Episode 20: A Deliberate Act: The Phenomenon of Female Erasure

Some names are forever cemented in history for their infamy. But what about the brilliant women whose names should be celebrated, yet have been deliberately silenced? On this episode of HerStance, we confront a phenomenon with a name: The Matilda Effect. We'll uncover who Matilda was and explore the shocking practice of erasing women's contributions—not just an oversight, but a deliberate act to diminish their accomplishments or credit them to men. We also dive into the remarkable story of Margaret Rossiter, the historian who coined the term and dedicated her career to unearthing the forgotten contributions of women in science and technology. We'll also learn about Pat Stewart, the Cornell Trustee who made Rossiter’s groundbreaking research possible. Prepare to be disbelieving, outraged, and ultimately, inspired to help rewrite history. 

 Anita Sarkeesian and Laura Hudson. "We Must Rewrite Women’s Role in History." Time, March 8, 2016. 

 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Underground-Railroad 

MLA- Angelucci, Ashley. “Matilda Joslyn Gage.” National Women’s History Museum. 2021. Date Accessed.   

Chicago- Angelucci, Ashley. 2021. “Matilda Joslyn Gage.” National Women’s History Museum.   www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/matilda-joslyn-gage. 

Image Credit: Matilda Joslyn Gage photo posted by the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She was inducted in 1995 as “a significant position in history as a radical feminist thinker and historian whose writings shaped her times.” https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/matilda-joslyn-gage/  

 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/unheralded-women-scientists-finally-getting-their-due-180973082/ 

Transcript

Some names echo through history for their infamy – a dark legacy we won't even dignify with airtime. 

But what about the brilliant women whose names should echo, yet have been silenced? 

Today on HerStance, we confront the deliberate 'erasure' of women from history – a practice described by feminist writers Anita Sarkeesian and Laura Hudson as not only discouraging women from achieving great things, but diminishing or crediting their accomplishments to men when they do.

 This isn't just an oversight; it's a phenomenon with a name: 'The Matilda Effect.' Join us as we uncover who Matilda was, and explore shocking examples of women's erasure that will leave you both disbelieving and determined to rewrite history.

Welcome to HerStance where it is our mission to empower and inspire action by amplifying the stories of historical female trailblazers.

Please take a moment to subscribe on YouTube, give this podcast 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or at my website herstancepodcast.buzzsprout.com.  Your input and sharing your thoughts will go a long way to getting more listeners and viewers. 

I also would love for you to follow me on Inst agram – @HerStance With Sandra.  There you will find my  https://linktr.ee/herstance link to sign up for my monthly newsletter, download digital products and more.

Now, let's meet the woman who inspired the very term 'The Matilda Effect' – Matilda Joslyn Gage. She was famously called 'the woman who was ahead of the women who were ahead of their time!' And you're about to hear exactly why.

Born in 1826 in Cicero, New York, Matilda was practically destined for activism. Her mother was a passionate historical researcher, and her father, a staunch abolitionist, even made their family home a station on the Underground Railroad.

Quick side trip here for anyone new to American history: The Underground Railroad was a secret network in the pre-Civil War US, where brave Northerners defied the Fugitive Slave Acts to help enslaved people escape to freedom in the North or Canada. It was a truly remarkable act of defiance, and I'll drop a link in the show notes if you want to dive deeper into how it operated.

Matilda’s father even taught her anatomy and physiology, preparing her for medical school. But, despite attending a coeducational preparatory school, she hit a frustrating roadblock: she was denied admission to medical school simply because she was a woman. Sound familiar?

In 1845, she married Henry Gage, a dry goods merchant. They settled in Fayetteville, NY, raised five children, and guess what? Matilda continued her father's legacy, opening their home to those fleeing slavery, despite the very real risks of harsh penalties.

By the 1850s, Matilda found her voice through the pen, writing for newspapers. Her passionate advocacy for women's rights truly ignited with her speech at the third National Women's Convention in Syracuse in 1852. When the Civil War broke out, she supported Union soldiers by hosting fundraisers for military hospitals. Then, in 1869, she helped found the New York State Women Suffrage Association and served as its president for nine years. She was a force!

But here's where Matilda really shines a light on our theme of 'erasure.' In 1870, she penned a groundbreaking article in the North American Review titled “Woman as an Inventor.” In it, she meticulously documented how countless groundbreaking inventions over thousands of years were credited to men, or had their patents claimed by husbands, denying women the recognition—and the financial reward—they truly deserved.

As she boldly stated in the article, 'Although woman’s scientific education has been grossly neglected, yet some of the most important inventions of the world are due to her. Hon. Samuel Fisher, while Commissioner of Patents, said: 'Any sketch of American inventions would be imperfect which failed to do justice to the part taken by woman.'”

She brought to light incredible examples: the art of spinning, attributed to Yao, wife of the fourth Chinese emperor; the discovery of silk, credited to Si-ling-chi, wife of Emperor Hoang-ti, an astonishing four thousand years before Christ! Matilda went into great detail about the economic impact of silk and its intricate lacework, highlighting how civilizations and nations profited immensely from these female innovations.

Then, fast forward to the American Revolutionary period and the cotton gin. Many of us think of Eli Whitney, right? But Matilda reveals that Catharine Littlefield Greene was the true inventor, and her second husband took out the patent to protect her from ridicule and social ostracization.

Her list was extensive: improvements in spark-arresters for locomotives, a danger-signal for railway crossings, a chain elevator, a portable reservoir for fires, a pamphlet-trimming machine, a deep-sea telescope, a bag-folding machine… the list goes on. Matilda's powerful conclusion? 'The darkness of the world kept more dense, and its civilization retarded, by all forms of thought, customs of society, or systems of law which prevent the full development and exercise of woman’s inventive powers.'

You can read this incredible article in its entirety – I’ll include a link in the show notes. It’s truly eye-opening.

Matilda was, without a doubt, at the forefront of the women’s suffrage movement. She worked closely with iconic figures like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and together, they compiled the first three volumes of the monumental six-volume History of Woman Suffrage.

Now, here's where Matilda truly lived up to her reputation of being "ahead of her time" and diverged from some of her peers. While other suffrage groups focused solely on getting the vote, Matilda firmly believed that the church itself was inherently patriarchal. So, she took a bold step and formed the Woman’s National Liberal Union, or WNLU. She dedicated the rest of her life to advocating for even broader social reforms, writing for the WNLU journal, The Liberal Thinker, and making powerful public speeches.

For example, at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886, Matilda spoke out, protesting the sheer hypocrisy of celebrating 'liberty for all' when women were still denied fundamental freedoms. In 1893, she published Woman, Church, and State, a groundbreaking work that fiercely critiqued what she saw as the deep-seated patriarchy and misogyny within religious teachings. In this book, she didn't shy away from praising Presbyterians for ordaining female deacons, exposing sexual abuse of children and women by priests, and decrying sex trafficking in the United States. She even highlighted Native American communities as powerful examples of societies where women and men were treated with true equality. And, alongside twenty-four other women, Matilda contributed to The Woman’s Bible in 1895, offering feminist interpretations of biblical verses.

Matilda also consistently spoke out against the US federal government's treatment of Native Americans. She publicly criticized the poor conditions faced by the Haudenosaunee (HOW do no Shawnee )  (Iroquois) and other native nations in the New York Evening Post and in her speeches. Her genuine advocacy and deep desire for their lives to improve led to a remarkable honor: in 1893, she was honorarily adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation, receiving the name Karonienhawi (Karon ee een ha waa), meaning 'she who holds the sky.' What an incredible tribute!

Matilda Joslyn Gage continued her tireless work advocating for all oppressed groups until her passing from a stroke on March 18, 1898. Her dozens of publications, her powerful speeches, and her unwavering activism truly carved a path for future radical feminists, reminding us all of the vital importance of seeking out the stories that history tried to erase

So, we've explored the life of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a woman truly ahead of her time. Now, let's fast forward to the 1990s and meet the academic historian who finally gave a name to the historical injustices Matilda fought against: Margaret Rossiter.

Margaret was on a mission – a passionate quest to unearth the lives of forgotten women in science: astronomers, physicists, chemists, entomologists, botanists… across all scientific and engineering fields. Her goal wasn't just to reveal their stories, but to push for reforms in academic institutions, making them more welcoming to women, and to boost funding for women's representation and advancement in STEM degrees. It was in this powerful context that she coined the phrase 'The Matilda Effect' – a term that perfectly captures this increasingly recognized phenomenon of women's work being systematically overlooked and erased from history.

And it wasn't just history books ignoring women. Rossiter herself documented the ongoing bias. In her 2013 paper, 'The Matilda Effect in Science Communication,' she reported a startling finding: both men and women consistently judged research papers by men to be stronger than those by women. What's more, both men and women showed a clear preference for male authors as potential future collaborators.

We've actually talked about this very issue on HerStance before, haven't we? The historical necessity for women to use male or gender-neutral pen names just to get their work taken seriously – think of George Sand or even J.K. Rowling. And let's not forget the long fight for women to even own their inventions; US patents weren't even offered to women until the Patent Act of 1790, with the first patent granted to a woman, Mary Dixon Kies for a method of weaving straw with silk or thread, not coming until 1809.

But here’s what’s truly astonishing: in 1969, at Yale University, Margaret Rossiter was told by her professors, with absolute certainty, that there had been no women involved in scientific research up to that point. Let that sink in for a moment. This was in her own lifetime, while she was a graduate student in history at a prestigious institution.

We here at HerStance know, for a fact, that this simply isn't true.

Essentially, for millennia, women had been erased, discounted, and discredited from their profound contributions to science, society, and commerce. This revelation made Margaret wonder, 'If I was around in the 19th century, would they even look at me?' Everything they were reading about focused on white men, and some of these professors were even openly against coeducation.

So, Margaret decided to do her own looking.

While most history books at the time were silent on women's scientific contributions, she unexpectedly stumbled upon evidence of their existence in the 'American Men of Science' – essentially the 'Who's Who' of the era. This was her first clue! She eventually unearthed even more details, including the rampant discrimination women faced, hidden away in dusty boxes of documents and letters in college archives.

'Our whole system was sort of rigged against them,' Rossiter observed about the women from the 1900s she studied who dared to pursue science. 'You hardly ever found a man or anybody who encouraged them. And then even an older woman would say, 'Well, you know, if you want a job, you should go into home economics. Give up geology – it may be your passion, but there’s no future.'' Can you imagine being told that your passion had no future just because you were a woman?

For a decade, Rossiter’s incredible archival discoveries fueled her across the country, searching for more untold stories. She unearthed the scientific accomplishments of hundreds of women. After navigating numerous procedural obstacles and a struggle to secure funding – I mean, when applying for grants in the 70s, the National Science Foundation actually asked her, 'what impact would this have?' No one ever asked that when studying men's contributions! – she finally compiled these narratives into a monumental three-volume work, 'Women Scientists in America.' Published in 1982, 1995, and 2012, these books shed crucial light on the many ways women advanced science, as well as the systematic ways they were pushed out of the field and, ultimately, left out of the history books.

Despite her groundbreaking work, permanent academic recognition was slow to come. Finally, in the mid-1980s, a one-year visiting professorship for women at Cornell turned into two. In 1989, she was even awarded a MacArthur Fellowship – a prestigious 'genius grant.' Believe it or not, even after all this, the administrators at Cornell still weren't quite inspired to offer her a permanent position. But the University of Georgia certainly was! They reached out with an offer of a tenure-track position and an endowed chair – a permanently funded, lifetime academic position.

However, thanks to a very savvy Cornell trustee, Patricia Carry Stewart, a 1950 Cornell alumna, things were about to change for the better. Stewart was not happy about losing such a brilliant mind and incredible scholar to another institution. So, she called up the President of Cornell and firmly stated that a space needed to be created for Rossiter, even if it meant creating an entirely new department – a notion that hadn't even occurred to the deans or anyone else! They hadn't created a new department since the 1960s.

And just like that, Margaret Rossiter got an endowed chair at Cornell, where she remained for the rest of her career in the new Department of Science and Technology Studies. Her impact there, and on the study of women in science, is still profoundly felt today.

And finally, let’s take a moment to truly appreciate the woman who ensured Margaret Rossiter's brilliance stayed at Cornell: Patricia Carry Stewart. Pat graduated from Cornell with a degree in French and linguistics at a time when women were just beginning to redefine their place in post-World War II society. She was, in every sense, a groundbreaker herself.

Pat began her career as a foreign correspondent for the Irving Trust Company. Later, she rose to become a partner and then president of the New York Stock Exchange firm, Buckner & Company, making her one of the very few women leaders on Wall Street at that time. Throughout her impressive lifetime, she served on numerous corporate boards. It's said she was an incredibly astute businesswoman who had little patience for incompetence and always expected others to rise to the occasion!

But what truly made Pat exceptional was her unwavering commitment to sharing her expertise and paving the way for others. She was a powerful role model and established groups of other successful, engaging women at Cornell to mentor students and faculty – all to raise awareness of women's capabilities and create pathways for more women leaders. She founded the Presidents Council of Cornell Women, dedicated to advancing the involvement and leadership of Cornell alumni in supporting women’s issues and gender equality. Since its founding, this council has brought together 1,100 members and has provided over $340 million in funding to Cornell! And with scholarships now established in her name, Pat Carry Stewart's legacy continues to pay it forward for women for generations to come.

And what about Margaret Rossiter today? She is now 78, and has retired as the Marie Underhill Noll Emerita Professor of the History of Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. What an incredible career!

But as Margaret herself reminds us, our work isn't over. Even with a dedicated 'Women's History Month' and all the advances we've seen, the need to uncover these stories persists. As she wisely stated, 'Even now, there’s a lot of minority women we don’t know about; there’s nooks and crannies you can read more about.'

So, my friends, we will continue our work right here on HerStance. We will keep correcting misconceptions, reattributing inventions that were wrongly credited, and, most importantly, uncovering the countless hidden gems created by women that truly make our world go around. It’s time their stories were told! 

It’s the HerStance Challenge!

Here’s a little Quiz to get us started:

What do the Windshield Wiper, the game of Monopoly and the Circular Saw all have in common?

You guessed it – they all were created by women but commonly attributed to men.

The Monopoly Game was originally a game called “The Landlord’s Game” invented by Elizabeth Magie in 1904 to serve as a critique of monopolistic capitalism and land ownership. We’re talking economics and social commentary here.  No wonder we were always so frustrated by those who ‘understood’ the game brought us to bankruptcy!

The circular saw was patented to Tabitha Babbitt in 1813. Somehow a power tool always gets associated with a man … Think the sit com Tool Time, right?

Well, we’ve talked today about not only the misattributions but the very erasure of women’s contributions to our world. 

Today’s challenge is to be aware that women’s erasure happens. This has been a societal norm for hundreds—if not thousands— of years, so constant self-assessment is crucial to catching unintended erasure.

How can we do that?

• Give credit where credit is due.
• Teach our children and youth about the accomplishments of women: As cofounder of the Georgette Sand Collective Marguerite Nebelsztein states, “If we grow up with a history in which women are absent, and we do not study the work of a single female author or a single female scientist…it makes sense that we will end up thinking that there were not, are not, and will not be anyone other than men in history.” Representation matters to our youth. Teaching our next generation about the contributions of women not only empower our young girls to seek currently male-dominated careers, but also fosters respect and equity in young boys that understand the contributions of women around the world.

I’m going to put a list of resources in my online store for you to download at the link.tr.ee link in the show notes. 

Have fun reading, watching or listening to those books, movies and podcasts.

Once we recognize our own unconscious bias and change the narratives we use, a ripple effect occurs. 

Thanks for being a part of the HerStance movement. 

HerStance is written, hosted and produced by me, Sandra Koelle.

References used in the research of this episode are listed in the show notes

Episodes are released every two weeks.

Like and share this podcast with the people in your networks! I sure appreciate your action!

Until next time!