Author: Sharon Spaulding

Sharon Spaulding discovered the hidden story of Mary Ware Dennett, sex ed activist, suffragist and contemporary and bitter rival of Margaret Sanger, when she married Dennett's great-grandson. She has spent 10 years researching feminist history, the battle for reproductive rights and Dennett's life in the context of politics, cultural and social norms from 1872–1947. This includes gathering up and archiving Dennett's private papers still in the family's collection. She was awarded a grant from Radcliffe College's Schlesinger Library to support her work and the creation of a manuscript. Her journalism has appeared in BOLD and Utah Stories, and she was interviewed for "A Woman Ahead of Her Time," a webinar about Dennett's life.

If the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Met the Dynamic Mrs. Dennett—Sex Ed And Censorship Would Be So 20th Century

Like other fans of Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I’ll be binge-watching when the fourth season of the hit series finally drops on Friday, Feb. 18.

I can’t help but wonder if the fictional Midge Maisel was influenced by the real-life Mary Ware Dennett or what would happen if they met. From 1915 through the 1930s, Dennett’s pioneering battles against U.S. government censorship helped pave the way for the freedom of speech Mrs. Maisel relies on and fights to expand.