Hello and happy Thursday to you!
Question: when a ship goes down, who gets saved first? đ¤¨
Well, if youâre on Tik Tok, you might have seen an interesting womenâs history study doing the rounds. In a nutshell, historians investigated the idea of âwomen and children firstâ in a study of 18 shipwrecks, past and present. What they found was that the notion of women and children first was the exception and not the rule. So much so that the survival rate for women and children was around 15% - or half that of men. Get the full story here.
As well as the research itself, what I find really interesting is that this isnât a new study. Dr Lucy Delap and her team conducted this research back in 2012, so why is it doing the rounds now? (And I have to say, it totally slipped my notice back then). I donât have an answer for this, itâs just some food for thought. Perhaps itâs indicative of just how much womenâs history is rising in popularity, which I noticed as I was reflecting on last year. Whatever the case, Iâm here for it.
The other thing I love about this is just the notion of challenging ideas. Just because weâve held something to be true for a long time, it doesnât make it accurate or representative of time and place. Half of me wonders if the reason that this myth got going in the first place is because it suited the gender narrative of the time â this idea that women âneededâ protection and that âgoodâ men protected them. And, again, remember that gender ideology doesnât just apply to women â it 100% applies to men, too. What we need to do is pick away at its foundations if we really want to challenge it, which is just what Dr Delap and her team did. LOVE IT.
Big Stuff Coming Up
Just a reminder that March is Womenâs History Month. Iâm not really sticking with the theme, this year. For me, itâs about continuing to raise awareness of the importance of womenâs history and do the deep work that integrates women into the existing narrative. Weâve also got International Womenâs Day coming up on Friday 8th March. Stand by for 100000 âinspirational womenâ posts in your feeds. Sorry not sorry. I do have some time available in March if you want to book a speaker. Just hit reply and give me a shout. Iâd also love to highlight any relevant events, so please do share them with me.
And, last but not least, my new newsletter series âWomenâs History By the Numbersâ is getting going in March, too. Iâm EXCITED to share it with you.
How Can I Help?
As youâre (hopefully) enjoying a coffee over this post, Iâm giving a talk to a local writing group. I know, not my usual audience at all, but they are interested in learning about how Iâve made a living from writing. To prep for the talk, I took a trip down memory lane to sort of retrace my steps and understand how I got here. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the present that we forget the past. Says the historian, LOL. Anyway, the writing group is not the first time Iâve been asked to talk about my journey and to reflect on what worked and what didnât. So, I wondered if there might be any interest in an event that teaches you how to get started professionally (or up your current game) in womenâs history. If this sounds like something youâd be interested in, Iâd be eternally grateful if you could fill out this form to give me a better idea of how I can help. Please share it with anyone who might also be interested but maybe isnât a subscriber. Is it just me or does Womenâs History Month seem the perfect time to support (or maybe push đ) other people down this wonderful rabbit hole that I intend to never emerge from?
Until next time,
Kaye x
Hi Kaye, an interesting study but I do wonder about the statistics. I would suspect that children are less likely to survive exposure in a lifeboat than adults for example, particularly very young children. Separate figures for men, women and children would be more useful.