Wonder Woman 'R Us, Our Indestructible Ancestors

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Yes, he faced unimaginable hazards to make it home from the war. Who knew he was almost as lucky to find her alive and well as she was to get him back? That's a slight over-statement; it's still true.

Like we didn't have enough problems. Between legal and social inequalities and not being able to vote for MEN with the faintest interest in correcting any of them, being born a girl 150 years ago wasn't all giggles, lace and cotillions. It was also a dangerous enterprise, if they but knew. In fact, any time you see someone of the era refer to their grandmother please be amazed. Some female navigated the waters of chick-dom long enough to see grandchildren.

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The ' down ' scale on this hysterical ' Stages of Life ' illustration ( pre-war ) features quite a few women the artist seems to have invented out of thin air and ink.

You'd be looking at a woman so genetically gifted you couldn't beat her death with several sticks.

Posted before on most of these- as a collection it's a little eye-popping. WHY are any of us here?

Just a day in the life. There's been a lot of conjecture as to the cause of Mary Custis Lee's illness. My opinion is she had some form of auto-immune disorder but she also took a ' blue pill '. That was a commonly prescribed medication for women for everything from aches and pains to ( my favorite ) ' hysteria '. It was mercury, a substance so toxic they no longer use it for thermometers.

Crinoline- aka ' hoops '. This death-by-fashion caused so many deaths and was the cause of so many accidents Queen Victoria finally outlawed them in England Women were dragged to death when their hoops caught on carriage wheels, burned to death when they brushed fireplaces, drowned when they fell helpless and encumbered into water, stabbed when springs let loose and impaled them and in at least one memorial instance died by lightening strike. Men loathed them- try kissing a female wearing those things much less dancing with her much less sitting next to her. That iconic, uber romantic outline of the era was an intrusive death trap.

Crinolines were lampooned viciously in the press but the fashion persisted until just post war, to be replaced with the slightly less preposterous bustle.
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Corsets- crinolines only ' worked ' as a means to accentuate a wasp-waist and er, ample bosum. That was achieved by what can only be called a pulley system, stays and laces hauling in as much flesh AND bones as could be stuffed into as small a space as possible. There was some truth in our famous, era fainters. The poor girls couldn't breath. Beyond that, doctors began screaming. Your innards were getting displaced, darn it.
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For some reason the practice of ' enameling ' doesn't get discussed. Makeup on crack, you went to ' salons ' to get shellacked with white paste. It was like being embalmed while alive. Practitioners claimed they could cover you for a week, month or forever ( which meant you couldn't wash your face ). Main ingredient? Arsenic.
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There was a dye called " Paris Green " weirdly not banned for import ( swear this is true ) until 1920. SO toxic it once took out a father and his 2 sons whose living room wall paper was green and created lethal air heated by a toasty fire, women's gowns, fake flowers, shoes and ribbons were dyed with Paris Green. A LOT of women became ill, some died. Marie Tepe in fact committed suicide by deliberately drinking green paint- she knew the arsenic in Paris Green used in that paint would kill her. And it did. Read where a gown dropped arsenic laden dust as a woman danced.

It's a little macabre- this era ad in Demorest's? Probably had Paris Green in the dye used for the paper.
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There's more although I'm running out of time. Time for one more today, anyway. I've always wondered about this- HOW could those lovely, flowing riding habits not cause accidents? Been on a horse most of my life, did every stupid thing to try to get myself killed while up there, too. You just don't need this kind of help. I won't post the whole article, you get the idea.
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Haven't gotten to some of the medical hazards. Women's medical care wasn't actually as barbaric as it's been made to sound but a few aspects sure contributed to a shortened life span. Con't Thursday- out tomorrow.
 
From what I have seen, riding habits still had a ton less fabric that the normal day dress. One side shorter, so that you could fit your leg around/into the sidesaddle. The rest of the skirt draped ever so lovely down the horses side, and hid your oh so sexy ankles..I swear that taboo was invented by someone with ”Cankles”..

Yeah, extra fabric to catch on the saddle or tangle up your horse was not the best idea. Then again, there weren’t any plastic bags to blow across the trail to scare the snot out of the horse either!
 
Yeah, extra fabric to catch on the saddle or tangle up your horse was not the best idea. Then again, there weren’t any plastic bags to blow across the trail to scare the snot out of the horse either!


Or car horns..... I had friends who thought that was funny although never had the nerve to try side saddle. You guys are anyone's idea of intrepid. School I went to in the UK had a few enthusiasts following their ancestors who'd gone tearing over the landscape side saddle. Just no. Used to think I'd do anything at all then met those people.

Paris green, btw, was later used as an insecticide so that's why it was around so long - i.e. it wasn't used in wallpaper or clothes that late.

So that's how it was used later? I could find it in lists of imported goods, I think generated by the government- none after the 1920's, couldn't discover what product. Interesting ( although don't ask me why it just is ) ! If I were better at navigating the manufacturing documents out there, may have discovered it.

Heck, just since my own childhood, toxicity has been discovered. Daughter's hair stood on end ( chemist ) when I told her how our science class teacher poured a little mercury into the hand of one child who passed it on to the next and the next and the next. It was interesting. Then there was the creosote with which we weatherized the camp and everything else in sight.
 
Several years ago, I was Maid of Honor for a friend who had already selected the dress she wanted me to wear. The hitch was that there was only one dress available. It was a size 6--and I wasn't. So the saleslady brought in a device of pure torture called a "Merry Widow". She and my friend pulled at the stays while I grasped the door frame and, when finished, that dress slid on like butter! But the day of the wedding, I couldn't laugh, I daren't eat and had a monster headache by the time the day was over. Now I know why earlier women fainted all the time: it wasn't modesty, it was their undergarments!
 
Or car horns..... I had friends who thought that was funny although never had the nerve to try side saddle. You guys are anyone's idea of intrepid. School I went to in the UK had a few enthusiasts following their ancestors who'd gone tearing over the landscape side saddle. Just no. Used to think I'd do anything at all then met those people.

I've been learning how to ride, working at my friend's barn in exchange for lessons. She won't teach me side saddle, and I wouldn't even if she would. Too dangerous, especially for my inexperienced butt....watching me try and get the thing to trot is comical lol. Nope, not for me. It's nerve wracking enough up there sometimes. No thank you. Also any riding I do at events would be in uniform anyway, not civilian dress, so I wouldn't be held to that ridiculous standard(I don't think there were too many side saddle riders in the cavalry).
 
I've been learning how to ride, working at my friend's barn in exchange for lessons. She won't teach me side saddle, and I wouldn't even if she would. Too dangerous, especially for my inexperienced butt....watching me try and get the thing to trot is comical lol. Nope, not for me. It's nerve wracking enough up there sometimes. No thank you. Also any riding I do at events would be in uniform anyway, not civilian dress, so I wouldn't be held to that ridiculous standard(I don't think there were too many side saddle riders in the cavalry).
Relax yourself in the saddle. Your seat will be deeper, and you’ll be able to react better to sudden moves. I used to ride a lesson horse who wouldnt move if he felt your calves on him. So I learned not to do that!
 
Relax yourself in the saddle. Your seat will be deeper, and you’ll be able to react better to sudden moves. I used to ride a lesson horse who wouldnt move if he felt your calves on him. So I learned not to do that!

I need to relax. Period. lol I'm getting there, I've only done it a couple times. I'm in the "if you put me on one, I at least wouldn't be completely oblivious to what I should do" stage. lol
 
I need to relax. Period. lol I'm getting there, I've only done it a couple times. I'm in the "if you put me on one, I at least wouldn't be completely oblivious to what I should do" stage. lol
It takes time, especially if you are only riding once a week. You’ll do fine!
 
It takes time, especially if you are only riding once a week. You’ll do fine!

Slowly putting that time in.

Perhaps we look at this all wrong. Times were hard back then. We were only delicate little flowers, with no rights, who were second class citizens(Negroes were 3rd class), with no prospect of ever being autonomous, being passed on from being father's property to property of and certified baby making machines for our husbands. Then we may very well be starving, child birth was downright deadly but we had no choice, nobody took us seriously, we were more often seen but not heard, disease was rampant and killing both us and the people we held dearest, and we were getting near zero credit for holding down the home front while our husbands and male relatives were off shooting each other over reasons they can't even agree on 150 years later...maybe, just maybe we actually HAD a gods honest death wish?
 
Slowly putting that time in.

Perhaps we look at this all wrong. Times were hard back then. We were only delicate little flowers, with no rights, who were second class citizens(Negroes were 3rd class), with no prospect of ever being autonomous, being passed on from being father's property to property of and certified baby making machines for our husbands. Then we may very well be starving, child birth was downright deadly but we had no choice, nobody took us seriously, we were more often seen but not heard, disease was rampant and killing both us and the people we held dearest, and we were getting near zero credit for holding down the home front while our husbands and male relatives were off shooting each other over reasons they can't even agree on 150 years later...maybe, just maybe we actually HAD a gods honest death wish?
Perhaps we look at them this way, today--but Lord love our fore-mothers: without the benefit of hindsight, they didn't know how bad things were and they had every confidence that it would all work out. They wrote and made a place for themselves in the literary world, they operated the salons of society and so crept into the world of power, and they swayed the holders of power (men) to their side and made their way into the political world. They abandoned the Cult of Womanhood, recognizing it for the trap it was. But now it is coming to be time to fulfill that optimism and to become a force for peace, reason and prosperity. It wasn't a death wish but a life wish.
 
I need to relax. Period. lol I'm getting there, I've only done it a couple times. I'm in the "if you put me on one, I at least wouldn't be completely oblivious to what I should do" stage. lol

Agree, relax. Horses are a weird field. It's really not as intimidating as it looks or can sound. IMO riding is 75% common sense, the rest figuring out what to do when you realize you're not, in fact, going to fall off. After that it's just fun, not matter where you're going with it but it sounds like you already got that part.

Having said that, note who is the one stating side saddle would not be my idea of idea fun.:giggle: You know what might be helpful as far as confidence? Read some wonderful accounts by cavalry troopers, their first days of training. For some reason I had it it in my head if you signed up to be a trooper you could ride? Nope, not all of them could. Theirs had to be a kinda crash course, too- some of it's hilarious reading, poor guys, but they got it done. I'm not saying that should be your route- just that it might be helpful. It's sure entertaining.
 
I need to relax. Period. lol I'm getting there, I've only done it a couple times. I'm in the "if you put me on one, I at least wouldn't be completely oblivious to what I should do" stage. lol
I forgot to add, be sure you are wearing a helmet. It saved my noggin when I came off on trail. I only had a mild concussion! Yup, that was with a helmet absorbing the impact. And yes, I got back on the horse and finished the ride. It was a nice day, and I didn’t hurt that badly..it was only later the owies manifested.
 
Agree, relax. Horses are a weird field. It's really not as intimidating as it looks or can sound. IMO riding is 75% common sense, the rest figuring out what to do when you realize you're not, in fact, going to fall off. After that it's just fun, not matter where you're going with it but it sounds like you already got that part.

Having said that, note who is the one stating side saddle would not be my idea of idea fun.:giggle: You know what might be helpful as far as confidence? Read some wonderful accounts by cavalry troopers, their first days of training. For some reason I had it it in my head if you signed up to be a trooper you could ride? Nope, not all of them could. Theirs had to be a kinda crash course, too- some of it's hilarious reading, poor guys, but they got it done. I'm not saying that should be your route- just that it might be helpful. It's sure entertaining.

That might be interesting.

@Mrs. V I am not allowed to ride without a helmet, barn rules.
 
I forgot to add, be sure you are wearing a helmet. It saved my noggin when I came off on trail. I only had a mild concussion! Yup, that was with a helmet absorbing the impact. And yes, I got back on the horse and finished the ride. It was a nice day, and I didn’t hurt that badly..it was only later the owies manifested.

Remember the days when those things were ' held on ' by teeny chin straps you never used anyway? I'm seriously not sure I ever crashed without getting up and looking for the stupid thing. Well, and once in awhile a stirrup/leather if it was a really splendid kind of crash.Few of those. Looking back, it was the serious cross country guys who strapped anything on that meant it. Remember doing cross country and just adding that teeny chin strap, like it was effective! What a cavalier attitude we had before the implications of concussion were brought home.
 
Remember the days when those things were ' held on ' by teeny chin straps you never used anyway? I'm seriously not sure I ever crashed without getting up and looking for the stupid thing. Well, and once in awhile a stirrup/leather if it was a really splendid kind of crash.Few of those. Looking back, it was the serious cross country guys who strapped anything on that meant it. Remember doing cross country and just adding that teeny chin strap, like it was effective! What a cavalier attitude we had before the implications of concussion were brought home.

Weren't bicycle and motorcycle helmets designed essentially the same way back then? Was there even any difference between the three? Now everything needs certifications from various governing bodies and needs to go through various testing to ensure the helmet will protect you from the type of impact you will receive during that activity...falling off a bicycle/motorcycle/horse is a different impact than being checked into the boards by a defense man or being tackled by a huge linebacker. But it seems that's a more modern thing, I'm sure when you were growing up a helmet was a helmet was a helmet.

NO HELMET on the market will protect you from concussions however, they're strictly to prevent skull fracture. Concussion occurs when the brain impacts the skull. So anytime your head stops abruptly(such as when hitting the ground or solid surface, whiplash, etc) and your brain fails to follow suit in time, you have the potential for concussion. It doesn't matter what kind of padding they put in there or how much, it can't prevent your brain bouncing off your noggin. Often times the padding is strictly for the wearers comfort and actually serves no or little functional role within the helmet. The shell is what matters for protection.

Also something I'm sure was not known back then, most helmets are only good for a set number of smaller impacts and ONE SINGLE large impact. Even if no damage is apparent, it's recommended you replace that helmet after a bad crash/hit/whatever. I'm sure you guys wore them until the either broke, or more likely, you grew out of them.
 
Weren't bicycle and motorcycle helmets designed essentially the same way back then? Was there even any difference between the three? Now everything needs certifications from various governing bodies and needs to go through various testing to ensure the helmet will protect you from the type of impact you will receive during that activity...falling off a bicycle/motorcycle/horse is a different impact than being checked into the boards by a defense man or being tackled by a huge linebacker. But it seems that's a more modern thing, I'm sure when you were growing up a helmet was a helmet was a helmet.

NO HELMET on the market will protect you from concussions however, they're strictly to prevent skull fracture. Concussion occurs when the brain impacts the skull. So anytime your head stops abruptly(such as when hitting the ground or solid surface, whiplash, etc) and your brain fails to follow suit in time, you have the potential for concussion. It doesn't matter what kind of padding they put in there or how much, it can't prevent your brain bouncing off your noggin. Often times the padding is strictly for the wearers comfort and actually serves no or little functional role within the helmet. The shell is what matters for protection.

Also something I'm sure was not known back then, most helmets are only good for a set number of smaller impacts and ONE SINGLE large impact. Even if no damage is apparent, it's recommended you replace that helmet after a bad crash/hit/whatever. I'm sure you guys wore them until the either broke, or more likely, you grew out of them.
I threw away my helmet after my involuntary dismount. Cut the chin strap off, so it could not be used as well. Helmets do act to prevent concussion, as well as lesson the impact if you do get one. I had no idea that I hit my head that hard. I knew I had a sore spot, but the jammed shoulder, cut to heck palms kept me from really seein the concussion symptoms,,,until I could not stand bright lights, and I really did not feel myself. Super tired..
 
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