50 Best Movies for Women's History Month

For this month's poll (there's a monthly poll in the right-hand sidebar, don'tcha know?), I asked everybody what they've done to celebrate Women's History Month so far. Even though I only got a measly 14 responses, I think they're extremely telling: Half of those who responded said they haven't done anything to celebrate this month's cause, and an astounding 35% didn't even know it was Women's History Month!

Well, if you're looking for a last-minute way to let your feminist freak flag fly (try saying that ten times fast), why not cozy up with a blanket, a cup of hot coco, and 50 of the Best Movies for Women's History Month according to Mastersdegree.net?

I can't honestly say that I've seen too many blatantly feminist films in my lifetime (besides, perhaps, Mona Lisa Smile and one of my all-time favorites, Whip It!), but I am on a serious mission to change that.

So if you've seen any of the movies on the aforementioned list, leave a comment and let people know how it was! Or if you know another movie that'll satiate our thirst for strong, kick-butt female leads, let us know about that, too!

As for tonight, I'm going to rifle through our movie cabinet to see if I can find anything juicy (read: empowering).

I suggest you do the same.

50 Fascinating Facts for Women's History Month

I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know March was Women's History Month until somebody emailed me an article called - you guessed it - 50 Fascinating Facts for Women's History Month. Chronicling amazing women suffragists, athletes, politicians, inventors and more from the past few centuries, this article is a good reminder that contrary to popular belief, the woman's role in history has not been a passive one!

Some of the facts in the article surprised me, but almost all of them made me inexorably proud. As dumb as it sounds, I caught myself thinking "We womenfolk are pretty dang amazing!" several times while reading. 

Here are some random facts from the article (though I hope you'll go back and read it for yourself!):

Queen Victoria ruled one of the largest empires in the history of the world, at one point controlling land on nearly every continent.

Jane Addams was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Upon her husband's death, Cherokee leader Nancy Ward took his place in a 1775 battle against the Creeks, and led the Cherokee to victory.

The first woman to run for U.S. president was Victoria Woodhull, who campaigned for the office in 1872 under the National Woman's Suffrage Association.

The first country to grant women the right to vote in the modern era was New Zealand in 1893.

On Nov. 26, 1916 birth control activist Margaret Sanger was arrested for distributing birth control information.

In 1903, Mary Anderson was granted a patent for the windshield wiper.

The first person to make the daring attempt to go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel was a woman.