Category Archives: Firsts

Does Feminist Legal Theory Matter to the Schlesinger Library? Or Smith? Or Duke? Or Brown?

Earlier this week, Ms. Magazine published an article (here) revealing the somewhat surprising decision of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University to decline the records of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project, begun at the University of Wisconsin in 1984 … Continue reading

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All In by @BillieJeanKing is a Fabulous Read

I just finished reading Billie Jean King’s memoir (written with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers), All In. It’s a fantastic read for anyone interested in sports, second-wave feminism, Title IX, LGBT rights, social change (or several or all). The last … Continue reading

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25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee Celebration of Margaret Thornton’s Iconic Work, “Dissonance and Distrust: Women in the Legal Profession”

On Thursday, November 18, 2022, 10-11:30 a.m. [that’s evening time on Wednesday, November 17, 2022 on the east coast in the US and Canada; time zone converter here], the Australia National University College of Law will be holding a celebratory … Continue reading

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Nancy Rapoport on “Being a ‘First’ – Over and Over Again”

Nancy B. Rapoport (UNLV) has posted to SSRN her essay from Denver Law Review Forum, Being a “First” – Over and Over Again. Here is an excerpt: Being a non–founder “first” also means that people will compare your leadership style … Continue reading

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Menstrual Equity Advocate Dana Brooks Named One of “25 Women You Need to Know” by Tallahassee Democrat Newspaper

Florida attorney Dana Brooks has been named as one of the “25 Women You Need to Know” by the Tallahassee Democrat (here). Here is an excerpt from the Tallahassee paper’s profile: Brooks began her career in clinical social work, but … Continue reading

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Stanford Law Library Tribute to Barbara Babcock

The librarians at Stanford have put together a wonderful tribute to Professor Barbara Babcock, here. Here is the short introduction: Professor Barbara Babcock was the first woman appointed to the regular faculty, as well as the first to hold an … Continue reading

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@UofELawSchool Edinburgh Appoints Laura Macgregor Chair of Scots Law – First Woman to Hold Same Chair Hume Did

From  The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland: Professor Laura Macgregor has been appointed to the Chair of Scots Law at Edinburgh Law School. The chair is the second oldest in Edinburgh Law School. Established in 1722, with Alexander … Continue reading

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Interview with Dana Brooks Cooper, Florida Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Dana Brooks Cooper, Esq. of Barret, Fasig & Brooks in Tallahassee, Florida.  Ms. Brooks is representing the plaintiff in a class action that challenges the Florida “tampon tax,” the state sales tax imposed on … Continue reading

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The Battered Woman Syndrome In Canadian Criminal Law

Elizabeth A. Sheehy, University of Ottawa, Common Law Section, has published Defending Battered Women on Trial, at Defending Battered Women on Trial: Lessons From the Transcripts 1 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014). Here is the abstract. In the landmark Lavallee decision … Continue reading

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Historic Preservation and LGBT History

Last month, the National Park Service announced (here) a “theme study” focused on sites related to LGBT history.  The study’s aims (described here) are: engaging scholars, preservationists and community members to identify, research, and tell the stories of LGBT associated … Continue reading

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Bernette Johnson Becomes Louisiana’s First African American Supreme Court Chief Justice

Bernette Johnson has been sworn in as Louisiana’s first African American Supreme Court Chief Justice, succeeding Catherine (Kitty) Kimball. Chief Justice Johnson filed a federal lawsuit last year after Justice Jeffrey Victory claimed that he had more seniority than she … Continue reading

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Death of Cardiss Collins, 1931-2012, Illinois Congressional Representative

The New York Times reports (here) today on the death of Cardiss Collins, “who reluctantly ran for a Chicago Congressional seat left vacant when her husband died in a plane crash and went on to become Illinois’s first black congresswoman, … Continue reading

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Gerda Lerner, Pioneering Feminist and Historian, Dies at 92

NYT obituary here. From the National Women’s History Museum: Gerda Lerner’s accomplishments and contributions to the field of women’s history have been fundamental to its development. Her many works include The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Women’s Rights … Continue reading

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Girls’ Soccer in the Shadow of Amelia Earhart

Floyd Bennett Field, located in Brooklyn, New York, is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.  Floyd Bennett Field was established in 1931 as the first airport within New York City limits.  Lots of historic flights began there, including a … Continue reading

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Pre-Season Debut of Female High School Quarterback

Via Marc Edelman (Andreas School of Law, Barry U.) this story from the South Florida Sun Sentinel of a female high school football quarterback in Florida: South Plantation’s Erin Dimeglio came one step closer to realizing her dream as she … Continue reading

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Jessica Gonzales v. United States: Blog Resource and Film Announcement

Filmmakers April Hayes and Katia Maguire are in the process of producing Jessica Gonzales v. United States, a documentary about one woman’s legal battle on behalf of domestic violence survivors.  Here is the producers’ description of the film: In 1999, … Continue reading

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Remembering Paula E. Hyman, 1946-2011

Over at the Jewish Daily Forward, Deborah Dash Moore writes a moving remembrance of historian Paula Hyman, who died today.  Professor Hyman was the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University and the author of The Jewish … Continue reading

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First Female Dean at University of the Andes Law School

Earlier this year, Helena Alviar García became the first female dean of the Law School at the University of the Andes in Bogotá (Colombia).  The school’s press release is here. Last month at an International Association of Law Schools Conference on … Continue reading

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First Openly Gay Justice Confirmed for Hawaii Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Hawaii Senate unanimously confirmed Sabrina McKenna to the Hawaii Supreme Court. McKenna is the first openly gay person to be appointed to the court, and her appointment marks the first time that the five-member court will have two … Continue reading

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Posted in Firsts, Legal Profession, LGBT Rights | 1 Comment

Are Women “Persons”?

It’s the anniversary of the “Persons Case.” If you are not a Canadian feminist legal scholar, you can learn more. -Ruthann Robson

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Posted in Feminism and Law, Feminist Legal History, Firsts | 1 Comment

Joan of Arc in NYC

According to this editorial from the New York Times on August 26, 2010 edition (at A-26), New York City’s first statue of a woman was raised in 1912: This is the first statue of a woman — not a female abstraction … Continue reading

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Naomi Schoenbaum on Elena Kagan’s “Post-Identity” Approach to Gender

Naomi Schoenbaum, a Bigelow Fellow at The University of Chicago Law School, has published "Post-Gender Justice: What Does Being a Woman Mean to Elena Kagan?" in The New Republic.  Here is an excerpt:   Kagan has been deemed a female … Continue reading

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Posted in Courts and the Judiciary, Firsts | 1 Comment

The Examined Life at Age 8 or 98: Dorothy Height Rest in Peace

The New York Times reported today that Dorothy Height, Activist, Educator, Civil Rights Leader, and quintessential black feminist, has died at the age of 98. You can read the NYT obituary of Dorothy Height here. Miss Height (and she was … Continue reading

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In honor of “The Hurt Locker’s” Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director last night, and International Women’s Day, a list of pioneering women movie directors.

From “Movie Mom” Nell Minow: 1. Penny Marshall, who started as an actress (“Laverne and Shirley”), went on to direct films that included “Awakenings,” “Big,” and “A League of Their Own.” 2. Amy Heckerling is the director of “Clueless” and … Continue reading

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Costa Rican voters elected the country’s first woman president on Sunday: Laura Chinchilla

From the NYT article entitled “Costa Rica Elects 1st Woman President in Landslide”: … Chinchilla, the mother of a teenage son, is a social conservative who opposes abortion and gay marriage. She appealed both to Costa Ricans seeking a fresh … Continue reading

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Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University is the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics in the 41-year history of the award

From the NYT: The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to two American social scientists for their work in describing the numerous relationships within a company or among companies and individuals that shape market behavior. The … Continue reading

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“Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer. It was the first time two women have been among the winners of the medicine prize.”

From here: … Blackburn and Greider discovered the enzyme that builds telomeres : telomerase : and the mechanism by which it adds DNA to the tips of chromosomes to replace genetic material that has eroded away. The prize-winners’ work, done … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Medicine, Feminism and Science, Firsts | 1 Comment

Today the Army will make Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King commandant of its drill sergeant school at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. It is a first. No woman has previously run one of the Army’s rigorous schools for drill instructors.

From the NYT: … The eighth of 12 children, the sergeant major is the daughter of a sharecropper who grew cucumbers and tobacco near Fort Bragg, N.C. Her first job in the Army was as a postal clerk, a traditional … Continue reading

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Sonia Sotomayor’s Personal History: Why It Matters

There has been much made of Sonia Sotomayor’s life, her Puerto Rican background, her modest, if not poor, childhood, her mother, what her Latina-ness means to her, her involvement in civil rights organizations, etc.   It’s both a big part … Continue reading

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Carol Ann Duffy will be the UK’s first woman poet laureate!

From Yahoo News: The centuries-old post of British poet laureate, bard to kings and queens, has been held by William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes : but never, until Friday, by a woman. Carol Ann Duffy said she … Continue reading

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Unveiling the Bronze Bust of Truth

From the Feminist Daily News Wire: Michelle Obama unveiled a bust of Sojourner Truth, known for her abolitionist and women’s rights work, at the US Capitol yesterday. Truth’s statue is the first of an African-American woman in the Capitol. The … Continue reading

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The Phabulous Phoebe Haddon is to be the U of Maryland School of Law’s Next Top Administrator

Rather a heinous loss for Temple Law, but a great hire for Maryland, which announced (in part): David J. Ramsay, DM, DPhil, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, today announced the appointment of Phoebe A. Haddon, JD, LLM, as … Continue reading

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Justice O’Connor on Women’s Rights

Justice O’Connor participated in an interview with the New York Times to promote her new website for children.   Though she declines to call herself a feminist, take note of what she does say: Do you call yourself a feminist? … Continue reading

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Yale Law School Has A Woman “Acting Dean”

Current Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh has been nominated by President Obama to serve as the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Taking his place as Acting Dean is Prof. Kate Stith. More here.

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The first all-female, all African American crew to operate a commercial flight:

(From top, left) Captain Rachelle Jones, First Officer Stephanie Grant and flight attendants Diana Galloway and Robin Rogers. The AFL-CIO NOW blog reports: Last month, when first officer Stephanie Grant of Atlantic Southeast Airlines got the call to replace the … Continue reading

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I Wanna Be …

Via The New Agenda blog

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Saturday Evening Review

This week’s Saturday Evening Review centers on  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,  returning to the Court this week after surgery.   As Robert Barnes  reported  for the Washington Post on Tuesday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court bench … Continue reading

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Iceland to Name First Lesbian Prime Minister

From Yahoo News: Iceland’s next leader will be an openly gay former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career. Both parties forming Iceland’s new coalition government support the appointment of Johanna Sigurdardottir, … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Politics, Firsts, LGBT Rights, Sisters In Other Nations | 2 Comments

“Janie Goree, who broke barriers by becoming the first black woman to be elected mayor of a municipality in South Carolina, has died.”

From The State, which also reports: Goree, the former mayor of Carlisle, died on Tuesday evening at age 87 at the Agape Senior center in West Columbia. The family was at Leevy’s Funeral Home in Columbia Thursday, finalizing funeral arrangements. … Continue reading

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Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan To Be Obama’s Solicitor General.

From this press release: Elena Kagan, Solicitor General Kagan, the Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law, is currently the 11th Dean of Harvard Law School.   Kagan first came to Harvard Law School as a visiting professor in 1999 and … Continue reading

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Rutgers School of Law-Newark Celebrates Women Reshaping American Law, February 13, 2009

From Feminist Law Prof Suzanne Kim (Rutgers-Newark), this notice of an upcoming conference: Rutgers School of Law-Newark is pleased to be celebrating its  centennial this year.   To honor the law school’s tradition of contributing to  social justice, we are … Continue reading

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Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye’s Legacy

The first part of a series at the New York Law Journal celebrating C.J. Kaye’s career is accessible here.

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Ann E. Dunwoody becomes first female four-star general

Story here. Below is an excerpt: Dunwoody, whose husband, Craig Brotchie, served for 26 years in the Air Force, choked up at times during a speech in which she said she only recently realized how much her accomplishment means to … Continue reading

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Congratulations to Bev Perdue, North Carolina’s first woman governor!

Charlotte Observer account of her victory here.   Excerpts below: Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue rode a national tide of Democratic support Tuesday to become the first female governor of North Carolina. Perdue, who has held office in Raleigh for nearly … Continue reading

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Featuring a woman on its currency for first time leads to debate in Turkey

From this article: … With the coming change in Turkey’s currency, there will be, for the first time in Turkish history, a picture of a woman — Fatma Aliye, Turkey’s first female novel writer — on a Turkish banknote, and … Continue reading

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Politics, Feminism and Firsts

Echidne of the Snakes has written a brilliant essay about the current state of political discourse among the Supposedly Liberal Doods. Below are a few excerpts, but you should go read the whole thing. … The first black and/or female … Continue reading

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“Two Women, Great Legacies”

That’s the title of Danielle Citron’s post at ConcOps about the passing of two great women journalists. Concurring Opinions was a solid law prof blog that got even better with the addition of the awesome Danielle! –Ann Bartow

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Today is the 27th Anniversary of Sandra Day O’Connor being sworn in as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nominated by President Ronald Reagan and unanimously approved by the Senate, Sandra Day O’Connor joined the Court on 25 September 1981 as its 102nd justice and first female appointee. –Sharon Sandeen

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Josephine Louise Newcomb established an undergraduate liberal-arts college in 1886 at Tulane in memory of her daughter. Her descendants are suing to have it reopened.

Last October it was reported that a first effort to get Newcomb College reopened failed: A state appeals court today narrowly turned down an attempt to resurrect Newcomb College, ruling that the plaintiffs had no right to file suit. By … Continue reading

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Doris Probst has become the first woman to win the annual hog calling contest at the Illinois State Fair

Video here! I love women who aren’t afraid to look a little silly, and she seems to be having a lot of fun. –Ann Bartow

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