Long Beach
By Dr. Jane Close Conoley
Women’s History Month gives us all a chance to reflect on the lives of both extraordinary and quite ordinary women. I love reading the biographies of well-known women in science, politics and the humanities. I also am touched by my memories of the many women I know whose biographies will likely not be written or celebrated but nonetheless lead lives of distinction.
It may be useful to wonder why we have a Women’s History Month analogous to our African American and Hispanic Heritage Months, to name just a few groups that we celebrate with months. These celebrations urge us to explore the accomplishments of particular groups whose achievements have been ignored.
In academia, I can speak to women’s past experiences of having their scientific work stolen by male colleagues, or more benignly, giving up first authorship knowing that a scientific discovery by a woman would be ignored. There are numerous examples of women authors assuming male names on their novels in order to get a fair hearing by potential publishers. Research on hiring practices has also uncovered that resumes identical in every way except for the masculine or feminine names result, very often, in the male resume getting the job offer. When sex and ethnicity or race intersect, the suppression of public acknowledgement is heightened. For example, the important film, “Hidden Figures,” was a revelation to many who saw it. Notice the title. It’s not overlooked, or unknown, but actively hidden.
On my mind, as I write this, are the ordinary women of Ukraine. The mothers, grandmothers, soldiers and daughters who appear daily on the news — many walking to safety with children in hand; others seeking refuge in basements with no way to escape bombardment; still others donning military gear to fight for their futures. Their stories may not be highlighted in biographies, but I’ve been amazed at how extraordinary they are. The victims of indiscriminate murder are rarely remembered, but for this Women’s History Month I am reading about Ukraine’s history, culture, and national aspirations as a way to honor those Ukrainian women and all women who have been killed, displaced, disabled, raped, or suffered the loss of loved ones through wars.
We often recall the history of wars through reports of epic battles and great victories. Not only do victors get to write war narratives, but most often the tales are told through the eyes of generals or war heroes. Rarely do we know the history of war through in eyes of women.
Could that be a reason we keep repeating the horror of armed conflict? If women wrote the history of wars, perhaps, there would be no glory, just the record of endless and futile inhumanity.
