Gilbert) are considered standard feminist texts. In response to her diagnosis with advanced ovarian cancer, Ms. Gubar wrote Memoir of a Debulked Woman and is currently working on a book examining fictional accounts of how the sick die.

Here is a good article about Ms. Gubar from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Here she is on NPR.