My Favorite Feminists

This episode best friends Megan and Milena cover three pioneers of 20th century vaccinations & sex worker, ruler, and art patron – Empress Theodora of the Byzantine Empire

Dr. Leila Denmark | Pearl Kendrick Grace | Eldering Loney Gordon

Whoop cough bacteria

This episode Milena goes heavy on the science of bacteria that can kill us. Thankfully for those of us not science inclined (me) she doesn’t go too heavy, just heavy enough for us to have a very healthy appreciation for vaccinations. This episode Milena covers not one, not two, but three amazing women who all contributed to the first vaccine for pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough.

Empress Theodora

19th Century painting of Theodora by French painter Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant

Theodora is a bad bitch. Sometimes in a good way, like freeing child sex slaves, and sometimes in a ‘let’s slaughter thousands of my political opponents’ way. Moral ethics aside, Theodora was a commanding force within the 6th century Byzantine Empire. Today we break from format and cover Theodora as our first art patron. Yeah, she was Empress of a god damn empire, but that shouldn’t discourage us common folks from supporting the arts as well. So be like Theodora – buy art, have a daily bath and serve swift vengeance to your enemies that will leave them begging for mercy. And then buy some more art.

Detail of a mosaic portrait of Theodora

Theodora pictured among her court in the Basilica of San Vitale

The Hagia Sofia – one of the ancient seven wonders of the world, it was commissioned by Theodora and her husband Justinian

As always, music by EeL

This episode best friends Megan & Milena cover the sculptor of the Suffrage movement, Adelaide Johnson and Dr. Anna Wessels Williams, an American pathologist who legit would be studying COVID-19 if she hadn’t passed away in 1954.

Adelaide Johnson

Life isn’t perfect. Sometimes you lose your savings to a pick pocket, sometimes your artwork arrives late to a show, and sometimes you fall down a elevator breaking just about all the bones you wouldn’t want broken. Which is any of them. This episode we cover the life of Adelaide Johnson, the sculptor of the Suffrage movement. Even with those imperfections Adelaide did not let anything get in the way of her art making. While her perfectionism bit her in the ass later in life, it resulted in art that’s uncompromising – something we can always use more of.

Selected Work

Adelaide’s most well known sculpture, the Portrait Monument, pictured here in the Crypt of the Capital in Washington DC

Adelaide pictured with her monument on it’s way the Capital Rotunda

Debut of the Portrait Monument 6 months after the passing of the 19th amendment in 1921

Visitors look over a statue titled ‘Portrait of Women’s Suffrage’ in the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol Friday Jan 31, 2020, in Washington, as Senators continue the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

* St Louis School of Design – Founded by Mary Foote Henderson, where Adelaide received a formal art education * The Cult of Womanhood – lol what Milena and I fail at, the concept that women belong in the house as wives and mothers * White Marmorean Flock – Lead by Harriet Hosmer, was a collective of American 19th century women sculptors in Rome* Giulio Monteverde – Leading sculptor who took Adelaide on as a student * National Woman’s Suffrage Association – Founded in 1869, advocating for equal rights via the 15th amendment * 1893 World Fair in Chicago – Where Adelaide showed work alongside leading artist of the day – like

In this mini episode Megan covers the first woman to run for president of the United States, Victoria Woodhull. Spoiler, she fails 🙁

Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull was a lot of things, but president was not among them. Born into a poor family, Victoria and her sister hustled their way out of poverty to become leading women of their day. How they did so, a little unconventional (and ethically questionable), but in the end allowed for Victoria’s bid for president. This mini episode we cover how that happened, what she fought for and how 148 years later we’re still fighting for equal rights.

* Spiritualism – Cool kid religion of the day* Cornelius Vanderbilt – The Jeff Bezos of his time, whom Victoria and her sister became Spiritual Advisers to * Seneca Falls Convention – 1848 Convention that kicked off the Suffrage Movement here in the United States * Susan B Anthony – Leader and co founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association * Equal Rights Party – Party that backed Victoria with the official nomination for president of the United States * Ulysses S. Grant – 18th President of the United States and a commander for the Union during the Civil War – guy Victoria lost to* Frederick Douglass – Leading intellectual of his day, nominated by the ERP as Vice President – oh, also was a key feature at the above mentioned Convention

As always, music by EeL

In our first mini episode, Megan flies solo covering African American inventor Mary Kenner, best known for her period patent product. Say that five times fast…

Mary Kenner

Periods suck. Periods suck even more when you find a way to make them a little less sucky, spend hundreds of dollars to patent your idea, only to get shot down for making it because – get this – you’re black. Yup. Reality for Mary Kenner. This episode we cover who this inventor is, what ideas she came up with, what happened in racist AF 1960’s America and how all of this relates to your period.

As always, music by EeL

In the first episode of season 2, best friends Megan & Milena cover American folk painter Anna Grandma Moses & a pioneer in neonatal anesthesiology, American Virginia Apgar.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses

AKA Grandma Moses

1952 Photo of Anna just casually painting at the age of 92

I love my Grandma. I’m sure you love yours as well – but no matter how much we love them, they’ll never be as cool as painter Anna Mary Robertson Moses, also known as Grandma Moses. Born in 1860, this woman lived through the Civil War, the invention of the lightbulb, of cars and airplanes – all the while raising a family, running the farm, and oh, enjoying over two decades as an internationally renowned painter starting in her 70’s. This episode we ease into the first episode of season two, covering how Anna went from churning butter to having a solo exhibition in NYC’s Museum of Modern Art at the age of 79. My Grandma might not be MoMA solo show cool, but her sugar cookie recipe is bitchin’

Selected Work

1943 Oil on canvas, Upper Cambridge Valley

1942 Oil on wood, Over the River to Grandma’s House on Thanksgiving

1925 Oil, tempera and pencil on Masonite, The Oaks

1942 Tempera, glitter and pencil on board, Sugaring Off

1943 Oil on canvas, Checkered House

Wanna know more? Always a book for that…

Grandma Moses: My Life’s History by Grandma MosesGrandma Moses: American Modern by Robert WolterstorffGrandma Moses: in the 21st Century by Jane Kallir

Virginia Apgar

Chances are, my dear reader, that you are here thanks to Virginia. And not like, ‘Oh hey I did Google her and you guys were on like the 73th page’ or ‘Yes, I am actually located in the state of Virginia’ – more because the work of Virginia’s helped prevent infant mortality. Yours included.This episode we profile the woman that when told ‘Surgery’s not for women’ went on to being a pioneering figure in neonatal anesthesiology. As promised, it’s 95% less depressing than last episode.

As always, music by EeL

In the last episode of the season, Megan and Milena cover Tewa Native American ceramic artist Maria Martinez & internationally renowned animal behaviorist and veterinarian Dr. Sophia Yin

Maria Montoya Martinez

(photo courtesy of the Millicent Rogers Museum)

Today’s episode is a little sad because 1. Milena made it sad and 2. it’s the last episode of the season! We’ll be back in January with more, but for now I’m wrapping up my end with something very dear to my heart – ceramic art.Continuing our focus on Native American artists, today we’re covering New Mexico Tewa ceramic artist Maria Montoya Martinez. As expected we’ve got a very heavy dose of racism, but on the up side we learn how Maria navigated that in order to create financial stability for herself and her community. So tune in to see what St. Louis, the ice cream cone and handbuilt ceramic art all have in common in our seasons’ end episode!

Selected Work

Early work of Maria’s, featuring traditional Earth tone color application

The blackware that Maria became internationally known for

Maria’s husband Julian would apply the matte glaze motifs on top of her pottery’s smoothed, glossy surface

Maria with two of her handbuilt vessels

* San Ildefonso Pueblo – Community where Maria lived and worked, helping to support other community potters as her fame grew* Santa Fe Indian School – One of numerous government backed boarding schools aimed at Native American assimilation * St Louis World 1904 fair – Maria and her husband were presented along side others deemed ‘primitive’ as living dioramas in the Anthropological Exhibition * Dr. Edgar L. Hewett – Museum of New Mexico’s director and archaeology professor who helped connect Maria and her work to a wider audience * Arts and Craft Movement – Movement started in the late 1800’s as pushback to mass produced industrial items, focusing on handmade, well crafted items* Primitivism – Western fascination with any non-white art * National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts – Also known as NCECA, top ceramic organization that honored Maria in her lifetime* Smithsonian’s Renwick gallery – Where Maria had a retrosp...

This episode Megan and Milena cover Washoe Native American weaver Louisa Keyser & African American physician, engineer, and oh, only the first black woman in SPACE, Dr. Mae Jemison

Louisa Keyser

For those of us in the USA, with it being November we have a time honored tradition to look forward to this month – let’s be honest, it’s not Thanksgiving, it’s Black Friday – we’re greedy capitalistic bastards.             But, with our tradition of Thanksgiving and the very questionable portrayal of Native Americans in the story, I thought now would be a great time to look into some Native American artists – so today we’re covering one of America’s most well known basket weavers, Washoe Indian Dabuda, also known as Louisa Keyser, also known as Dat So La Lee. This episode we go into how this woman got so many names, what it takes to hand weave a basket and the financial implications of native tribes succumbing to the colonization of white settlers – you know, keeping it light for the holiday!

Selected Work

A typical ‘degikup’ basket form that Louisa became best known for

A collection of Louisa’s baskets, all made of locally sourced material

Top view emphasizing the untraditional openings of her baskets

Abe Cohn pictured with two of Louisa’s baskets while at the 1919 St. Louis Arts and Craft Expo

Louisa with two of her works

Mentioned this episode:

* Washoe Indian Tribe – Tribe located around Lake Tahoe that Louisa was born into, who underwent significant changes with the introduction of white settlers in the mid 1800’s* Indian Removal Act – Signed into law in 1830 by president Andrew Jackson, which resulted in the Trail of Tears * Abe and Amy Cohn – Carson City business owners who represented and profited from Louisa’s weaving, creating a persona for her in the process * Arts and Crafts Movement – Late 1800’s movement that was in backlash to the indutrial movement, emphasizing hand made objetcs * Primitivism – Western fascination in ‘discovering’ non-white art found in Africa, the Pacific and among native people

Dr. Mae Jemison

Unlike Milena who has no intention of setting a gravity-free foot in space, Mae Jemison was more than ready by the time she became the first black woman in space. As if being a NASA astronaut wasn’t impressive enough, Mae is also an engineer, physician, educator and complete badass. Today we cover how Mae came to be so awesome and the work she continues today....

This episode Megan and Milena get spooky with American astronomer Vera Rubin & American occultist, artist, performer, and poet Marjorie Cameron.

Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin’s work is literally…..out of this world. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Vera worked for decades as an astronomer, best known for her work on galaxy rotation rates. Don’t have any idea what that means? Well Megan doesn’t either, so no worries. This episode we cover what the hell that means and how dark matter comes into the mix.

Marjorie Cameron

Image of Cameron from the film The Wormwood Star by Curtis Harrington

Okay so…..shit’s gonna get weird today. Last episode we got murdery with the death dollhouses of murder – today we’re getting Aleister-Crowley-freak-explosion-scientology-witch-woman-weird with the artist Marjorie Cameron. Camerson was an influential underground figure in the LA creative scene in the 1950’s and 60’s. Counter to just about every norm in conservative post-war America, Cameron lived immersed in her creative and occult work. This episode we cover how this smart kid from small town Iowa ended up in 1960’s LA as a sex magick woman.

Cameron and her husband Jack

Selected Work

Image Cameron is most well known for, her 1955 ink drawing Peyote Vision. This is what got the gallery who showed it shut down for – this ‘obscene’ art

Illustration from her book Songs for the Witch Woman

West Angel, graphite, ink and gold paint on paper, undated

Fossil (Bat), ink on black paper from 1958

One of my favorite pieces by Cameron – Fossil, ink on black paper made in 1958. Just as haunting now as it was then

Mentioned this episode:

* Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services – Also known as WAVES, Navy program Cameron was enlisted in during WWII* Jack Parsons – Acclaimed rocket scientist, occultist, and husband to Cameron – met a very suspicious end * L. Ron Hubbart – Yup, that L. Ron Hubbart. Pal’s with Cameron’s husband * Aleister Crowley – Only known as ‘wickedest man in the world’, he was a very influential British writer and artist and occultist, who Jack Parsons studied under * Ordo Templi Orientis – Occultist organization that Crowley helped form and Parsons headed in the United States division *

This episode Megan & Milena cover craftswoman and mother of modern forensics, Frances Glessner Lee & American oceanographic cartographer Marie Tharp  

Frances Glessner Lee

Frances at work on one of her Nutshell studies

The first of our deaths opens in a two-story house. It’s April of 1948, we’re in the back of the house, where both porches for the middle and top floor have laundry hanging to dry – from the flower pots to the swaying towels, everything is in order, perfectly ordinary – it’s still early in the day, but at the ground below a woman is crumbled and dead.             It’s Annie Morrison, who lived with her husband on the top floor, she is lying face down, a wet rag and wooden cloths pin beside her  – the question is, how did she die? This, is where our artist comes into play – Frances Glessner Lee – also known as the mother of forensics. Frances tasked herself with compiling information on unexplained deaths, like that of our Annie Morrison, and depicting the scenes, in the form…..of dollhouses. Her combination of craftsmanship and scientific investigation resulted a series of dollhouse studies that are still used today to train investigators. This episode we cover how they came about, the skill and dedication that went into them and figure out just how Annie Morrison died.

Selected Work

The studies AKA murder dollhouses on display at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore where to this day they are still used in training

Detail view of one of the rooms, with the mentioned eggbeater charm hanging to the right of the sink

Detail shot of the attic scene – Frances hand knit these socks using pins

Shot of the attic study

Front view of the Nutshell depicting Annie Morrison dead

Detail of the neighbor looking at Annie, who had been hanging laundry one April morning on the top porch. What happened? Give a listen and you’ll know

* Blewett Lee – Lawyer and husband, who Frances divorced – also pioneer in aviation law * Dr. George Burgess Magrath – One of the first Medical Examiners in the United States, family friend to Frances and advocate for forensic science in legal and investigation application * Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard Medical School – School that Frances funded with her 4 million dollar donation to Harvard, with Dr. Magrath chairing * Physiognomy – Racist ‘science’ used to peg people criminals based solely on how they looked, precursor to forensic investigation tools *

This episode Megan and Milena cover the founder of Kabuki, dancer and actress Izumo no Okuni & Mexican-American botanist and explorer Ynes Mexia.

Izumo no Okuni

Okuni looking badass, dressed as a samurai

One day in the early 1600’s (we’re talking 1602, 1603) an out-of-town shrine maiden in Kyoto made her way to a dry river bed, went over the choreography in her head one last time, then started performing. The dance that Izumo no Okuni gave that day ended up rewriting Japanese theatre history in the process.             The show Okuni gave became Kabuki. This episode we cover what little is known about this crossdressing woman, who favored employing sex workers in her dance troupe. While today’s Kabuki is a male dominated art, we cover how Okuni and her feminism crafted Japan’s most popular form of theater.

Image of a traditional Kabuki theater, including stage walkway platform for dramatic entrances and exits by actors

Image of actor Ebizo Ichikawa XI, known today as the Prince of Kabuki. Over the top makeup, costumes and expressions are all customary within Kabuki(Photo by Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

Japanese stamp issued in 1994 in honor of Okuni

* Kabuki – Traditional Japanese theater drama, combining dancing and singing into the story * Izumo Grand Shrine – This shrine is one of the most important ones in Japan – here, in the late 1500’s Okuni was most likely working as a miko, or shrine maiden, where she’d perform the kagura dance * Warring States Period – Also known as the Sengoku Period, it spanned from 1467 to 1598, where feudal lords were trying to out kill one another. Unsurprisingly, it’s a very violent and politically unstable time * Edo – Modern day Tokyo, founded as the capital after the Sengoku period * Edo Period – Period from 1603 to 1868 of relative political, economic and cultural stability, under which Kabuki flourished * Bunraku – Amazing puppet theater that developed alongside Kabuki * Noh – Theater that developed in the 1300’s, a very traditional and formal form of art that Okuni was acting in opposition to *