Lesbians In Space

*asexual laughter*

The Roaring Girls of Queer London

Flashy hooligans like Moll Cutpurse and Long Meg sported broad-brimmed hats, wore “ruffianly short locks,” and carried swords. Other women lived quietly in secret same-sex marriages.

A great, in-depth read  – you may remember Moll Cutpurse from the first Rejected Princesses book. :)

Kui Buri National Park’s only female ranger shatters stereotypes | Stories | WWF

In Thailand, women like Kwan remain a rarity. But neither this nor the voices alleging that women aren’t suited for the ranger lifestyle – which comprises long working hours in spartan and sometimes dangerous conditions, away from loved ones – have prevented her from living her truth.

“I think [gender] doesn’t matter for your occupation. Any job that a man can do a woman can do also. Sometimes even better.“

The All-Women Team of Scientists That Trekked to the Heart of Kilauea Volcano's Eruption

As the eruption at Kilauea volcano turned the southeastern corner of Hawaii’s Big Island into a river of lava this summer, residents and tourists were instructed to stay the hell away. An all-women team of scientists from the United Kingdom, however, was asked to do the exact opposite.

“It’s just so cool that [five] women were the best people to call.” - team member Emma Liu.

Kenyan Woman Saves 15,000 Young Girls From Female Genital Mutilation - EBONY

Nice Nailantei Leng’ete was recently named one of Time’s Most Influential People, and for good reason. The 27-year-old Kenyan has made it her life’s work to help young African girls escape “female cutting,” commonly referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM). While discussing her mission with Yahoo Lifestyle, Leng’ete explained the cause is close to …

See also: Kakenya Ntaiya, who’s been working to end the practice through education.

She's a Ballerina. And a Quantum Physicist. And Maybe an Astronaut.

For the past decade, Merritt Moore has been living a double life as both a professional ballerina and a quantum physicist. While dancing with Zurich Ballet and Boston Ballet, she received her undergrad degree from Harvard in physics, and she's currently pursuing a PhD in quantum physics at Oxfor...

“I think it’s silly to categorize people as either having an analytical brain or a creative brain. Creativity is needed all the time in the lab to think of new solutions and to visualize problems in different ways. And in the dance world, being analytical allows you to stretch the limits of your physical abilities while finding new, innovative forms of movement.”

Holy crap - why, YES, Luke Cage, yes I do!

Nanny of the Maroons, as the show goes on to say, was a leader of a city of formerly-enslaved Africans in Jamaica. They regularly raided plantations to liberate others. Rumors swirled that she was royalty, but her origins are a bit unclear - the show says she was Asante, but I think that’s still uncertain?

She beat the hell out of the British for years, and was reputed to have magic powers. She fed her people with quick-growing pumpkins, made the British ill with her herbalism, and camouflaged warriors so well, British soldiers would hang their coats on them, thinking them trees. Said soldiers would then decapitate the British and vanish into the forest. She could supposedly catch bullets with her bare hands.

To this day, the site of old Nanny Town is a place where unwelcome visitors reputedly go missing. 

And yes, I cover her in my first book. 

(she’s so cool! so glad her story is suffusing its way into pop culture! she fits in perfectly with the storyline they have going in Luke Cage.)