Groundbreaking Exhibition on Minerva Parker Nichols, America’s First Independent Woman Architect

A new groundbreaking exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives recovers the story of a 19th-century architect named Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949). She was one of the country’s first woman architects, practicing in Philadelphia in the 1880s and 1890s. Over her lifetime, she designed over 80 buildings across the country, but Nichols has been largely forgotten.

The exhibit hopes to change that. It runs from March 21 to June 17 at University of Pennsylvania’s Architectural Archives and will then travel to University of Massachusetts, Amherst next year.

‘Yellowjackets’: A Tale of Cannibalism and … Feminism?

Another season of the award-winning Showtime series Yellowjackets compares female empowerment then and now, contrasting girls of the 1990s with the women they are today.

There’s a lot going on in this brilliantly suspenseful show, including some spectacular deconstructions of stereotypes—good and bad—but what really stands out to me are the questions it asks about competition. For this viewer who came of age in the ‘90s—benefiting from a lot of self-empowerment messaging but not much feminism, let alone intersectional feminism—Yellowjackets really hits.

Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care: ‘Unless I Was Trying to Conceive, No One Cared About Bleeding and Pain’

In Tracey Lindeman’s new book BLEED: Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care, Stephanie Lepage wonders how different her life could have been if only the doctors had bothered to look for endometriosis before her mid-30s. She had developed constant pain in her right lower abdomen that was so intense that rolling onto her side would shoot her out of a dead sleep on an almost nightly basis. When Lepage finally got in to see a gynecologist about it, that doctor said it was little more than a red herring. She remained in agony for two years without reprieve until it mysteriously subsided.

“The thing that stood out to me the most was like, unless I was trying to conceive, no one even cared about bleeding and pain.”

‘The Martyrs, the Lovers’: Revelatory Fiction Inspired by the Life of German Activist Petra Kelly

Catherine Gammon’s fifth book The Martyrs, the Lovers tells the fascinating story of Petra Kelly, a modern-day Joan of Arc who stood up to the powers that be, and who dedicated her life to causes we are still fighting for. Kelly’s life and mysterious death are carefully reconstructed in a way that is deeply resonant for our current day and age.

For Women in America, the Fight for ‘Real Self‑Care’ Never Ends

An excerpt of Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) by Pooja Lakshmin, out March 14, 2023.

“The work of real self‑care is about changing our relationships with ourselves, and, in turn, what naturally follows such internal change is a reorganizing of larger systems. … The energy and collective power that was harnessed by individuals in 2021 has led to real and tangible changes at the state level and in the corporate sector.”

‘Girls and Their Monsters’: The Morlok Quadruplets and Mental Health With Audrey Clare Farley

In her newest book, Girls and Their Monsters, Audrey Clare Farley addresses the Morlok quadruplets’ earliest years as a singing-and-dancing sensation and zeroes in on their coming of age and eventual descent into schizophrenia.

“I want to stress that I don’t view the quadruplets only as victims. They looked for and found joy. The book is about people living under fascism, but it’s also about bravery and defiance.”

A Feminist in Frills: Why Sexism Is a Problem In Opera

As a chorus member in my last opera production, I watched our (male) stage director lean toward the lead soprano (a woman) and say, “If you put some dark makeup between your breasts, it will make them show up more.”

Sexism in opera extends far beyond small-town productions like mine: There are 3.5 times more jobs for men than women in mainstage opera. A 29 percent pay gap exists between women classical performers and their male counterparts. Women opera singers also hold more debt and receive fewer scholarships. For opera to be an industry where women are respected, its leaders need to adopt more progressive practices that make women feel safe and comfortable.