Women's History: Galentine's Day Edition
Happy Galentine's Day! Did you know if you search "famous female friendships in history" you get a whole bunch of posts about famous TV friendships? If you search famous friendships, you get an astounding number of lists talking about Octavian and Agrippa. And then 9 other dude friendships. Thanks, guys.
We're going to focus on the Edinburgh Seven, because they have a cool name that we'd all probably like to be a part of. I personally would like to be in a group called the Library Six, but I still need to recruit for that.
The Edinburgh Seven was a group of seven women in Scotland who wanted to be doctors in Britain in the 1860s. More power to you, ladies, but damn. Elizabeth Blackwell didn't even graduate from medical school in America until 1849, and there were fewer centuries and centuries of "absolutely not" set up there.
The Seven were led by Sophia Jex-Blake (yes, super cool name). She wanted to go to medical school, dudes were terrible as people in power sometimes are, and they said no. But the story got published in the paper and six MORE women wanted to apply. So they did. And they had to arrange for their own lectures, and were graded differently than the men, and were, of course, pelted with mud. Why not.
Look, it's a long story and this is a short newsletter, but basically they had to leave, Jex-Blake set up the London School of Medicine for Women, and they had to sit their exams in Switzerland and Dublin in order to be doctors in Britain. Which they became!
This couldn't have happened if they hadn't all banded together, but it definitely could have happened if people in power weren't eternally clinging to that power like a rare Beanie Baby in 1995. Go female friendship! And please, someone write a listicle that doesn't solely consist of Marilyn Monroe/Ella Fitzgerald and Gloria Steinem/Marlo Thomas. Happy Galentine's Day!
Check out Girl Squads by Sam Maggs if you're interested in more deets on some great female friendships!