Women of Consequence Are Everywhere You Look

‘Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich made this observation in 1976, commenting on why women’s lives are (or are not) recorded and studied in history books. The line quickly became a feminist slogan and is used more broadly today. As a bumper-sticker message, it suggests that only by shrugging off social norms and disobeying the rules can women achieve greatness and expect their names and accomplishments to live on after them.

Certainly, there have been times (and indeed there are presently places) where rule-breaking or “misbehaving” has been needed to draw attention to the plight of women. In U.S. history, civil disobedience during the women’s suffrage and civil-rights movements helped women make enormous strides. In Iran in 2023, Iranian women uncovered their hair in public to protest the killing by security forces of Mahsa Amini for “improper” wearing of the hijab.

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About the Author

Hadley Heath Manning

Hadley Heath Manning is Vice President for Policy at Independent Women’s Forum (www.iwf.org).

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‘Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich made this observation in 1976, commenting on why women’s lives are (or are not) recorded and studied in history books. The line quickly became a feminist slogan and is used more broadly today. As a bumper-sticker message, it suggests that only by shrugging off social norms and disobeying the rules can women achieve greatness and expect their names and accomplishments to live on after them.

Certainly, there have been times (and indeed there are presently places) where rule-breaking or “misbehaving” has been needed to draw attention to the plight of women. In U.S. history, civil disobedience during the women’s suffrage and civil-rights movements helped women make enormous strides. In Iran in 2023, Iranian women uncovered their hair in public to protest the killing by security forces of Mahsa Amini for “improper” wearing of the hijab.