Women have been chasing impossible beauty standards for at least hundreds of years and probably longer. But just what we think is beautiful keeps changing. This is an overview look of what body shape different historical cultures found desirable. Whether you are stick thin or medically obese, well-endowed or small-breasted, firm or fleshy, it has all been beautiful at some point. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling ..read more

What woman doesn't love chocolate? (Okay, I do know a few, but still.) Guest writer Pamela Toler tells us about the history of chocolate in this episode. Please check out Pamela's other work! She has an excellent book called Women Warriors and an upcoming book called The Dragon from Chicago. Find both and more at the following links: Website: https://www.pameladtoler.com/ Blog: http://www.historyinthemargins.com/ Bluesky   https://bsky.app/profile/pdtoler.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.net/@pamelatolerauthor Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/pamelatole ..read more

August 21st will mark 242 years since an incredible woman named Elizabeth Freeman sued her owner for freedom and won. In celebration, I am going to play today an interview with her that I did with Kathleen Langone of the People Hidden in History podcast.  Kathleen began historical research by doing her own family history, and she has branched out from there, with episodes about Flora MacDonald, the 18th century revolutionary and Connecticut witch trials. She is a particular expert on the Gilded Age miniature portrait painter Amalia Kussner, which you may remember from an earlier episode s ..read more

I’m happy to announce Her Half of History is now part of the Into History podcast network, a brand-new subscription channel of podcasts made by history lovers for history lovers. You’ll get access to hundreds of ad-free episodes, plus exclusive curated feeds around a topic, a bookclub, a newsletter, and a community hub to keep the conversation going. In addition to Her Half of History, you will get outstanding podcasts such as History Daily, Wild West Extravaganza, American Elections: Wicked Game, History That Doesn’t Suck, Cold War Conversations, Shipwrecks and Seadogs, American Revolution, a ..read more

One year to the day after Paula Modersohn-Becker died, her friend, the celebrated poet Rainer Maria Rilke, sat down to write a Requiem for her, and today’s episode is that requiem in translation. I suggest listening to last week's episode before this one because the poem has numerous references to Paula and her life:  ·       the amber necklace that appeared in many of her paintings,  ·       her pursuit of still life in which she arranged fruits in a way quite different from the traditional still life bounty,  ·        ..read more

In the early years of the 20th century, an obscure woman in Sweden invented abstract art to reflect her spiritualist views in which the physical world we know was only the lowest plane of existence. Despite her mixed efforts, few people knew about her art for decades until it was rediscovered in the 1980s to high critical acclaim. Also, the poll for the topic of Series 11 is available on Patreon and it is free for anyone to vote. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feelin ..read more

Uemura Shōen painted bijin-ga, a traditional Japanese style of art which featured beautiful women. She had her first international success at the age of 15 and continued with many decades of painting, right through two world wars and changing fashions. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half ..read more

In the Dutch Golden Age, Judith Leyster was a Master Painter who ran her own workshop and created some of the greatest masterpieces of the age. Then she died, her name was completely forgotten, and her works were attributed to her contemporaries (all men). Until a lawsuit in the late 19th century sparked an investigation that dug her back out of the archives to great critical acclaim. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Join Into History fo ..read more

Sofonisba Anguissola was the first of the female Italian Renaissance painters. She studied with Michelangelo, worked as court painter for Spanish royalty, and continued to paint throughout a very long life. She pioneered still life and intimate family moments long before others made them a viable art form. Her status as a noblewoman actually raised the profile of artists. She is the first of many to achieve success as a female painter in this series. If you're interested in the history of Italy, check out the fabulously entertaining History of Italy podcast by Mike Corradi. Visit the web ..read more

The majority of women in western countries change their surnames when they get married, but for most of human history that would have been a totally foreign concept. In this episode, I explore the naming conventions of women in ancient Greece, Rome, and China, none of whom took their husband's names at marriage. Then I move on to why the practice got started in Europe, and how feminists in France, Germany, England, and the USA fought back. I also explore how Mistress became Mrs and then Miss and then Ms. This is the final episode of series 9: The History of Getting Hitched. After today I am o ..read more