Unquestionably, this gallery SHOULD go on and on.
To be certain, reference books should provide a more balanced view of the historical contributions made by women.
Writing for time.com in 2016, Anita Sarkeesian and Laura Hudson pointed out that “if we were to judge by the history books, it would be easy to think that men were pretty much the only people who mattered in history — or at least, the only ones worth remembering. That isn’t true, of course, but that’s the story we’re accustomed to hearing about the past: one where the presence of men is taken as a given, and the presence of women is exceptional.”
As an example, history books refer to “Molly Pitcher” as a person in New Jersey, usually Mary Ludwig Hayes, who assisted her husband and others in the Continental Army by carrying water to soldiers in battle and helping the wounded and injured. But revolutionary-war.net notes that “there is some debate among historians as to who the ‘real’ Molly Pitcher was. Most believe that the title is a composite character of all of the women who fought in and supported the Continental Army.”
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
There were likely scores of “Molly Pitchers” during the Revolutionary War, yet they were summed up in history books by one character, while heroic men were remembered as individuals.
As Sarkeesian and Hudson noted, “Regardless of what our cultural narratives tell us, women as leaders, heroes and rebels isn’t unrealistic — either now or throughout history. It’s reality — just not a reality we get to hear about often enough.”
In this gallery, we highlight just a handful of women from New Jersey who have impacted history, including computer pioneer and Navy officer Grace Hopper, agricultural scientist Elizabeth Coleman White, playwright Ntozake Shange and entertainer Dionne Warwick. Unquestionably, this gallery could go on and on.
And here are links to other galleries you’ll enjoy.
Vintage photos of women and the war effort in N.J.
Vintage N.J. photos that are works of art
Vintage photos from N.J. that are works of art
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.