8 Great Feminist Microhistories

However you may feel about Wonder Woman 1984, the character is an important piece of pop culture feminism. Lepore traces the remarkably kinky origins of Diana Prince, starting with her creator, William Moulton Marston, and his polyamorous relationship with the two women — his wife Elizabeth and their partner Olive — who influenced her character arc. It is an unexpected story but one that explains all the various forms of bondage seen throughout the comics.

While you may be quite familiar with the suffragist movement of the early 20th century, you may be less familiar with the correlated birth of the women’s self-defense movement. Rouse explores why (white) women took to boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and other forms of defense in the early 1900s. Of course, the move was largely to protect themselves from the men in their lives, but Rouse doesn’t shy away from exposing uglier truths — like how white women wielded this tool of empowerment to reinforce their privileged spot above women of color.

You could argue that this isn’t a microhistory because all of American history already focuses on white men, but in this case, they’re the subject under a microscope — not the author or gatekeeper. This book is a laser-focused reckoning for white masculinity and, by extension, white supremacy. You will see the social, political, and economic tides of this country rise and fall through the portraits of the white men who rode them to maintain power.

Did you ever think about the history of hair removal? Did you ever think someone should write a highly accessible book about it? Well, Herzig, a professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Bates College, obliged. This deep dive into plucking, tweezing, and waxing explores how we arrived at this point in time, when 99% of American women have attempted some kind of hair removal. It’s a fascinating cultural progression, complicated by racial, sexual, and scientific attitudes and expectations.

Let’s stick with the hair theme for a moment. This essay collection from a BBC correspondent combines memoir with microhistory, examining the ways in which Black hair has been politicized, fetishized, and scrutinized through history. Dabiri, an Irish-Nigerian author, has her own traumatic hair stories to tell, too, which she intersperses throughout this wide-ranging historical journey.

The title makes this book sound like a straight biography. While it certainly is a biography of Effa Manley, the co-owner of the Negro World Series–winning Newark Eagles, it also acts as a microhistory of early 20th century baseball’s racial prejudices and the Negro Leagues. Even if sports history isn’t normally your cup of tea, this look at baseball’s segregated leagues — and the woman who broke barriers — is worth a look.

Obviously, we know not only women menstruate, but the history of menstruation — how we talk about it and don’t talk about it — has deep feminist implications. This quirky read is part history and part myth-buster, tackling all kinds of topics related to periods, puberty, and women’s reproductive health. Included too are cringe-worthy reprints of ads hawking campy and horrifying period gadgets.

The late Yalom wrote several comprehensive histories elevating women’s perspectives; this one focuses on the scrutiny, reverence, and animosity the female form — and, in particular, breasts — have elicited from various human cultures. The narrative stretches from Paleolithic times to our modern era, exploring attitudes toward breasts and the female figure in politics, medicine, social mores, and the arts.