Sluts of the world, Unite! Unraveling the reputations of history's most villainized women...
After covering Marie Antoinette in our last episode of "Bitchstory", I became intrigued (read: obsessed)with the idea of how many (probably countless) women in history have been wrongly villainized.
We once covered Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, and you can listen to that here . She was hell bent on making sure her son was able to claim the throne, and there have been other "Queen Regent" mothers who have done much the same. Beaufort's father died when she was only 1. She was married to Edmund Tudor, pregnant at age 12, and then lost her husband to the plague before the baby was born. She was only 13 when Henry VII was born, and she never bore another child. I'm sure pregnancy and birth at age 12 damaged her ability to conceive again, but there is no history of that that I am aware of. Why would there be? So Henry became her singular focus. And she was not well liked for her ambition. What's new? Ambitious women are almost always hated.
Anne Boleyn's legacy is that of a scheming adulteress. But most of that reputation is thanks to the true
Hatshepsut was a female Pharoh. But wait...that's not allowed! "In order to establish herself in the Egyptian patriarchy, she took on traditionally male roles and was depicted as a male pharaoh, with physically masculine traits and traditionally male garb. Hatshepsut's reign was a period of great prosperity and general peace. One of the most prolific builders in Ancient Egypt, she oversaw large-scale construction projects such as the Karnak Temple Complex, the Red Chapel, the Speos Artemidos and most famously, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut). Well we can't have a woman be successful! She was "celebrated as a powerful female ruler whose reign was extremely successful and this is the same reason for the controversy: according to Egyptian tradition, no woman should have been able to assume the full power of pharaoh."
( https://www.worldhistory.org/hatshepsut/).
Eyeroll. Her successor, Thutmose III attempted to all but erase her from history, to the point that modern archeologists had trouble making sense of the written record. More eyerolling. "The erasure of Hatshepsut's name—by the men who succeeded her for whatever reason—almost caused her to disappear from Egypt's archaeological and written records. Assholes.
Eyeroll. Her successor, Thutmose III attempted to all but erase her from history, to the point that modern archeologists had trouble making sense of the written record. More eyerolling. "The erasure of Hatshepsut's name—by the men who succeeded her for whatever reason—almost caused her to disappear from Egypt's archaeological and written records. Assholes.
Speaking of assholes...
Wu Zhao (or Wu Zetian) was the first (and still the only) female ruler of China. Empress Zhao's rule was brutal. She was accused of many murders, forced suicides, and of course, of being a slut. "Explaining why the empress was so reviled, then, means acknowledging the double standard that existed–and still exists–when it comes to assessing male and female rulers. Wu probably did dispose of several members of her own family, and she ordered the deaths of a number of probably innocent ministers and bureaucrats. She also dealt ruthlessly with a succession of rivals, promoted members of her own family to high office, succumbed repeatedly to favoritism, and, in her old age, maintained what amounted to a harem of virile young men. None of these actions, though, would have attracted criticism had she been a man." (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-demonization-of-empress-wu-20743091/)
Mic. Drop.
Livia Drusilla, first empress of Rome and wife to emperor Augustus. She was accused of being a poisoner, and of course of being slutty. But there's little evidence to support her villainization. In fact, "she went to the emperor on behalf of the citizens of the Isle of Samos to return them to independence. She is known to have intervened on behalf of one woman accused of witchcraft; she also saved the life of a man who accidentally appeared naked before her, saying that to chaste women such men were like looking at statues. Known to advise her husband on political matters, Livia enjoyed a marriage with him of more than fifty years. Especially tricky, considering that she never gave him a child and he rather desperately needed an heir. I can’t point to a single documented event in which Livia did an evil deed. Her worst crime, it seems, was to have lived for so long, and exerted such power over the empire as the wife or ancestress of every Julio-Claudian emperor. For the misogynistic Romans, the only way to explain her political success was to make her a monster." (https://www.stephaniedray.com/livia-drusilla-evil-empress-or-maligned-mother-of-the-empire/).
"In the end, Livia was deified and worshipped as a goddess, so maybe she’ll have the last laugh."
Elizabeth Bathory was the Countess of Hungary and is one of the most villainized women in history. She is accused of being a brutal, sadistic torturer of children, a vampire, a blood drinker...basically, a Liberal. But was she any more awful than men of her time? "Some believe that she was the victim of a politically motivated conspiracy as a means to get control over her land, and others have raised the possibility that she was targeted by the Lutheran Church because of her Calvinist faith." (https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/countess-elizabeth-bathory-and-the-dark-truth-behind-her-killer-legend).
Giulia Tofana is said to have killed 600 men with the sneaky poisons she sold to abused and unhappy wives of 17th century Palermo. She was a heroin to those wives, so I guess this is a matter of perspective. "In 1630s Italy, men were given free rein and unlimited power and control where domestic abuse and rape were concerned and they would more often than not go unpunished for these crimes. Women had no social, economic or political power whatsoever. As a result, hundreds of thousands of women were trapped in abusive and violent marriages, with no means of escape. Divorce was practically unheard of. There only way of escaping was to become a widow!
Historian Mike Dash described Giulia Tofana as a “severe challenge” to a “world where men ruled as petty tyrants over their own families”. He wrote that “even the most aristocratic of daughters were chattels to be auctioned off into often loveless marriages”. (https://www.ncdv.org.uk/giulia-tofana-serial-killer-or-heroine/)
Wu Zhao (or Wu Zetian) was the first (and still the only) female ruler of China. Empress Zhao's rule was brutal. She was accused of many murders, forced suicides, and of course, of being a slut. "Explaining why the empress was so reviled, then, means acknowledging the double standard that existed–and still exists–when it comes to assessing male and female rulers. Wu probably did dispose of several members of her own family, and she ordered the deaths of a number of probably innocent ministers and bureaucrats. She also dealt ruthlessly with a succession of rivals, promoted members of her own family to high office, succumbed repeatedly to favoritism, and, in her old age, maintained what amounted to a harem of virile young men. None of these actions, though, would have attracted criticism had she been a man." (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-demonization-of-empress-wu-20743091/)
Mic. Drop.
Livia Drusilla, first empress of Rome and wife to emperor Augustus. She was accused of being a poisoner, and of course of being slutty. But there's little evidence to support her villainization. In fact, "she went to the emperor on behalf of the citizens of the Isle of Samos to return them to independence. She is known to have intervened on behalf of one woman accused of witchcraft; she also saved the life of a man who accidentally appeared naked before her, saying that to chaste women such men were like looking at statues. Known to advise her husband on political matters, Livia enjoyed a marriage with him of more than fifty years. Especially tricky, considering that she never gave him a child and he rather desperately needed an heir. I can’t point to a single documented event in which Livia did an evil deed. Her worst crime, it seems, was to have lived for so long, and exerted such power over the empire as the wife or ancestress of every Julio-Claudian emperor. For the misogynistic Romans, the only way to explain her political success was to make her a monster." (https://www.stephaniedray.com/livia-drusilla-evil-empress-or-maligned-mother-of-the-empire/).
"In the end, Livia was deified and worshipped as a goddess, so maybe she’ll have the last laugh."
Elizabeth Bathory was the Countess of Hungary and is one of the most villainized women in history. She is accused of being a brutal, sadistic torturer of children, a vampire, a blood drinker...basically, a Liberal. But was she any more awful than men of her time? "Some believe that she was the victim of a politically motivated conspiracy as a means to get control over her land, and others have raised the possibility that she was targeted by the Lutheran Church because of her Calvinist faith." (https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/countess-elizabeth-bathory-and-the-dark-truth-behind-her-killer-legend).
So wait, hold on... you're saying that the Church was involved in political machinations that accused a woman of terrible things?! No way! Bathory may or may not have been a true monster, but her reputation seems to continue to snowball into mythological proportions as time goes on because it continues to be fueled by our internalized misogyny.
Start paying attention to things being said about Kamala Harris. I mean, Trump has resorted to blow job rhetoric now, of course...but more than just Trump are saying stupid shit about her that has little to do with leadership. I hear a disturbing number of women of all ages saying things like "I just don't know if a woman should be president". Bitch, what?? Every country in the world has had one at this point except our redneck asses! Of course a woman can be president! There are a ton of women leaders in history that no one told us about, which is why we do the podcast!!! Start unlearning this kind of shit, and replace it with admiration and hope and empowerment!
All this right here is why when someone calls me a Bitch, I take it as a compliment, because I must be doing something powerful. Also note how many of the women in history and every day life you hear being slut-shamed. I think every woman in this list was accused of some sort of sexual wrongness. It is a red flag if there ever was one. Nothing says weak mean threatened by a powerful woman more than the label of "slut".
This blog could be much longer. I will probably revisit this list and add to it in the future. But for now, I
leave you with a name you're definitely familiar with and I urge you to watch her very inspirational Ted Talk about Shame - Monica Lewinsky!
Monica Lewinsky's Ted Talk
All this right here is why when someone calls me a Bitch, I take it as a compliment, because I must be doing something powerful. Also note how many of the women in history and every day life you hear being slut-shamed. I think every woman in this list was accused of some sort of sexual wrongness. It is a red flag if there ever was one. Nothing says weak mean threatened by a powerful woman more than the label of "slut".
This blog could be much longer. I will probably revisit this list and add to it in the future. But for now, I
Monica Lewinsky's Ted Talk
Listen to the Podcast on Spotify
Listen on Apple
Listen on the web (NO APP NEEDED)
Email me: kelly@untamedmoon.com (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS)
Listen on Apple
Listen on the web (NO APP NEEDED)
Email me: kelly@untamedmoon.com (NEW EMAIL ADDRESS)