BitchStory - Stories of badass women that history "forgot"

I like to think that Phyllis would be down with reclaiming the word “bitch”, and would embrace calling herself one. I don’t know that for sure, but what I do know is that she was one of the original queens of comedy, with her wild outfits, crazy wigs, self deprecating humor, and lame husband jokes. We hope you laugh during every episode of Bitchstory, because laughter is good medicine!

Merry Bitchmas (a yet unrecognized celebration that celebrates all the things and all the religions and non religions and a day when women and parents get to rest!) In this ep we cover a lot of shit- from the origins of Christianity to why Christmas is in December, even though there’s plenty of scientific theory that Jesus was born in the spring, to the goddesses of Winter Solstice and the origins...

And now for something completely different!  We cover a lot of serious stuff here, and whenever women are overlooked, let alone repressed/oppressed, it is serious.  But some of the women we cover are badasses because they ushered in a new era and they probably didn't even know it.  We know our audience loves the funny ladies and the lighter content, because the stats show it.  ...

After binging several seasons of Phillipa Gregory's historical dramas, I started to feel some kinda way about my family tree.  I am a descendent of Margaret Beaufort, who was mother of King Henry VII (grandmother of King Henry VIII who we all remember!).  She dedicated her life to protecting her son's claim to the throne, and didn't let anything get in her way. Yet in some historical acc...

In honor of Breast Cancer awareness month (October), and the many (way too many) friends we have currently fighting breast cancer, we wanted to do an episode about the doctors and women and medical people who've helped humanity make major strides in various areas of healthcare.   I'm really terrible at posting **TRIGGER WARNINGS**  but I'm trying to be better - women's history is b...

If you are curious exactly what’s happening in Iran and why, this is the episode for you. This is a women’s rights cautionary tale, and let’s hope it’s not foreshadowing.  The women protesting in Iran face imprisonment and death. We must pay attention. We’ve also eliminated the current events at the top of the show, so if that bored you, you’re in luck! These links are a timeline and photographs o...

So, disclaimer: neither of us are Hispanic/Latina.  We aren't claiming to be experts, and we are open to conversations to educate us.   This podcast aims to bring the unsung heroes onto the stage. Our stage is still small, so please share this podcast with friends who would enjoy it.  We would love your topic suggestions, or for you to let us know if we missed an important name or d...

We wanted to cover Lucille Ball, but we felt obligated to give mention to a bunch of other amazing female comedians who have broken barriers in the comedy world.  Comedy is a near and dear concept to us. Kelly calls it "group therapy for society" because it can force us to look at things from a different perspective and to address difficult topics with humor.  Female comedians have faced...

If you are hoping for an episode about musicals, move along. You and Lisa can vibe about musicals on your own time. In this episode we are talking about classical composers. We've only ever heard about Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and the rest of the classical music boys.  It never even occurred to us that women had been composers because what we do know is that women were not really allowed to do...

Everyone has heard of Amelia Earhart.  She actually made it into the history books. Sometimes I wonder if she would have been in the books if she'd made it back from that ill-fated flight. Dead women are no threat to the patriarchy.  That is so jaded, sorry!   Anyway,  this episode is packed with a bunch of badass ladies who have been defying gravity since the very beginning of...

Cleopatra VII Philopator was Queen of of Egypt. She was famously wealthy and her legend paints her as a seductress. She was most famously portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in one of the most expensive films in history in 1963.  The real story is that she was wildly intelligent, a brilliant strategist, spoke 9 or more languages, was revered by her people as a reincarnation of Isis… she was captiva...

If you follow the feminist movement, you're probably aware of some of the disagreements within the ranks of feminists.  This is not uncommon in any movement - ie: the black rights movement had both The Black Panthers and Martin Luther King Jr. Anyway, it can be overwhelming when you don't know how to be a good feminist or where to place your trust within the movement. Hint: with the people mo...

We’ve covered lady spies before and we can’t get enough. Women during the Revolution used some pretty brilliant tactics to pass coded information. We have pockets and we are taking notes in case, ya know. the women of the US revolt. We will also do a study of sentence structure of the Declaration of Independence. (Hint: COMMA) REACH US: heybitches@bitchstory.net Instagram  @bitchstory.pod HOW...

In this ep, we learn about the history behind Gay Pride. It didn’t start as a celebration…it started as a fight for fairness, justice, freedom, and equal rights. We learn about some key figures in the fight, and the important role that Drag Queens, trans, and queer folk played in paving the bumpy road to Pride as we know it today.

In this ep, we spill the Tea in LGBTQ! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady to Franklin Roosevelt for 4 terms, had a secret that will make you squeal. She was way ahead of her time! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-28/eleanor-roosevelt-lorena-hickok-white-houses-love-affair/9918614 https://www.amnesty.org.uk/universal-declaration-human-rights-UDHR.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are highlighting some Asian women at various points in history doing their badass thing.   Here's some informational sources for you: https://www.scarymommy.com/asian-american-women-activists https://www.scmp.com/yp/learn/learning-resources/article/3059250/ching-shih-pirate-queen-south-china-sea-aristocrat-and THE BOOK WE LOVE: Bad...

In this episode we do a deep dive into Roe v. Wade and its significance to women's rights as a whole. With Roe v. Wade in danger of being overturned, abortion rights advocates are working as I type this to insure that women have the right to govern their own body.  A couple days after we recorded, Louisiana advanced HB813, a bill which could criminalize abortions from the moment of conception...

The women in this episode care about Mother Earth, and demonstrate phenomenal "thinking outside the box" skills.  Innovative, Imaginative, Forward thinking badass bitches are making a difference for all of us on this mudball.  https://www.thecut.com/2021/06/how-rhiana-gunn-wright-gets-it-done.html https://www.ourcityforest.org/blog/2021/2/17/marjorie-richard https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-re...

This episode is the beginning of what will apparently be a long running series, because we found a treasure trove of lists of women who were integral in the Allied defeat of Hitler in World War 2.  The British and US governments recruited, trained, and placed hundreds, probably thousands of women in occupied France to spy on the Germans.  We had no idea how many badass women there were doing this...

This week we are so meta (not related to fuckerberg)! During women's history month, on a podcast about women's history, we are talking about women historians!   What we found is that the research done by women in academia is often sort of, shall we say...um...borrowed? No, it's often stolen.  So we wanted to give credit to some women who have contributed to our collective history in one way or ano...

In this ep, we go through a calendar of badassery to celebrate Women’s History Month. We also say the word “gay” a lot in hopes that Gov DeSantis in FL might energetically feel it and shrivel up into the dried turd that he is. Aaaand Kelly has strong feelings about the Republican Party and they aren’t nice feelings.

Continuing our Black History tribute to badass black women, I’m this Bitchstory lesson we cover some black female inventors. (I can hear one of my ex boyfriends whining from here: “😫but men Invented everything that matters”)

For Black History month, we are talking about some of the grass roots badass bitches of the Civil Rights movement that we certainly didn’t learn about in school.

She’s been doing much more than workin 9 to 5 for several decades. She’s been a stealthy and prolific philanthropist for a long time. During the covid pandemic she donated $1million to help the development of a vaccine. So we went “hmmmm” what else is she up to? Well…a lot. We love Dolly!

On 12/31/2021 we lost a national treasure with the passing of Betty White. She was funny AF, kind, broke all kinds of rules and barriers in the TV industry, and we love her for it.