11-26-1994 Women of Achievement and Herstory Yes, women are abused today because we don't know our proper place or because we don't pay the proper homage, or whatever. Postmodern feminism via Paglia and Sommers indicate we should wish we were back in the olden days when proper women were highly regarded... In 1891 - Traditionalists in India fought against the reform law that sought protection for child-brides by raising the minimum age at which marriage could be consumated (sexual intercourse) from ten to 12 years of age. One of the primary causes of death of girls was their pelvises being crushed by their husbands during coitus. Golden Lily - We hear about the Chinese upper class woman having her feet bound and how it was considered a mark of beauty. Ah, but long was the foot allowed to grow? See answer below. Anniversaries -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- B. 11-26-1792, Sarah Moore Grimke, along with her sister Angelina drew audiences in the thousands favoring abolition and both were widely critisized for addressing audiences of both sexes. Angelina's letters to Catherine Beecher regarding slavery and abolition along with Sarah's letters on the _Equality of the Sexes_ and _The Condition of Women_, published in 1838 probably constitute the first written advocacy for women's rights in the US. B. 11-26-1822, Lilly Martin Spencer, her paintings sold for higher prices than George Caleb or John J. Audubon, but somehow, her name no longer appears with notable artists...hmmm... B. 11-26-1827, Ellen Gould Harmon White{X}, author of the nine volumes of the Seventh Day Adventist Testimonies for the Church. B. 11-26-1832, Mary Edwards Walker, an eccentric, finally appointed assistant surgeon in the Union army during the Civil War. Only woman to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. B. 11-26-1938, Judith Blecker Goldsmith, NOW president 1982-1985 who believed NOW should move to political strength rather than depending on protests. Defeated by Eleanor Smeal, NOW since Goldsmith has been dropping in influence as it retains its 1960's protest actions instead of seeking influence through political manuevering. Answers -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The perfect Golden Lily so admired in Chinese poetry and literature was three inches from heel to toe. Obviously a properly bound woman could not walk on her "Golden Lillies" without help. On my computer screen a proper woman's foot is the length of the words: "The perfect Golden Lily" or less than the 3.5" disk in your floppy drive. BTW, during the hey-day of the wasp waist styles in the U.S., many women has their two lower ribs removed surgically to fit the ideal profile. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- (C) 1994 Irene Stuber, PO Box 6185, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71902, irenestuber@delphi.com. Distribute verbatim copies freely with copyright notice for non-profit use. Don't let anyone tell you there weren't notable and effective women throughout history. They were always there, but historians failed to note them in our histories so that each generation of women has had to reinvent themselves.