Here's to you ‘a handful of history’, my sharing of real-life stories from around the world. All the narratives I pick are rooted in history one way or another, yet most of them carry themes and happenings that we can easily reflect upon today. Enjoy :-) - Majken xx
Just when in history did men decide that women are not funny?
...So asks Joy Wiltenburg, professor emerita of history at Rowan University in New Jersey, in her article bearing exactly that same headline. When I read it, I immediately thought of Yvonne Orji, who is one of the funniest women I’ve come across - I mean, just watch this trailer from her show "Momma, I Made It!":
So when was it? When in history did men decide that women are not funny? Wiltenburg’s answer is, in short, that it was [*drum roll*] when you could start making a living of telling jokes to an audience. In other words: it has to do with money, business and competition.
I once worked at a museum that showed how the everyday life of peasants in the mid-1800s played out. Here I came across the same phenomena - that when something became a commodity you could sell and earn money from outside your house, men were usually the ones to make that happen. They did business of, for instance, the brewing of beer which back in time ‘always’ was part of the monthly routine of the women. The same goes with baking or the process of slaughtering - both were areas the women took care of. But once the delicious goods turned into actual products with a price tag attached, the story repeated itself: men took over. Bakeries and butcher shops appeared, and it was practically always a Mr. this or that who was in charge.
All this has, thankfully, changed a lot. Still, though, I feel that there is a group of people out there who put a solid question mark on how qualified women are when it comes to running a business - whether it’s about selling jokes, food, or something else.
Statements become true when you repeat them multiple times, some say. If we accept that as a truth, we’d better start saying this: lots of women have a wonderful sense of humour and are perfectly capable of creating a successful business. Just open your eyes and take a look around, there are plenty of examples.
Where have all the Farmer’s Markets gone?
I love stopping by food markets, but where have they gone? To the supermarkets and the online deliver-at-your-doorstep vegetable businesses, I guess. Most of them have, anyway, which is a shame. I have a fantasy that one day someone will create an indoor market in this charming old building situated not long from where I live. With quality food from the nearby countryside, open from Monday to Saturday whilst on Sundays, a stall or two are ready to provide you with freshly brewed coffee and some delicious cakes and bread. Oh yes, thank you. Like the Borough Market in London, one of my favourites, or the charming markets in cities like Berlin or Barcelona…and elsewhere.
Here’s a short movie creatively showing the buying and selling at the Dolac market in Zagreb, Croatia. Now! This is a real market.
It's hard to resist Monika Beisner’s book from 1973 “Fantastic Toys”
Jumping boots that can take you all the way to the sky and join the birds.
A skipping machine - it is always more fun to do the jumping than it is to swing the rope.
Or how about animal umbrellas?
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THIS IS a blog post from me to you. I send it out once every fortnight - if you want to join my email list please go HERE. In turn, you will receive ‘a handful of history’, which is me sharing real-life stories from around the world, narratives I’ve picked that are rooted in history one way or another. Every other time, my latest act, ‘from my corner of the world’, will land in your email. These are texts in which I share with you thoughts and views about writing, researching and creating. All the doubts and wonders I come across, all the surprises and discovery of new roads I am lucky to experience when working with my non-fiction texts.
Thanks for reading. I’m happy to see you here! - Majken xx
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