Episodes

  • 13.6 The History of Hair
    Aug 29 2024
    To cover the history of hair would be a podcast in and of itself, and the host should not be me. But hair has been very, very important to a great many women, both past and present, so I am going to give it a go, hitting only the points that caught my eye. Topics included are: Cornrow braids Romans who sewed their hair into place Medieval women who prized a receding hairline French women who put battleships on their heads Slave women who brushed their hair with the tools meant for sheep The Marcel wave The bob and more Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    21 mins
  • 13.5 The Quest for a Hairless Body
    Aug 22 2024
    Surely I am not the only woman who has ever eyed the razor and the shaving cream and wondered "Why?" Women have been questing for hairlessness at least since Egyptian times, and though the record is mostly silent on this question, there are occasional hints about why and when and how women through the ages did it (mostly painfully and sometimes lethally). Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    20 mins
  • 13.4 Chinese Footbinding
    Aug 15 2024
    The origins of footbinding are lost in time, but I think it is safe to say that the first woman to do it could not possibly have imagined what was coming. This episode covers the earliest evidence (in the 1100s) through to the final demise of the practice in 1957. The historical records are heavy on hormone-inspired odes to beauty. They are relatively light on the actual lived experiences of hundreds of millions of women, but to the extent that I can, I talk about how it was done and why it was done, and finally why it finally stopped. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • 13.3 To Boost or to Bind: A History of the Bust
    Aug 8 2024
    The mostly male writers of historical records were reasonably interested in breasts, but quite uninterested in the day-to-day management of them. For most of history, there's not much to go on, but this episode covers time periods where women bound up their breasts to make them as small as possible. It also covers time periods where women used incredible ingenuity to create devices that boosted those breasts up to as large as they could possibly go, and then some extra on top of that. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • 13.2 The Corset
    Aug 1 2024
    Corsets are infamous as torturous devices, specially designed to keep women in their place and helpless. But reality is a little more complicated than that, as it always is. This episode discusses: the origin of the corset the evolving function of the corset the 19th century corset how small could a woman go? who enforced this idea anyway? how bad for your health was it? where did the corset go? Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • 13.1 The Ideal Body Shape, Historically Speaking
    Jul 25 2024
    Women have been chasing impossible beauty standards for at least hundreds of years and probably longer. But just what we think is beautiful keeps changing. This is an overview look of what body shape different historical cultures found desirable. Whether you are stick thin or medically obese, well-endowed or small-breasted, firm or fleshy, it has all been beautiful at some point. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • Mayans, Aztecs, and Chocolate by Pamela Toler
    Jul 18 2024
    What woman doesn't love chocolate? (Okay, I do know a few, but still.) Guest writer Pamela Toler tells us about the history of chocolate in this episode. Please check out Pamela's other work! She has an excellent book called Women Warriors and an upcoming book called The Dragon from Chicago. Find both and more at the following links: Website: https://www.pameladtoler.com/ Blog: http://www.historyinthemargins.com/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/pdtoler.bsky.social Threads https://www.threads.net/@pamelatolerauthor Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pamelatolerauthor/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pamela.toler Linked-In https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelatoler/ I am on research break for one more week. Next week starts Series 13, Shaping the Female Body. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    13 mins
  • Peggy Shippen Arnold by 2 Complicated 4 History
    Jul 4 2024
    For the 4th of July, learn about Peggy Shippen Arnold! She's the wife of Benedict Arnold, the most famous American traitor. Had things gone just a little differently, we might not be celebrating independence today. I am on research break to prepare Series 13: Shaping the Female Body, so this is a guest episode by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins and Isaac S. Loftus of the 2 Complicated 4 History podcast. You can find them ad-free on the Into History network (intohistory.com) or at any of the following locations: Podcast website: 2c4hpod.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-complicated-4-history/id1664183536 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3svQpZfxhVQnYJMESpp842?si=514780ada34d4aab https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2x56DEw1y7EYWxfufgfSR951RrdsXet&si=TuDcpAjaeQx-vjkH Twitter: https://twitter.com/2c4h_Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2c4hPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2c4h_podcast Visit my website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins