L A M

all-that-feminist-drama:

ceridwenofwales:

junojelli:

cedrwydden:

wildandwhirlingwords:

all-that-feminist-drama:

Job Opportunities for Women Medieval Edition:

Wife, Whore, Nun

Thank you.

“And the battlefield wasn’t the only place that women had power: they brewed beer, wrote books, led religiousmovements, healed people, and even ruled nations. Those who dismiss a broader range of roles for women as “activism” or “anachronism” refuse to acknowledge real women’s real experiences. They deny them the rich and varied lives led by actual, real people. And worse, they deny that women—past and present—have the capacity to learn, to grow, to fight, and to lead.“ [x]

“Guild records show us that women were active in many trades. In Paris, women participated in over 100 trades, some of which were practiced only by women and some by men and women. IN the 1300’s women were practicing some trades that were later restricted to men. There were women barbers, apothecaries, armorers, shipwrights, tailors and spurriers. In Paris we find records of women in building trades, such as masons, carpenters, makers of doors and diggers of gravel. However nearly all trades had fewer women than men and in many trades the number declined as time went on. In 1420 n London, only 20 out of 300 brewers were female. This was a trade which many women had practiced in the early Middle Ages. (Adams, p. 28)“  [x]

And that’s not even taking into account the experiences of women in places like Ireland or Scandinavia, where the opportunities available could be very different from their French or English counterparts, with one of my favorite examples being female bards in Ireland. Were they subjected to sexism on account of their professions? Yes. Female satirists were generally lumped in with the lowest of the low in Irish society. If I ever sugarcoat the tough reality for women who chose a more independent path, please pinch me. But erasing them helps no one. 

To elaborate on Scandinavia, women could have a lot of power in the religious sphere before Christianity spread there, because magic was seen as being the realm of women.

Also, if you’re going to talk about nuns, there was a lot they could do, especially if they were writers. They could be theologians, scientists, composers, etc. Did bigwig men in the church always like that? No, but it didn’t stop them.

Many women in Medieval times were healers. They were trained and taught herbalism and were trained as midwives/doulas and delivered children. They wouldnt receive formal training, but knowledge was often passed through families and ‘apprentices’. They are often referred to as ‘wise women’.

Herbalism is the use of medicinal plants for medical uses. Eg: willow bark contains salicin, which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in the human body. Its the chemical origin of aspirin, and is also found in many topical acne treatments. The distilling of poppies for opium, which today is used as a top level pain killer (morphine), but also as a hard drug (heroin). Aloe vera soothes topical inflammation. Many of today’s medicine and pharmacology grew from plant-based origin. It’s not a ‘quack’ science or pseudo-scientific fad (turmeric lattés, I’m looking at YOU). We have thousands of years of archaeological evidence for the use of plants as medicine across the world (not just in Western Europe).

Assisting the birth of a child was often carried out by a wise woman with other female relatives of the mother, who would help and learn. They knew how to rotate babies as they crowned, they knew to clear airways of rhe baby, clamping and cutting the cord etc. Most childbirths of common women were not attended by male physicians. There weren’t that many, and they practiced their professions in rich and royal households where they would be paid for their skills and training.

Unfortunately throughout history, the Church has done a cracking job of getting rid of these skilled, home-educated women. They were called out for being witches, and were tortured and persecuted. They were often betrayed and used as scapegoats by the communities and people they served. What happened if a baby or a mother died unexpectedly in childbirth? They could blame the ‘wise woman’ for witchcraft (ignoring that death in childbirth was a leading cause of death for most women well into the 20th century). The wise woman couldn’t cure the gangrene in your leg from a bad cut you got whilst working the fields (in a pre-antiobiotic era)? Witch! A person suddenly dropped dead (probably a brain aneurysm or heart attack)? Blame that old woman over there, she looked very grumpy the other day.

There’s a reason we think of witches stereotypically as old women with cloaks, cackling with glee. Its down to Old/First Testament laws against witchcraft and over a millenia of social and theological programming.

Thanks for the additional information, @junojelli. It makes me think of Joan Clayton from Penny Dreadful.

Yassssssss

• 8 Jan 2019
• 1031

yourbigsisnissi:

A part of being an adult is living with regret and not allowing it to consume you. The older you get, the more mistakes you’ve made, opportunities you’ve missed, people you’ve disappointed. And every day you have to remind yourself to be kind and forgiving of yourself. You accept and love the you from the past and understand that it’s all a part of the process. Then you move on and live your best life, knowing now as old as you feel today, you’ll never be this young again.

(via nanoochka)

• 8 Jan 2019
• 123099

superanse:

“I am jealous of those who think more deeply, who write better, who draw better, who look better, who live better, who love better than I.”

— Sylvia Plath
(via minuty)

(via catchingtearsinrain)

• 8 Jan 2019
• 9613

What I mean when I say “toxic monogamy culture”

even-the-losers:

chien-espagnol:

nankingdecade:

• the normalization of jealousy as an indicator of love
• the idea that a sufficiently intense love is enough to overcome any practical incompatibilities
• the idea that you should meet your partner’s every need, and if you don’t, you’re either inadequate or they’re too needy
• the idea that a sufficiently intense love should cause you to cease to be attracted to anyone else
• the idea that commitment is synonymous with exclusivity
• the idea that marriage and children are the only valid teleological justifications for being committed to a relationship
• the idea that your insecurities are always your partner’s responsibility to tip-toe around and never your responsibility to work on
• the idea that your value to a partner is directly proportional to the amount of time and energy they spend on you, and it is in zero-sum competition with everything else they value in life
• the idea that being of value to a partner should always make up a large chunk of how you value yourself

This is excellent

I’m literally gonna reblog this on every single tumblr I have

(via manticoreimaginary)

• 6 Jan 2019
• 98690