Well Behaved Women and History – Bumper Sticker BS
There’s a bumper sticker I’ve been seeing a lot more, lately. It reads, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” On the surface, it seems to be a call for women to go out and achieve. That’s a good idea, but the bumper sticker doesn’t SAY that. The slogan, which I’ve also seen as web banners, taglines, buttons, and in other locations, actually states a negative against “well behaved women.” What’s more, the statement is an outright lie.
What does this slogan have to say about women in history? I think it degrades their image. Princeton’s WordNet defines well behaved as, “someone who behaves in a manner that the speaker believes is correct.” A reference is made to “a well behaved child.” Is the slogan trying to say that women who act in manners that are not considered correct rarely make history? That can’t be true. Let’s examine a few examples.
Grace Hopper was born in 1906. She earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics. She was a pioneer in the field of computing. She was called the “Mother of Cobol,” because of her contributions to what may be the widest-used programming language to date. In 1986, she retired from the US Navy in 1986 at 80 years old, the oldest member of the Navy in active duty. Her rank was Rear Admiral. This “well behaved woman” died in 1992, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Claire Booth Luce was an aspiring actress. She was active in the Women’s Suffrage movement. She was an editorial assistant for Vogue before becoming an associate editor for Vanity Fair, and then managing editor. Later, she became an acclaimed playwright. During WWII, Claire was a journalist for Life magazine, travelling through Europe, China and other areas of the world. In 1942, Claire easily won a seat in the US House of Representatives representing Connecticutt’s fourth district, and was re-elected for a second term. After a conversion to catholicism, she decided not to run for re-election again, instead writing for McCalls magazine, and returning to her playwright work. In 1953, Clair became ambassador to Italy at the appointment of Dwight Eisenhower. In this role, she work to fight communism and helped to settle a dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia. In 1959, Eisenhower appointed Claire ambassador to Brazil. In 1981, Ronald Reagan awarded this “well behaved woman” the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Marie Curie was well-behaved enough to graduate from Sorbonne University in Paris with top honors. While studying for her doctorate, she researched Uranium and discovered radioactivity. Together with her husband, Pierre, Marie researched radioactivity, and discovered Radium and Polonium. While also being a wife and mother, Marie became a pioneer of radioactivity research, and was the first person to ever receive two Nobel prizes.
History is FULL of well-behaved women who made history. Florence Nightingale, Barbara McClintock, Coretta Scott King, Sally Ride, and many other women went on to make history without turning into the kind of woman we would call “ill-behaved.”
Of course, the bumper sticker slogan isn’t about the truth of women in history. It’s about excusing the poor behavior of the woman who would place such a sticker on her car.
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Comments
The “well behaved” refers to history’s stifling societal pressures on women’s conduct. Women were supposed to be seen and not heard, kept in the kitchen, and pregnant. In order to achieve something that landed her in the history books, a woman had to transcend “normal” behavior. “Normal” French women in Marie Curie’s day didn’t get PhDs in university. “Well behaved” women in the early 1900s didn’t leave their families to march in the streets for suffrage. Does history know the names of the millions of women who were quiet at home acting ladylike – no. Women today are fortunate that “well behaved” includes going to work or holding political office, something that only 50 years ago was out of the norm for a woman. I dare to put “such a thing” on my car to remind people of our brave sisters who dared not to remain in their place.
O please get a life