WOMEN'S HISTORY is like a dark chamber. A chamber is which all of the women from the past are seperated from the men and left to rot. It's a place where they can quickly be forgotten and where they can be deprived of the attention and care that they need. It's a room without any windows, so there is no natural sunlight coming in. Or any evidence of its captives going out. It's a chamber so small, the women in it have become like cattle. Pressed together, they are gasping for air and they can barely keep themselves fed. Without any natural daylight, their skins look as thin as paper and the hairs on their heads as crude as a horse's tail. The women have become deformed. They are shadows of the fantastic creatures they once were.
In the room adjacent, which more resembles a ballroom from the Palace of Versailles, the historical men reside. They can move freely and they are feasting on an extensive buffet, day in and day out. The buttons of theirs coats and trousers are falling off all the time, as they are continuously growng in size, their round bellies complimented by their prominent lobster red cheeks. There is no way for the women to enter their domain and to share in their exceses. But how good it would to both of them if they could! The ballroom has enough space, food, drink and sunlight to go between them. The women would look more like temselves again, and the men might regain some of their normal figures. But above all, how much more interesting would that room be if it was filled with both men and women!
My job as a gender historian, is not only to acquaint you with the many historical women trapped in that dark chamber, but also to crumble down the wall that seperates them from the men, as well as to investigate how it got there in the first place.
On this site, I write reviews about newly released gender historical books, films, series and exhibitions. Under recommendations, you will find the basics to educate yourself on all things historical women, gender history and feminism, or some extras if you're just looking for inspiration. And from here you can also follow the Historical Women Project on instagram, where I draw the portraits of interesting historical women and tell their story.
MEDIA ON HWP
"Deze historicus zet ‘weggestopte’ vrouwen uit de geschiedenis weer in het daglicht" (Trouw Tijdgeest 8 July 2023)
'Een interview met Jasmijn Groot' (Skript Historisch Tijdschrift 31 maart 2023)