Hello. It’s March and that means it is Women’s History Month. Some brief details for you:
The Women’s Movement
Two significant factors contributed to the emergence of women’s history. The women’s movement of the sixties caused women to question their invisibility in traditional American history texts. The movement also raised the aspirations as well as the opportunities of women.
New Social History
Women’s history was also part of a larger movement that transformed the study of history in the United States. “History” had traditionally meant political history – a chronicle of the key political events and of the leaders, primarily men, who influenced them. But by the 1970’s the “new social history” began replacing the older style.
The Personal Is Political
Since women rarely held leadership positions and until recently had only a marginal influence on politics, the new history, with its emphasis on the sociological and the ordinary, was an ideal vehicle for presenting women’s history. It has covered such subjects as the history of women’s education, birth control, housework, marriage, sexuality, and child rearing.
Women’s History Month
The public celebration of women’s history in this country began in 1978 as “Women’s History Week” in Sonoma County, California. The week of March 8th, International Women’s Day, was selected. In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women’s History Month.