Normal Women

The marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert set the template for how we imagine a wedding should be but it wasn’t always about big white frocks. Philippa Gregory explores how married women became the property of their husbands - along with everything they owned and produced. She considers the hidden history of wife sales and female husbands and shines a light on the difficulty women had accessing divorce.

Joining Philippa to consider the institutions of marriage, divorce and single life through time are:

• Laura Bates, writer, activist and founder of the Everyday Sexism project
• Rachael Lennon, writer, social history curator and author of Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates.

Music: When Adam Was First Created - performed by Andy Turner.

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Men have always claimed that there is such a thing as “female nature” and described it with great authority – but throughout history, women have refused to conform to the strict view of what is masculine and feminine - from fierce jousting medieval ladies to 18th Century French aristocrats who seamlessly slip in and out of male and female roles.

Joining Philippa to discuss whether women have ever fitted the mould are:

• Professor Cordelia Fine, philosopher of science and psychologist and author of Testosterone Rex and Delusions of Gender and
• Dr Ronx Ikharia, A&E doctor and presenter of Operation Ouch and The Gender Diagnosis podcast

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitten, spat on, denounced - in the 1990s newly-ordained women were met with fury by a vocal minority. But women have always played an important role in the Church, as mystics, the heads of religious houses, saints or simply as normal women seeking salvation.

Joining Philippa to tell the story of women's changing place in the Church of England - from 'weaker vessels' in the sixteenth century to women bishops in the twenty-first:

• Rev Richard Coles, writer, broadcaster and clergyman
• Dr Grace Heaton, historian, University of Oxford

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout history women have faced the threat of sexual violence and, sadly, it's no different today. Philippa explores how rape was viewed as a crime against a man’s property, how courtly love gave way to brutal desire and the difficulties women face in bringing their attackers to justice.

Joining Philippa to discuss rape - how it has changed through history and how we see it now are:

• Joanna Bourke, Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London and author ‘Rape: A history ’
• Soma Sara anti-rape activist and founder of ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website and charity

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates.

If you or someone you know has been affected by rape or sexual violence or needs to talk to someone, support can be found via the NHS website or via the following organisations:

• The Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line run by Rape Crisis England & Wales 0808 500 2222
• Rape Crisis Scotland 0808 801 0302
• Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline – Northern Ireland 0808 802 1414

Clips:

Gone With The Wind - director Victor Fleming - Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Hey, trolly lolly lo! - The King's Singers Royal Rhymes and Rounds ℗ 2012 Signum Records

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Whether you are on the Board or in the kitchen, a medieval peasant or modern day medic, a Victorian street-sweeper or eighteenth century hand-spinner - if you are a woman, there’s every chance you are underpaid. So why is that? Explanations vary across the centuries from women's lack of upper-body strength to the demands of motherhood and patriarchal oppression, but one thing is certain - the pay gap never closes.

Joining Philippa to discuss the history of women's work are:

• Professor Jane Humphries, economic historian at the University of Oxford and London School of Economics and
• data scientist Edwina Dunn, founder of the educational charity The Female Lead, which empowers and listens to women.

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.