Introduction to Essay Series 3

Growing up, I learned the following myths:

1. Marie Curie was one of the few women scientists of note.

1. Great artists were men.

1. Philosophers were men.

1. Christian leaders were men.

While doing the research for this essay series, I learned that the centuries had mostly hidden or ignored women’s accomplishments in these and other areas.

My research got its spark from The Story of Art without Men by art historian Katy Hessel.¹³⁰ This book documents the achievements of women artists that history ignored, despite some of them being famous in their own lifetimes.

I went on to read books by scientists and scholars that disproved the idea that women lack accomplishments in science, art, philosophy, and religion. The history of women in these fields has one theme: erasure. In each area, many women’s contributions have been ignored, minimized, dismissed, erased, or stolen.

The four essays in Series 3 discuss the erasure of women’s accomplishments in areas of most interest to me, which are certain sciences, visual art, Western philosophy, and the Christian religion. These areas aren’t the only ones where women’s contributions have been minimized. Music and mathematics are two more examples.^131,132