Things to do in NYC: a feminist walking tour that, surprise surprise, not everyone’s thrilled out… Our Badass Women of NYC walking tour covers the women who built Social Security, outsold every male author in America, and did what Rosa Parks did 101 years before Rosa Parks. History buffs love it but we’ve gotten more than a few DM’s to tell us to “calm down” or “stop complaining”. Whatever helps the algorithm… 🎟️ The 2hr tour runs for the next 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

Things to do in NYC: a feminist walking tour that, surprise surprise, not everyone’s thrilled about… 🤷‍♀️ Our Badass Women of NYC walking tour covers the women who built Social Security, outsold every male author in America, and did what Rosa Parks did 100 years before. History buffs love it but we’ve gotten more than a few DM’s to tell us to “calm down” or “stop complaining”. Whatever helps the algorithm… 🎟️ The 2hr tour runs for the next 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

She battled the leading feminists of her generation over whether erotic films could be feminist. Candida Royalle was born Candice Vadala in Brooklyn in 1950. Her father was a jazz drummer and her mother left when she was a baby. She never saw her again. She studied at the High School of Art and Design, then Parsons, before moving to San Francisco. She performed with avant-garde theater troupes and fell into adult films when a play she was hoping to find success with closed after three performances. She wrote in her diary: “a failure once and for all.” She came back to New York and founded Femme Productions in 1984, the first adult film company built around female pleasure and female audiences. They had plot, seduction, and safe sex, over the objections of distributors. This was at the height of the AIDS crisis and so safe sex meant condoms on screen. Distributors believed that broke the fantasy for male viewers. In 1985 she went on national television and defended her work to the feminists who said it degraded women. In the meantime, she kept making films. Time magazine called one of them “a cross between Debbie Does Dallas and The Waltons” (a wholesome American family drama). When Candida died in 2015, her diaries, scrapbooks, and a costume from one of her films all went to Harvard’s Schlesinger Library, the nation’s leading repository for women’s history. Right next to the papers of the women who said her work had failed.

She spent years being told her work degraded women. It’s now in Harvard’s archive. Candida Royalle was born Candice Vadala in Brooklyn in 1950. Her father was a jazz drummer and her mother left when she was a baby. She never saw her again. She studied at the High School of Art and Design, then Parsons, before moving to San Francisco. She performed with avant-garde theater troupes and fell into adult films when a play she was hoping to find success with closed after three performances. She wrote in her diary: “a failure once and for all.” She came back to New York and founded Femme Productions in 1984, the first adult film company built around female pleasure and female audiences. They had plot, seduction, and safe sex, over the objections of distributors. This was at the height of the AIDS crisis and so safe sex meant condoms on screen. Distributors believed that broke the fantasy for male viewers. In 1985 she went on national television and defended her work to the feminists who said it degraded women. In the meantime, she kept making films. Time magazine called one of them “a cross between Debbie Does Dallas and The Waltons” (a wholesome American family drama). When Candida died in 2015, her diaries, scrapbooks, and a costume from one of her films all went to Harvard’s Schlesinger Library, the nation’s leading repository for women’s history. Right next to the papers of the women who said her work had failed.

The anti-pornography movement tried to silence her and the work that brought lesbian desire into the public narrative. Then she built an archive so no one could ever erase it. Joan Nestle was born in the Bronx in 1940 and raised by her mother, a bookkeeper in the garment district. By 18, Joan was sneaking into lesbian bars in Greenwich Village. Places run by the Mafia, raided by police every week, where women danced in back rooms knowing an arrest could come any night. Only one woman was allowed in the bathroom at a time because, as management put it, if two of them went in together they’d do something depraved and bring the vice squad. In 1965, she marched from Selma to Montgomery alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then she spent 29 years teaching writing at Queens College in a state program created specifically to reach students from low-income backgrounds who would not otherwise have made it through the door. In 1974, she started keeping things. Letters, journals, photographs, pulp novels, T-shirts, diaries. Every document she could find of women who had loved women. Everything lived in her apartment. The anti-pornography movement came for her writing in the 1980s. Women Against Pornography called for her stories to be censored, writing about lesbian desire that the feminist mainstream had decided was too dangerous to exist. She published anyway. Her 1992 anthology gathered nearly 500 pages of poetry, fiction, oral history, and memoir on their own terms. Her collection of things worth saving eventually outgrew her NYC apartment and in 1993 it moved to a four-story townhouse in Park Slope. Today the Lesbian Herstory Archives is the largest lesbian archive in the world. History doesn’t preserve itself. Someone has to decide it’s worth saving.

The first women’s basketball game at Madison Square Garden was in 1975. This woman made it happen. 🏀 Lucille Kyvallos grew up in Queens, playing basketball in schoolyards against boys. At the time there were no scholastic sports for girls in New York City. Title IX wouldn’t pass for another four years. Lucille became a coach for the women’s basketball team at Queens College in 1968 with almost no budget. Her players sold candy to pay for overnight trips and rode old school buses to away games. In thirteen years she built a record of 239 wins and 77 losses. She did it without recruiting a single player. Queens was tuition-free, so students were accepted by computer, in the order they applied. If Lucille wanted a player, she could only suggest they list Queens first. Then she had to wait to see if there was space in the freshman class. Then a Madison Square Garden executive came to her. Would she be interested in playing there? On February 22, 1975, Queens College faced Immaculata College at Madison Square Garden. The lights dimmed and over the speakers came Helen Reddy. I am woman, hear me roar. Nearly 12,000 people were in that building. Queens lost, 65 to 61. But the scoreboard was not the point. In 2017, Queens College renamed their court the Lucille Kyvallos Court - the first woman in New York City to receive that honor. In June 2025, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

A female history walking tour? 100% worth the two 16-hour flights to Australia and the week spent talking with the incredible women leading it so that we could bring it back to NYC. What we found wasn’t just a tour - it was locals reclaiming women’s history. Stories told out loud instead of buried in textbooks. We truly wouldn’t have ‘gotten it’ had we not gone on the tours, and met with the local teams in person. (3 cities, hopping on tours of women’s history, meeting with the incredible female guide teams...talk about a dream trip) Now we’re here, running tours every Saturday and Sunday. And when people join, they ‘get it’ too. Comment BADASS for the tour link - we’d love to see you there!

NYC women’s history walking tour that covers the stories your education skipped. The woman who built Social Security. The one who took on NYC segregated transit 100 years before Rosa Parks. The sculptor of Central Park’s most photographed fountain. The woman who outsold every male author in America in 1856… None of them made it into the textbooks. We’re working on it. Badass Women of NYC tour from the NYPL to Central Park. Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only. 🎟️ Comment BADASS for the link.

Unique things to do in NYC this summer: a women’s history walking tour with stories so wild you’ll want to tell everyone you know. Victoria Woodhull ran for president 48 years before women could legally vote. She was arrested on election day on obscenity charges (for exposing famous Brooklyn Preacher Henry Ward Beecher’s affair with a parishioner’s wife…) She also opened the first female stoke brokerage on Wall Street (making a fortune) Learn about more women who did incredible thing but who’s history we haven’t retained on this 2-hour walk from the NYPL to Central Park. Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only. Send this to someone who thinks they know NYC history. 🎟️ Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1872 a woman ran for president of the United States. She spent Election Day in jail. Victoria Woodhull arrived in New York City in 1868 with her sister Tennessee. Within two years, they had made a fortune on Wall Street. In 1870, a huge crowd gathered to watch them open the first female brokerage firm on Wall Street. Woodhull, Claflin & Company. A sign in the window read: “Gentlemen will state their business and then retire at once.” The profits funded a newspaper that published the first English translation of the Communist Manifesto. Then she ran for president. Frederick Douglass was her running mate. In 1872 women couldn’t vote, so Victoria couldn’t vote for herself.  Thomas Nast, the cartoonist famous for taking on Boss Tweed in unflattering political cartoons and the modern image of Santa Claus, drew her as the Devil. On Election Day she was sitting in a New York City jail, awaiting trial. She had been arrested on obscenity charges for exposing the affair of Henry Ward Beecher - pastor of Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church, brother of the woman who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the most famous preacher in America - with the wife of one of his parishioners. The charges were eventually dismissed. Victoria died in 1927. Seven years after

The first women-owned Wall Street brokerage had a sign in their window that read: “Gentlemen will state their business and then retire at once.” Two years later she ran for president. Victoria Woodhull arrived in New York City in 1868 with her sister Tennessee. Within two years, they had made a fortune on Wall Street. In 1870, a huge crowd gathered to watch them open the first female brokerage firm on Wall Street. Woodhull, Claflin & Company. The profits funded a newspaper that published the first English translation of the Communist Manifesto. Then she ran for president. Frederick Douglass was her running mate. In 1872 women couldn’t vote, so Victoria couldn’t vote for herself.  Thomas Nast, the cartoonist famous for taking on Boss Tweed in unflattering political cartoons and the modern image of Santa Claus, drew her as the Devil. On Election Day she was sitting in a New York City jail, awaiting trial. She had been arrested on obscenity charges for exposing the affair of Henry Ward Beecher - pastor of Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church, brother of the woman who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the most famous preacher in America - with the wife of one of his parishioners. The charges were eventually dismissed. Victoria died in 1927. Seven years after American women finally won the right to vote.

NYC walking tour for people who actually want to know this city: Badass Women of NYC. Over 2 hours we cover the women we wish we had learned about in school. From the woman who got ‘homosexuality’ removed from the APA list of mental illnesses to the most famous 1900s super model who lived for 60 years in an asylum (spoiler - you probably pass her likeness all the time…) Every single group leaves asking the same question, ‘how did we not know this???’ Badass Women of NYC runs Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only (+ private tours available) Send this to the person you’d take on this tour. Comment BADASS for the link. 🎟️

Things to do in NYC: a feminist walking tour that will genuinely change how you see this city - whether you like it or not. Our Badass Women of NYC walking tour covers the women who built Social Security, outsold every male author in America, and did what Rosa Parks did 101 years before Rosa Parks. History buffs love it but we’ve gotten more than a few DM’s to tell us to “calm down” or “stop complaining”. Whatever helps the algorithm… 🤷‍♀️ The 2hr tour runs for the next 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link. 🎟️

Things to do in NYC this weekend: a women’s history walking tour that covers the stories you should have learned in school. Like Elizabeth Jennings Graham who refused to get off a NYC streetcar in 1854. She sued the transit company and won. Her lawyer Chester Arthur, then just out of law school, went on to become president. She became a teacher and opened the first kindergarten for Black children in New York City. This 2-hour walk from the NYPL to Central Park covers even more women we wish everyone had heard of. Badass Women of NYC. Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only. Send this to a friend who thinks they know NYC history. Comment BADASS for the link. 🎟️

This self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” from Harlem became New York’s Poet Laureate. Audre Lorde was born in Harlem in 1934. As a child she couldn’t find words for how she felt, so she answered questions with poems. Her fight was on two fronts. The mainstream feminist movement of the 1970s largely excluded Black women. And the civil rights movement largely excluded gay and lesbian members. She refused to separate any part of herself and demanded both movements reckon with what they were leaving out. “Your silence will not protect you,” she wrote. So she made herself impossible to ignore. She co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1980, one of the first publishers dedicated to women of color. A professor at Hunter College, she wrote seventeen volumes on race, sexuality, motherhood and illness. And in 1991 New York State named her Poet Laureate. She died the next year, too young, from liver cancer at 58. In her own words; “What I leave behind has a life of its own.” 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1970s NYC, being openly Black, lesbian, and feminist could end a career. This woman built hers on it anyway. Audre Lorde was born in Harlem in 1934. As a child she couldn’t find words for how she felt, so she answered questions with poems. Her fight was on two fronts. The mainstream feminist movement of the 1970s largely excluded Black women. And the civil rights movement largely excluded gay and lesbian members. She refused to separate any part of herself and demanded both movements reckon with what they were leaving out. “Your silence will not protect you,” she wrote. So she made herself impossible to ignore. She co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1980, one of the first publishers dedicated to women of color. A professor at Hunter College, she wrote seventeen volumes on race, sexuality, motherhood and illness. And in 1991 New York State named her Poet Laureate. She died the next year, too young, from liver cancer at 58. In her own words; “What I leave behind has a life of its own.” 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

Earlier this month I was utterly overwhelmed by the encouragement and generosity that only a room filled with women leaders can pulse with. @cityguideny’s Women in Tourism 2026 Awards flattered me as a tour guide honoree. Which is funny to me as it’s been so long since I’ve identified as a ‘tour guide’. It happened organically when @maximumbeth & I opened up @sheshapeshistorynyc. I was researching & writing the tour, walking the tour, training the guides on the tour… And as a scrappy side-business we’re trying to grow (on top of jobs & young kids), I didn’t hesitate to hop on tours when our guides weren’t free, to keep the customer. (thank goodness that, out of nostalgia, I’ve kept my guide license current all these years...) So here I am, guiding. And now with an actual award that I’ve put in my office next to my late-Grandpa’s own tour guide award (from @bigapplegreeters). Xx Nikki

This woman hired Alexander Hamilton’s son to divorce Aaron Burr. Eliza Jumel was born Betsy Bowen in 1775 in Providence, Rhode Island into grinding poverty. She came to New York, changed her name, and spent years as the mistress of Stephen Jumel, a wealthy French wine merchant, 20 years her senior, who liked to parade her around the city in an expensive coach. Legend has it she faked a terminal illness and told him her dying wish was to marry. They were married in 1804 (that same legend says she made a miraculous recovery 2 days later) and he bought them the Morris Mansion in Washington Heights, George Washington’s former headquarters and the oldest surviving house in Manhattan, putting her name on the deed. Together they went to Paris, moving in Napoleonic circles and entertaining at the highest levels of French society. When Eliza came back to New York alone in 1826, she brought his power of attorney and expanded their real estate holdings significantly. When he passed in 1832 she became one of Manhattan’s wealthiest widows. Fourteen months later she married Aaron Burr - yes, the Hamilton Aaron Burr - who was also nearly 20 years her senior and broke. After he spent $13,000 of her money within a few months, she divorced him. Her divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr., the son of the man Aaron Burr had killed in that infamous duel. The divorce was finalized the day Burr died. She lived to 90 years old, Manhattan’s richest woman, and introduced herself as “the widow of a Vice President”

Legend has it this woman faked a terminal illness to get him to marry her. Two days after the wedding, she made a full recovery. Eliza Jumel was born Betsy Bowen in 1775 in Providence, Rhode Island into grinding poverty. She came to New York, changed her name, and spent years as the mistress of Stephen Jumel, a wealthy French wine merchant, 20 years her senior, who liked to parade her around the city in an expensive coach. Legend has it she faked a terminal illness and told him her dying wish was to marry. They were married in 1804 (that same legend says she made a miraculous recovery 2 days later) and he bought them the Morris Mansion in Washington Heights, George Washington’s former headquarters and the oldest surviving house in Manhattan, putting her name on the deed. Together they went to Paris, moving in Napoleonic circles and entertaining at the highest levels of French society. When Eliza came back to New York alone in 1826, she brought his power of attorney and expanded their real estate holdings significantly. When he passed in 1832 she became one of Manhattan’s wealthiest widows. Fourteen months later she married Aaron Burr - yes, the Hamilton Aaron Burr - who was also nearly 20 years her senior and broke. After he spent $13,000 of her money within a few months, she divorced him. Her divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr., the son of the man Aaron Burr had killed in that infamous duel. The divorce was finalized the day Burr died. She lived to 90 years old, Manhattan’s richest woman, and introduced herself as “the widow of a Vice President”

She was deported for opening the 1st lesbian bars in NYC. Eve Adams arrived at Ellis Island from Poland alone in1912. She was 20 years old. Like many female immigrants, she started as a garment worker and became interested in labor activism and radical politics. At one point she was selling radical publications on Village streets - including Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth - she eventually opened a tearoom in a basement on MacDougal Street. Eve’s Hangout. A sign on the door read: “Men are admitted but not welcome.” She hosted salons, poetry readings, and created a space where artists and activists could connect. It was described in the local paper as a place where “ladies prefer each other.” In 1925, under the pseudonym Evelyn Addams, she published Lesbian Love - short stories about women she’d met in Greenwich Village. It was one of the earliest examples of American lesbian literature. She gave it out at the tearoom. In 1926 an undercover police officer walked into Eve’s Hangout, obtained a copy of the book, and had Eve arrested for obscenity. She was jailed at the infamous Jefferson Market Prison in the Village. The FBI’d had a file on her, for her associations with Emma Goldman and other anarchists. She was in the process of citizenship, but not yet completed. And so, despite her petitioning, Eve was deported. She went to Paris and opened another bar, which is where she met Hella Olstein Soldner, a German cabaret singer. They lived together for the rest of their lives, which ended abruptly. Arrested in Nazi-occupied France, they were sent to Auschwitz. They did not survive liberation. A biographer Jonathan Ned Katz wrote that her self-given name was chosen deliberately. She combined “a bit of Eve, a bit of Adam.” You can visit that MacDougal Street basement today (now La Lanterna), and Lesbian Love was reprinted in 2021. You can grab a digital version online. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1925 this cafe in the Village had a sign on the door that read “Men are admitted but not welcome.” Eve Adams arrived at Ellis Island from Poland alone in1912. She was 20 years old. Like many female immigrants, she started as a garment worker and became interested in labor activism and radical politics. At one point she was selling radical publications on Village streets - including Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth - she eventually opened a tearoom in a basement on MacDougal Street. Eve’s Hangout. She hosted salons, poetry readings, and created a space where artists and activists could connect. It was described in the local paper as a place where “ladies prefer each other.” In 1925, under the pseudonym Evelyn Addams, she published Lesbian Love - short stories about women she’d met in Greenwich Village. It was one of the earliest examples of American lesbian literature. She gave it out at the tearoom. In 1926 an undercover police officer walked into Eve’s Hangout, obtained a copy of the book, and had Eve arrested for obscenity. She was jailed at the infamous Jefferson Market Prison in the Village. The FBI’d had a file on her, for her associations with Emma Goldman and other anarchists. She was in the process of citizenship, but not yet completed. And so, despite her petitioning, Eve was deported. She went to Paris and opened another bar, which is where she met Hella Olstein Soldner, a German cabaret singer. They lived together for the rest of their lives, which ended abruptly. Arrested in Nazi-occupied France, they were sent to Auschwitz. They did not survive liberation. A biographer Jonathan Ned Katz wrote that her self-given name was chosen deliberately. She combined “a bit of Eve, a bit of Adam.” You can visit that MacDougal Street basement today (now La Lanterna), and Lesbian Love was reprinted in 2021. You can grab a digital version online.

Unique things to do in NYC this summer: a women’s history walking tour that covers the stories nobody taught you. Like this Chinese-American teenager who led 10,000 people up Fifth Avenue fighting for a right she’d never get to use. Badass Women of NYC runs Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only. Send this to someone who thinks they know NYC history. Comment BADASS for the link.

Best things to do in NYC if you actually want to know this city - a feminist history walking tour. This 2-hr Badass Women of NYC tour runs from the NYPL to Central Park. Saturdays + Sundays for 6 weeks only. Save this for your weekend plans. Comment BADASS for the link.

A NYC walking tour that will genuinely change how you see this city. We’ll cover, the woman who built Social Security, the 40-hour work week, and child labor laws. A woman who outsold every male author in America in 1856, and more. Badass Women of NYC. Saturdays + Sundays for the next 6 weeks only. Send this to a friend who would take this with you! Comment BADASS for the link.

This former suffragist served as FDR’s US Minister to Norway. Following the King as he fled Oslo, she evaded Nazi forces through snowy Norwegian forests. She was 70 years old. Florence Harriman was a New York socialite who helped build the Colony Club in 1907, the first women’s social club in the city, despite men who insisted “a woman’s club is her home.” She led a suffrage parade down Fifth Avenue and then, at the outbreak of WWI, organized the Red Cross Motor Corps. In 1937, FDR appointed her US Minister to Norway. At 3:30 in the morning on April 9, 1940, the phone rang. German warships were coming up the fjord. Her cable to Washington was the first official news of the Nazi invasion. By 9:45 she was in her car with the code book and a typewriter, following King Haakon VII as he fled Oslo. She dodged bombs and hid in shacks for days before making it to Sweden. From there she organized the evacuation of American citizens and members of the Norwegian royal family. At 92, JFK gave her the first Presidential Citation of Merit he ever awarded. “No one,” she once said, “need be dull.”

At 3:30 AM on April 9, 1940, the phone rang at the American Embassy in Norway with a warning of German warships coming up the fjord. This woman’s cable to Washington was the first official news of the Nazi invasion. Florence Harriman was a New York socialite who helped build the Colony Club in 1907, the first women’s social club in the city, despite men who insisted “a woman’s club is her home.” She led a suffrage parade down Fifth Avenue and then, at the outbreak of WWI, organized the Red Cross Motor Corps. In 1937, FDR appointed her US Minister to Norway. Her cable to Washington was the first official news of the Nazi invasion. By 9:45 she was in her car with the code book and a typewriter, following King Haakon VII as he fled Oslo. She dodged bombs and hid in shacks for days before making it to Sweden. From there she organized the evacuation of American citizens and members of the Norwegian royal family. At 92, JFK gave her the first Presidential Citation of Merit he ever awarded. “No one,” she once said, “need be dull.”

Her girlfriend told her to quit acting. It was good advice as she went on to turn interior decoration into a profession. Elsie de Wolfe was a Chelsea girl who spent her twenties trying to be an actress. She was…not great. There was a joke at the time that went; “What did you think of Miss de Wolfe?” “Oh, I thought she was wonderful in the second dress.” Her partner Bessie Marbury was one of New York’s most powerful theatrical agents. They lived together on East 17th Street for 30 years. It was Bessie who finally persuaded her to leave the stage and decorate. When the Colony Club, the first women’s club in New York, needed someone to design its interiors in 1905, architect Stanford White - of the Washington Square Arch & guided age mansions, who was later shot dead over an affair with a sixteen-year-old showgirl named Evelyn Nesbit - told the committee: “Give it to Elsie and let her alone. She knows more than any of us.” She introduced chintz, mirrored walls, light colors and indoor lattice to American homes. In 1926 she married Sir Charles Mendl. Her explanation: “He looks so wonderful against the fireplace.” She also threw EPIC parties… When she died in 1950, her fortune went to her secretary, not Sir Charles. He said: “Thirty years of service versus twenty of infidelity. Who can blame her?”

Interior designers today can trace their profession to one woman. She was one half of a Victorian Lesbian Power Couple. Elsie de Wolfe was a Chelsea girl who spent her twenties trying to be an actress. She was…not great. There was a joke at the time that went; “What did you think of Miss de Wolfe?” “Oh, I thought she was wonderful in the second dress.” Her partner Bessie Marbury was one of New York’s most powerful theatrical agents. They lived together on East 17th Street for 30 years. It was Bessie who finally persuaded her to leave the stage and decorate. When the Colony Club, the first women’s club in New York, needed someone to design its interiors in 1905, architect Stanford White - of the Washington Square Arch & guided age mansions, who was later shot dead over an affair with a sixteen-year-old showgirl named Evelyn Nesbit - told the committee: “Give it to Elsie and let her alone. She knows more than any of us.” She introduced chintz, mirrored walls, light colors and indoor lattice to American homes. In 1926 she married Sir Charles Mendl. Her explanation: “He looks so wonderful against the fireplace.” She also threw EPIC parties… When she died in 1950, her fortune went to her secretary, not Sir Charles. He said: “Thirty years of service versus twenty of infidelity. Who can blame her?” 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1972 first feminist restaurant in America opened up in the West Village. The woman behind it had just been fired from the feminist movement. Dolores Alexander was a journalist at Newsday when she proposed the Executive Director position at the National Organization for Women in 1968. She quit her job to take it. The following year Friedan fired her during what Dolores called “a lesbian purge.” (she wasn’t even out yet) That same summer she fell in love with Jill Ward. Late one night Jill was stuck on the Long Island Expressway with nowhere to eat. When she got home, she told Dolores: “Let’s open a feminist restaurant.” A bank refused their loan because they were women. When word got out they were raising money through friends, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned them about soliciting funds. They called them “two freaks from the Women’s Lib.” Mother Courage opened on W 11th Street in 1972. It was the first feminist restaurant in the United States, meaning a restaurant owned, run, and staffed entirely by women. A place where women could eat alone without being harassed. Novel… Regulars included Audre Lorde, author Kate Millett, and journalist Susan Brownmiller. The organization she ran didn’t want her. So Dolores built a better table.

To do in NYC this weekend: hop on a feminist history walking tour. Learn about all the women who’ve completely shaped NYC history (but you’ve never heard of....) Running for 6-weeks only! Send this to a friend who needs a patriarchy-clense this weekend. Comment BADASS for tour dates.

This female history tour of NYC takes you through the women who’ve completely changed this city but are rarely taught about in school… Like Antonia Pantoja who’s Aspira organization took on the Board of Edu (and won) leading to the bilingual education program we know today in the USA. Send this to a friend who would love to learn about this women on a tour. Limited run (Sat/Sun in Midtown) - comment BADASS for the link.

Local things to do in NYC - a female history walking tour where you meet the New Yorkers who changed history and never got the credit. Like Mabel Ping Hua Lee who led one of the biggest suffrage marches up 5th ave. on horseback when she was 16-years-old, unable to gain the vote herself because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Save this for your NYC trip and send it to someone who loves NYC history. Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

This NYC women’s history walking tour is only running for the next 6-weeks! New York has always been full of women who refused to play by the rules. Like Fanny Fern who wrote her way from poverty to riches covering all sorts of taboo topics. Save this for your NYC staycation and send it to a friend who loves NYC history. Limited run - comment BADASS for the link.

A bank refused to give them a loan because they were women. They opened the restaurant anyway. Dolores Alexander had just been fired from the National Organization for Women (during what Dolores called a “lesbian purge”) She wasn’t even out yet. That summer she fell in love with Jill Ward. One night Jill got stuck on the Long Island Expressway with nowhere to eat. She came home and said: let’s open a feminist restaurant. When the bank refused their loan, they got friends to help fund it and Mother Courage opened on West 11th Street in 1972. It was the first restaurant in America owned, run, and staffed entirely by women. A place where you could eat alone without being harassed. Novel. @people magazine wrote: Is the kitchen any place for a feminist these days?” “The answer is yes, provided the kitchen is in a restaurant owned and managed by other feminists.”

In 1972 first feminist restaurant in America opened up in the West Village. The woman behind it had just been fired from the feminist movement. Dolores Alexander was a journalist at Newsday when she proposed the Executive Director position at the National Organization for Women in 1968. She quit her job to take it. The following year Friedan fired her during what Dolores called “a lesbian purge.” (she wasn’t even out yet) That same summer she fell in love with Jill Ward. Late one night Jill was stuck on the Long Island Expressway with nowhere to eat. When she got home, she told Dolores: “Let’s open a feminist restaurant.” A bank refused their loan because they were women. When word got out they were raising money through friends, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned them about soliciting funds. They called them “two freaks from the Women’s Lib.” Mother Courage opened on W 11th Street in 1972. It was the first feminist restaurant in the United States, meaning a restaurant owned, run, and staffed entirely by women. A place where women could eat alone without being harassed. Novel… Regulars included Audre Lorde, author Kate Millett, and journalist Susan Brownmiller. The organization she ran didn’t want her. So Dolores built a better table.

Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, fired the woman she hired to run the National Organization for Women. That woman opened the first feminist restaurant in America. Dolores Alexander was a journalist at Newsday when she proposed the Executive Director position at the National Organization for Women in 1968. She quit her job to take it. The following year Friedan fired her during what Dolores called “a lesbian purge.” (she wasn’t even out yet) That same summer she fell in love with Jill Ward. Late one night Jill was stuck on the Long Island Expressway with nowhere to eat. When she got home, she told Dolores: “Let’s open a feminist restaurant.” A bank refused their loan because they were women. When word got out they were raising money through friends, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned them about soliciting funds. They called them “two freaks from the Women’s Lib.” Mother Courage opened on W 11th Street in 1972. It was the first feminist restaurant in the United States, meaning a restaurant owned, run, and staffed entirely by women. A place where women could eat alone without being harassed. Novel… Regulars included Audre Lorde, author Kate Millett, and journalist Susan Brownmiller. The organization she ran didn’t want her. So Dolores built a better table.

In 1943 the Algonquin Hotel hired what was possibly the first female sommelier in NYC. It was the first Manhattan hotel to welcome women traveling alone and their signature drink was rye, vermouth, and pineapple juice. Her job was the wine. Elizabeth Bird had spent 22 years as a waitress. When the Algonquin’s sommelier got too ill to continue, she asked for the job. The maître d’ gave her a six-week tryout and a new name. The previous sommelier was François so they called her Francine. Six weeks later it was said the maître d was wondering why he’d ever been reluctant. She was quoted in the NYTimes: “I never try to advise a man on hard liquors. New Yorkers don’t need any help in that department. They usually know exactly what

She spent 22 years waiting tables at the Algonquin Hotel. Then in 1943 she asked for the sommelier job. The Algonquin was the first Manhattan hotel to welcome women traveling alone (OG #solofemaletravelers) and their signature drink was rye, vermouth, and pineapple juice. Her job was the wine. 🍷 Elizabeth Bird had been waitressing (for 22 years…) when the Algonquin’s sommelier had to step down. She asked for the job. The maître d’ gave her a six-week tryout and a new name. The previous sommelier was François so they called her Francine. Six weeks later it was said the maître d was wondering why he’d ever been reluctant. She was quoted in the NYTimes: “I never try to advise a man on hard liquors. New Yorkers don’t need any help in that department. They usually know exactly what they want. Sometimes too well.” They still called her Francine…

This woman’s Wellesley career advisor told her not to apply to Yale Law School. Her father agreed. Jane Bolin went on to become the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. — In 1939 Mayor LaGuardia called her to the World’s Fair and pulled her husband into another room first to tell him the news. LaGuardia came out and simply said; “I’m going to make you a judge. Raise your right hand.” “I was in a state of shock.” Jane recalled “I raised my right hand.” She spent 40 years on that bench. Stopped child welfare agencies from marking petitions to sort Black and Puerto Rican kids into segregated facilities. Started taking off her judicial robes so the kids in her courtroom would feel more comfortable… For 20 years, she served as the only Black female judge in the country. Three mayors reappointed her. Her colleague said she was “a militant, a fighter, in a very quiet way.” She didn’t campaign for recognition. She just changed the rules from inside the room she’d fought to get into.

In 1939, this woman became the first Black female judge in United States history. When the mayor told her, he told her husband first. Jane Bolin was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. — In 1939 Mayor LaGuardia called her to the World’s Fair and pulled her husband into another room first to tell him the news. LaGuardia came out and simply said; “I’m going to make you a judge. Raise your right hand.” “I was in a state of shock.” Jane recalled “I raised my right hand.” She spent 40 years on that bench. Stopped child welfare agencies from marking petitions to sort Black and Puerto Rican kids into segregated facilities. Started taking off her judicial robes so the kids in her courtroom would feel more comfortable… For 20 years, she served as the only Black female judge in the country. Three mayors reappointed her. Her colleague said she was “a militant, a fighter, in a very quiet way.” She didn’t campaign for recognition. She just changed the rules from inside the room she’d fought to get into.

This walking tour of NYC’s women’s history tells the incredible stories of badass women you’ve never heard of but should absolutely know. Get outside this weekend, touch some grass & learn something! Send this to a friend who’d take this with you. Comment BADASS for upcoming tour dates (limited spots available!)

How many women in NYC’s history can you name? We all know Jackie O, and Nelly Bly, but what about the woman whose face you probably pass every day but never thought about before? Or the 16 year old Chinese-American who marched for women’s suffrage during the Chinese Exclusion Act? Join us for a tour and find out! Save for the next time you want exciting weekend plans. Comment BADASS for upcoming tour dates (limited spots available!)

NYC women’s history walking tour, open regularly to the public didn’t exist...so we started one! If you’re looking for something unique to do in NYC this weekend, join us to learn about women who’ve had huge impacts on the city (and country) but you’ve probably never heard of... Send this to a friend who loves NYC history. Comment BADASS for the link.

NYC women’s history walking tour - something to do in NYC this weekend during our limited summer run. For the women who go first so others can follow - this tour is for you. Get some inspiration from previous ceiling-smashers you probably haven’t heard of (like Victoria Woodhull, the first female stock broker on Wall Street who ran for president in 1872) Save this for your NYC trip and send it to someone who loves NYC history. Comment BADASS for the link.

NYC women’s history walking tour, now booking for May 30th and beyond. Every stop on this tour is a woman who built something for those who had a need (like the unmatched Ellen Stewart of La Mama). Send this to someone who loves NYC history & hop on a tour! Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

Unique things to do in NYC - a female history walking tour where you meet the New Yorkers who changed history and never got the credit. Like Mabel Ping Hua Lee who led one of the biggest suffrage marches up 5th ave. on horseback when she was 16-years-old, unable to gain the vote herself because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Save this for your NYC trip and send it to someone who loves NYC history. Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

NYC women’s history walking tour, now booking for May 30 & 31st. Meet the women you’ve never heard of but should know, like Frances Perkins who was the first female presidential secretary in the USA. Save this for your NYC trip and send it to someone who loves NYC history. Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

This woman was New York magazine’s first ever restaurant critic. She had no culinary training and zero restaurant background. Gael Greene wrote a freelancer article for the Herald Tribune about a French restaurant opening. The founding editor of the New York Magazine read it, and saw a unique fly-on-the-wall style. He tracked her down and while the salary wasn’t great, it offered unlimited free dining, so she said yes. Having no critic’s training, she approached it like any other reporting, who, what, why, where, when. To keep herself anonymous, she wore big hats pulled low and made reservations under fake names. It was a completely new way to write about food. The Chicago Tribune called it “the industry standard for sensuous, brilliant and bitchy food writing.” She did that for 40 years, transforming the style of the genre. Before her restaurant criticism was matter-of-fact. She made herself a character in the reviews, writing about food the way she wrote about everything else in her life. In 1981, she read a Times article about elderly New Yorkers going without food on weekends, so she called some contacts. She raised $35,000 in days and co-founded Citymeals on Wheels with James Beard. Citymeals now delivers two million meals a year. She changed how New York thinks about food. Then she made sure New Yorkers got to eat.

This woman was on Fidel Castro’s list, not for politics, but for taking up too much space. So she moved to NYC. La Lupe was a singer from Santiago, Cuba. She built her career in Havana’s late-night clubs developing a raw and experimental style that echoed her world in 1950s Cuba & Castro’s rise to power. Her music was described as a melting pot of Edith Piaf, Eartha Kitt, Tina Turner, and some Santeria mixed in. When she was warned by the government that her “overtly passionate antics did not align with the shifting cultural and political landscape”, she left Cuba, arriving in NYC in 1962. Within a few years she was recording with Tito Puente one of the greatest bandleaders in Latin music history and became the first Latina to sell out Madison Square Garden. By the 80s her career had collapsed. Some say due to the rise of salsa and Celia Cruz. She died in the Bronx at the age of 53 from a heart attack. The music industry called her “crazy” and “possessed.” Let’s call it what it was: an Afro-Cuban woman being labeled unstable for performing on her own terms. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

Her name was Fanny Fern. This weekend, come meet her and 6 other women who refused to stay in their lane. Our NYC women’s history walking tour runs May 30 through June 28. Limited spots! Comment BADASS for the link.

NYC this weekend? This is the history walk you didn’t know you needed. Two hours through Manhattan covering the women who shaped this city and never got the credit. Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

If you’re in NYC next weekend, skip the lines. This is the walk locals wish existed: two hours, seven women, zero names you learned in school. Limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for the link.

This Memorial Day, we’re remembering the women history forgot. The ones who built what others got credit for and led marches for rights they couldn’t access. Our NYC women’s history walking tour, limited run May 30 through June 28. Comment BADASS for upcoming dates.

Looking for something new to do in NYC? Every weekend, May 30 through June 28 we run a two hour walking tour sharing the stories of the badass women who have made New York City what it is. And to all those people sliding into our DM’s to tell us, we should just “relax”… bad news we don’t plan on relaxing anytime soon. Comment BADASS for a link to tickets of the limited run!

This weekend hop on a NYC walking tour that covers the women’s history we should all know. If you’re a NYC local, or just visiting and looking to unplug, get outside, and learn something, we’d love to see you on a tour! __ Comment BADASS for our current limited run- every Saturday & Sunday May 30-June 28.

Our NYC women’s history walking tour covers the women you’ve never heard about but should really know… Like Audrey Munson, one the most famous super models in the 1910s. An obsessed admirer brutally murdered his wife for her. SHE ended up losing her career and spending 60 years in an insane asylum. You’ve probably passed her image 100x in New York City and never realized. ___ Comment BADASS to see upcoming tour dates. Limited run May 30- June 28.

If you took our NYC women’s history walking tour you’d learn that there were 0 statues of historical women in Central Park. Until 2020… (there was even one of a historical dog!) __ Comment BADASS for dates to learn all about the women you really should’ve heard about, but probably haven’t.

She found out she was racing around the world on the same morning she left. She had hours to pack. 😮 In the 1880s Elizabeth Bisland was one of the leading women journalists in NYC, contributing to Harper’s, the Atlantic Monthly, and Cosmopolitan magazine. When her publisher read that Nellie Bly was racing around the world for the rival paper, he called Elisabeth to his office, and gave her the assignment to race in the opposite direction. She was to leave hours later… Nellie finished in 72 days. Elizabeth in 76. Both beat Jules Verne’s fictional 80. But she might have won… In England, near the end of the race, she was told she’d missed her intended ship. She boarded a slower one instead. Four days was the difference. She had always written newspaper articles anonymously. The race put her name in a headline for the first time and to her, that was sensationalism she wanted no part of. “I resolved that they would never have reason to put my name in a headline again.” She kept writing. Prolifically. But true to her promise you never saw her in a headline again and Nellie Bly went down as the woman who raced the world.

You know NYC. 🗽 The neighborhoods, the best views, what days the museums are pay-what-you-wish… But the women who shaped this city? That’s a different story. And that’s ok. These aren’t the stories most of us were taught in school. 🤔 Like the female-made sculpture of the most photographed spot in Central Park. The Harlem couture seamstress who made the Playboy Bunny uniforms, or the Chinese-American who fought for women’s right to vote when she herself was barred... Or did you know that the first statue of historical women in Central Park was added in 2020. Join us for a Badass Women of NYC walking tour. Running every Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks. Link in bio for tickets.

This iconic Central Park statue was made by a woman living in an 1800s bohemian lesbian community in Rome. Emma Stebbins was born in New York City, but in 1856 she moved to Rome to build a completely different life. She joined a circle of American women artists - sculptors, writers, actresses - living on their own terms. Her partner was the actress Charlotte Cushman (famous for playing male roles on stage). She was commissioned to make her masterpiece, Angel of the Waters for Central Park during the Civil War (her brother, Henry sat on the Central Park Board of Commissioners) It was the first major public art commission ever given to a woman in the city’s history. She picked the New Testament’s healing angel deliberately. New York had just gotten a clean water source with the Croton Aqueduct. Her father and a brother had both died of cholera, caused by contaminated water. Decades later Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America - a gay fantasia about survival and healing - with the final scene taking place at Emma’s fountain. He said afterward he had no idea the woman who made it was a lesbian. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1922, the New York Times ran a headline: 82,549 babies saved. One woman’s name was underneath it. Sara Josephine Baker grew up in Poughkeepsie. Moved to Manhattan to study medicine. In 1901, she became a city health inspector. In Hell’s Kitchen, 1,500 babies were dying every week. In 1908, she became the first director of New York City’s Bureau of Child Hygiene, the first government bureau of its kind in the world. That summer, she sent nurses into the tenements to teach mothers how to keep their babies alive. 1,200 fewer babies died. Just that summer. NYU asked her to lecture on child health. She said she would if they also let her enroll. They turned her down. Then they looked for a man who knew as much. They couldn’t find one. She was also the woman who chased Typhoid Mary through the streets of Manhattan and sat on her in the ambulance to keep her from escaping. Most people have never heard her name.

You’ve heard of Typhoid Mary. This woman chased her through the streets of Manhattan and sat on her in the ambulance to keep her from escaping. Sara Josephine Baker studied medicine at the Women’s Medical College in Manhattan. In 1901, she became a city health inspector and found 1,500 babies dying every week in Hell’s Kitchen. In 1908, she became the first director of the NYC Bureau of Child Hygiene, the first government bureau of its kind in the world. That summer, she sent nurses into the tenements to teach mothers how to keep their babies alive. 1,200 fewer babies died that summer. Just that one summer. NYU asked her to lecture on child health. She said she would, if they also let her enroll as a student. They turned her down. Then they looked for a male lecturer who knew more than she did. They couldn’t find one. In 1922, the New York Times ran the headline: 82,549 babies saved. That was her work. Most people have never heard her name.

She found out she was racing around the world on the same morning she left. She had hours to pack. Elizabeth Bisland was one of the leading women journalists in NYC, contributing to Harper’s, the Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Sun. She EVEN hosted a literary salon where eminent people of the artistic, social, and literary world gathered to discuss fine literature. She worked for Cosmopolitan magazine and when the publisher read that Nellie Bly was racing around the world for the rival paper, the New York World, he called Bisland to his office, and gave her the assignment to race in the opposite direction. She was to leave hours later… Bly finished in 72 days. Bisland in 76. Both beat Jules Verne’s fictional 80. She might have won. In England, near the end of the race, she was told she’d missed her intended ship. She boarded a slower one instead. Four days was the difference. She had always written newspaper articles anonymously. The race put her name in a headline for the first time and to her, that was sensationalism she wanted no part of. “I resolved that they would never have reason to put my name in a headline again.” She kept writing. Prolifically. But true to her promise you never saw her in a headline again and Nellie Bly went down as the woman who raced the world.

Five million people saw her sculpture at the 1939 World’s Fair. When it closed, they bulldozed it. She couldn’t afford to save it. Augusta Savage arrived in Harlem with $4.60. Completed Cooper Union’s four-year program in three. In 1923, she won one of 100 scholarships to study at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in Paris. The committee found out she was Black and revoked it. “How am I to compete with other American artists if I am not to be given the same opportunity?” She opened a studio in Harlem instead. Taught Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight. For free. In 1939, she was the only Black artist commissioned for the World’s Fair. She spent over a year creating a 16-foot sculpture from plaster, a choir of Black children arranged like the strings of a harp, standing alongside Kooning and Dalí. When the fair closed, she couldn’t afford to cast it in bronze, or ship it, or store it. So they bulldozed it. She died in relative obscurity in 1962. Art history moved on.

Thurgood Marshall called her book the Bible of civil rights law. Harvard told her she wasn’t “of the sex entitled to be admitted.” Pauli Murray grew up in Harlem and graduated from Hunter College in 1933. In 1938, the University of North Carolina rejected her because of her race. Six years later, as valedictorian of Howard Law School, she applied to (& was denied) Harvard. She coined the term Jane Crow, from her own experience. She ended up going to Yale. Making her the first Black person to earn a doctorate from Yale Law School. Her law school paper informed the legal reasoning used to argue Brown v. Board and later Ruth Bader Ginsburg listed her as co-author on the brief that won women equal protection under the law. “We were not inventing something new,” Ginsburg said. “We were saying the same things Pauli had said years earlier.” Two movements. One woman. How do we not all know her name?

You know Brown versus Board of Education. You probably don’t know the woman whose legal paper made it possible. Harvard once told her she was “not of the sex entitled to be admitted”… Reverend Doctor Pauli Murray grew up in Harlem and graduated from Hunter College in 1933. In 1938, the University of North Carolina rejected her because of her race. Six years later, as valedictorian of Howard Law School, she applied to (& was denied) Harvard. She coined the term Jane Crow, from her own experience. She ended up going to Yale. Making her the first Black person to earn a doctorate from Yale Law School. Her law school paper informed the legal reasoning used to argue Brown v. Board and later Ruth Bader Ginsburg listed her as co-author on the brief that won women equal protection under the law. “We were not inventing something new,” Ginsburg said. “We were saying the same things Pauli had said years earlier.” Two movements. One woman. How do we not all know her name? 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

She was packed and ready to sail to Paris. Then the letter arrived. They were “awfully sorry” they hadn’t known the color of her skin. Augusta Savage arrived in Harlem with $4.60. She completed Cooper Union’s four-year program in three years and in 1923, she won one of 100 scholarships to study at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in Paris. The committee found out she was Black and revoked it. Augusta said “How am I to compete with other American artists if I am not to be given the same opportunity?” She opened a studio in Harlem instead. Taught Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight. For free. In 1939, she was the only Black artist commissioned for the New York World’s Fair. She spent over a year creating a 16-foot sculpture from plaster, a choir of Black children arranged like the strings of a harp. It was shown alongside Kooning and Dalí. Five million people saw it. When the fair closed, she couldn’t afford to cast it in bronze, or ship it, or store it. So it got bulldozed. She died in relative obscurity in 1962. Art history moved on. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

You can find out if you’re pregnant in the privacy of your own bathroom in minutes, thanks to this 26-year-old. She never got paid for it. Margaret Crane was a graphic designer designing lipstick packaging at a pharmaceutical company, when she walked through the lab and saw rows of pregnancy tests being processed for doctors. At that time it could take two weeks to get your results. She thought: women could just do this at home. She went back to her New York apartment and built a prototype from a paperclip box, a test tube, and a mirror. The company said no. Then the Dutch parent company said yes, without telling her. They hired outside designers to compete for the product she invented. She showed up to the meeting, waited for the other designers to present, and slid her prototype in at the end of the line. It was the only one that worked, and so they took it. Her name is on the patent, as inventor, but she had to sign over her rights for a dollar. She never got the dollar. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

This iconic Central Park statue was made by a woman living in an 1800s bohemian lesbian community in Rome. Emma Stebbins was born in New York City, but in 1856 she moved to Rome to build a completely different life. She joined a circle of American women artists - sculptors, writers, actresses - living on their own terms. Her partner was the actress Charlotte Cushman (famous for playing male roles on stage). She was commissioned to make her masterpiece, Angel of the Waters for Central Park during the Civil War (her brother, Henry sat on the Central Park Board of Commissioners) It was the first major public art commission ever given to a woman in the city’s history. She picked the New Testament’s healing angel deliberately. New York had just gotten a clean water source with the Croton Aqueduct. Her father and a brother had both died of cholera, caused by contaminated water. Decades later Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America - a gay fantasia about survival and healing - with the final scene taking place at Emma’s fountain. He said afterward he had no idea the woman who made it was a lesbian.

This iconic Central Park statue was made by a woman living in an 1800s bohemian lesbian community in Rome. Emma Stebbins was born in New York City, but in 1856 she moved to Rome to build a completely different life. She joined a circle of American women artists - sculptors, writers, actresses - living on their own terms. Her partner was the actress Charlotte Cushman (famous for playing male roles on stage). She was commissioned to make her masterpiece, Angel of the Waters for Central Park during the Civil War (her brother, Henry sat on the Central Park Board of Commissioners) It was the first major public art commission ever given to a woman in the city’s history. She picked the New Testament’s healing angel deliberately. New York had just gotten a clean water source with the Croton Aqueduct. Her father and a brother had both died of cholera, caused by contaminated water. Decades later Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America - a gay fantasia about survival and healing - with the final scene taking place at Emma’s fountain. He said afterward he had no idea the woman who made it was a lesbian. __ Want to hear more stories of women in NYC that not enough of us know about? Comment BADASS for details on our walking tours, running every Saturday and Sunday in June.

You know ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ The song that took hip-hop global. This woman produced it. Sylvia Robinson was already a successful recording artist in 1973, “Pillow Talk” hit the top three on the Billboard charts. But she heard something that had started in the Bronx making its way to a Harlem nightclub called Harlem World. A DJ talking over music, a crowd going electric. She moved fast. She founded Sugar Hill Records in 1979, put together three unknown rappers, brought them into a studio and recorded “Rapper’s Delight” in a single take. Eight million copies sold, hitting No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first hip-hop single to crack the top 40. Three years later she produced “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The record that proved hip-hop could say something real about the world. She heard something new that nobody had built a business around yet. So she built it. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

Every Central Park wedding shoot features a sculpture made by a woman from an 1800s bohemian lesbian community in Rome. Emma Stebbins was born in New York City, but in 1856 she moved to Rome to build a completely different life. She joined a circle of American women artists - sculptors, writers, actresses - living on their own terms. Her partner was the actress Charlotte Cushman (famous for playing male roles on stage). She was commissioned to make her masterpiece, Angel of the Waters for Central Park during the Civil War (her brother, Henry sat on the Central Park Board of Commissioners) It was the first major public art commission ever given to a woman in the city’s history. She picked the New Testament’s healing angel deliberately. New York had just gotten a clean water source with the Croton Aqueduct. Her father and a brother had both died of cholera, caused by contaminated water. Decades later Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America - a gay fantasia about survival and healing - with the final scene taking place at Emma’s fountain. He said afterward he had no idea the woman who made it was a lesbian.

Central Park has 28 statues of historical men. One of a dog. 🐾 And one of a woman - “women” actually, 3 share the pedestal… (And no, Alice in Wonderland doesn’t count, she wasn’t a real person) We can do better. This Mother’s Day make it right. Take your mom on a walking tour of the women NYC forgot. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

Central Park has 28 statues of historical men. One of a dog. 🐾 And one of a woman - “women” actually, 3 share the pedestal… (And no, Alice in Wonderland doesn’t count, she wasn’t a real person) We can do better. This Mother’s Day make it right. Take your mom on a walking tour of the women NYC forgot. Every Saturday & Sunday this June. Dates & tickets in bio. 🎟️

Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Heat Wave was introduced 20 years prior by the first Black woman to appear alongside White performers. In the 1920s, Broadway didn’t cast Black and white actors together. Irving Berlin cast Ethel Waters as his lead in As Thousands Cheer making her the first Black woman to integrate Broadway. Her headlining number? Heat Wave. In 1939, NBC gave her her own show, making her the first Black person to star in their own television show. In 1950 she headlined the weekly TV series, Beulah. The character was a maid: warm, selfless, completely one dimensional. A year later she walked away, calling it “degrading.” Ethel opened every door in American entertainment: Broadway, film, television. She later became one of the first Black people ever nominated for an Oscar and the first Black woman ever nominated for an Emmy. Maybe it’s time for a brand change from the Emmys to the Ethels?

Before this Osage woman, few people had ever heard of The Nutcracker ballet. Maria Tallchief came to New York City when she was 17. She had grown up on the Osage Nation reservation in Oklahoma, in a family that had seen both the wealth and the violence that came when oil was discovered on their land. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she was encouraged to change her name to something more Russian-sounding, she declined. There she met choreographer George Balanchine. When he started the New York City Ballet, Maria followed. She became his muse. Briefly, his wife. The marriage didn’t last. The partnership did. In 1949 her performance in Firebird made her an international sensation, becoming the NYC Ballet’s first breakout star. In 2024, Barbie made her a doll in the same costume. And in 1954, her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy transformed The Nutcracker from an obscure Russian ballet into the most performed ballet in America. The first Native American prima ballerina. The highest paid dancer in the world. And in 1953, the Osage Nation gave her a name: Wa-Xthe-Thomba [wok-say-tomba]. Woman of Two Worlds. She never stopped being both.

101 years before Rosa Parks, this woman refused to get off the 3rd Ave streetcar. Elizabeth Jennings Graham was running late to church in 1854. As she stepped on the streetcard, the conductor stopped her, telling her to wait for the next car because “it has her people in it”. She was the organ player, she needed to get to church. So she stepped on anyway. By her own account the conductor grabbed her, she grabbed the window, then the driver came over and tried to drag her off - so she screamed “murder” with all her voice. A police officer showed up, and threw her off. She sued. Her lawyer, a 24-year-old named Chester Arthur. Two months out of law school. The court ruled in their favor: Black New Yorkers had the legal right to ride. The Third Avenue Railroad was desegregated the next day. Chester Arthur went on to become the 21st President of the United States. Elizabeth, a teacher, went on to open the first kindergarten for Black children in NYC out of her home on West 41st Street. In 2007, the children from PS 361 successfully campaigned to name a street after her, Elizabeth Jennings Place, near where she originally boarded that streetcar. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

You’ve seen the @playboy Bunny costume your whole life. Did you know a Black woman in Harlem made it. 🐰 That’s not even the most important thing she did. Zelda Wynn Valdes started in a back stockroom of a boutique in White Plains, working her way up to become a sales clerk and tailor. By 1948 she opened her own shop on Broadway at 158th Street. She had 9 dressmakers on staff and her gowns could cost up to $1,000. She dressed Josephine Baker, Mae West, Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald… Then Hugh Hefner came calling. She helped make the Bunny costume (which was the first “service uniform” ever registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office). In 1970, she was asked to design for the @dancetheatreofharlem. This is where she changed everything. Until then, Black ballet dancers had worn pink tights made to match White skin. Zelda soaked the tights in tea and used Dye to match each dancer’s skin tone. She even spray-painted the shoes. Zelda had once said she had a God-given talent for making people beautiful. She meant everyone. 💗 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

101 years before Rosa Parks, this woman refused to get off the 3rd Ave streetcar, resulting in the desegregation of the railroad (thanks to a future president fresh out of law school). Elizabeth Jennings Graham was running late to church in 1854. As she stepped on the streetcard, the conductor stopped her, telling her to wait for the next car because “it has her people in it”. She was the organ player, she needed to get to church. So she stepped on anyway. By her own account the conductor grabbed her, she grabbed the window, then the driver came over and tried to drag her off - so she screamed “murder” with all her voice. A police officer showed up, and threw her off. She sued. Her lawyer, a 24-year-old named Chester Arthur. Two months out of law school. The court ruled in their favor: Black New Yorkers had the legal right to ride. The Third Avenue Railroad was desegregated the next day. Chester Arthur went on to become the 21st President of the United States. Elizabeth, a teacher, went on to open the first kindergarten for Black children in NYC out of her home on West 41st Street. In 2007, the children from PS 361 successfully campaigned to name a street after her, Elizabeth Jennings Place, near where she originally boarded that streetcar.

Before this Osage woman, few people had ever heard of The Nutcracker ballet. Maria Tallchief came to New York City when she was 17. She had grown up on the Osage Nation reservation in Oklahoma, in a family that had seen both the wealth and the violence that came when oil was discovered on their land. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she was encouraged to change her name to something more Russian-sounding, she declined. There she met choreographer George Balanchine. When he started the New York City Ballet, Maria followed. She became his muse. Briefly, his wife. The marriage didn’t last. The partnership did. In 1949 her performance in Firebird made her an international sensation, becoming the NYC Ballet’s first breakout star. In 2024, Barbie made her a doll in the same costume. And in 1954, her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy transformed The Nutcracker from an obscure Russian ballet into the most performed ballet in America. The first Native American prima ballerina. The highest paid dancer in the world. And in 1953, the Osage Nation gave her a name: Wa-Xthe-Thomba. Woman of Two Worlds. She never stopped being both.

Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Heat Wave was introduced 20 years prior by the first Black woman to appear alongside white performers. In the 1920s, Broadway didn’t cast Black and white actors together. Irving Berlin cast Ethel Waters as his lead in As Thousands Cheer making her the first Black woman to integrate Broadway. Her headlining number? Heat Wave. In 1939, NBC gave her her own show, making her the first Black person to star in their own television show. In 1950 she headlined the weekly TV series, Beulah. The character was a maid: warm, selfless, completely one dimensional. A year later she walked away, calling it “degrading.” Ethel opened every door in American entertainment: Broadway, film, television. She later became one of the first Black people ever nominated for an Oscar and the first Black woman ever nominated for an Emmy. Maybe it’s time for a brand change from the Emmys to the Ethels?

In 1919, Broadway’s biggest star helped shut down every show in New York. August 7, 1919: Actors’ Equity called the first strike in Broadway history. Every show went dark. Producers said it would last a day, in the end, it lasted 30 days. Five days in, the chorus girls in the Ziegfeld Follies formed their own union - the Chorus Equity. They elected Marie Dressler their first president who led them in a march straight down Broadway. When it ended, actors walked away with rehearsal pay and better conditions (which had been lacking). Marie got blacklisted. She ended up spending her savings and having to move in with a friend. She wasn’t able to start booking roles again until she was nearly 60 years old. However at 62, she won one of the first Academy Awards for Best Actress even given for her role in Min & Bill. Who says women can’t have a second act?

The first Black woman to appear alongside white cast members on Broadway was at the Music Box Theater. She also became the first Black person, not first woman, first person ever, to star in their own television show. In the 1920s, Broadway didn’t cast Black and white actors together. Irving Berlin cast Ethel Waters as his lead in As Thousands Cheer and made her the first Black woman to integrate Broadway. In 1939, NBC gave her her own show Making her the first Black person on television. In 1950 she became the first Black woman to headline a weekly TV series, “Beulah”. The character was a maid - warm, selfless, completely one dimensional. In 1951 she walked away, calling it “degrading”. She opened every door in American entertainment. Broadway. Film. Television. One of the first Black people ever nominated for an Oscar. The first Black woman ever nominated for an Emmy. Maybe it’s time for a brand change from the Emmy’s (@televisionacad) to the Ethel’s?

This Native American Woman was the first Prima Ballerina And you can thank her for the yearly Nutcracker ballet. Maria Tallchief came to NYC when she was 17. She had grown up on the Osage Nation reservation in Oklahoma, in a family that had seen both the wealth and the violence that came when oil was discovered on their land. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. They told her to change her name, become “Tallchieva,” sound more Russian. She refused. She performed as Maria Tallchief for the rest of her life. There she met choreographer George Balanchine. When he started the New York City Ballet, Maria followed. She became his muse. Briefly, his wife… And the company’s first star. In 1949 her performance in Firebird made her an international sensation. In 2024, Barbie made a doll in that exact costume. And in 1954, her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy transformed The Nutcracker from an obscure Russian ballet into the most performed ballet in America. Every production you’ve ever seen traces back to her. The first Native American prima ballerina. The highest paid dancer in the world. And in 1953, the Osage Nation gave her a name: Wa-Xthe-Thomba, Woman of Two Worlds. She never stopped being both.

In 1953, getting off a plane dressed as a woman could’ve gotten her arrested in New York City. She did it anyway. In front of 300 reporters. Christine Jorgensen grew up in the Bronx. Served in WWII. And in 1952 had surgery in Denmark to solve what she’s always known, that she was a woman. Someone leaked a letter she wrote home to her parents. The New York Daily News ran it front page: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty.” The New York Times headline: “Bronx ‘Boy’ Is Now A Girl.” Boy in quotes… She could have hidden. Instead she arranged for 300 reporters to meet her at the airport. When she walked off that plane she smiled for every camera. She launched a nightclub act. Went on a lecture tour. Used every interview, even the rude ones, to educate. At the time, thousands of people were writing letters to doctors asking how to do what Christine had done. She gave them a name for it, a face. A person who was like them and had gone on to live how they never thought they could. 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

In 1919 Broadway’s biggest star shut down every show in New York. Back in the day, Broadway was a rough gig. No pay for rehearsals, no days off and tough working conditions. Marie Dressler was one of Broadway’s biggest stars and President of the Chorus Equity Association. And one day, she’d had enough. August 7, 1919: She helped lead the first strike in Broadway history. Every show in New York shut down. Producers said it would last a day (it lasted 30 days). Producers threatened her. Called her a troublemaker. She held the line. On August 31: The strike ended. The Actors came away with: Rehearsal pay, better conditions, basic dignity. Marie, meanwhile, got completely blacklisted. Her career tanked and couldn’t get work for years. Her next role finally came at the age of 58 (and she won an Oscar). Actors today can that Marie for paid rehearsals, and yet, so few know her name.

The first Black woman to appear alongside white cast members on Broadway was right here at the music box theater. She also was the first to have her own TV show….and you’ve probably never heard of her. In the 1920s, Broadway didn’t cast Black and white actors together. Irving Berlin cast Ethel Waters as his lead in As Thousands Cheer. And it made her the first Black woman to integrate Broadway. 1939: She became the first African American actor to star in their own television show. Not first woman. First actor, period. The Ethel Waters Show aired on NBC in 1939. In 1950 she became another ‘first’ by starring in the tv series, Beulah. But there was a cost. To get in that room, she had to play roles she didn’t respect. Maids. Servants. Stereotypes written by white men. She took them because she needed the money. Until she didn’t. In 1951, she quit Beulah calling it “degrading.” She opened every door. But she rarely got to walk through them on her own terms. Ethel Waters teaches us that the people who open doors rarely get to walk through them celebrated. It’s up to us to celebrate for them.

In 1856, the highest-paid columnist in the US was a divorced single mother. And she made her new husband, 11 years her junior, sign a prenup. Fanny Fern (pen name) was sent to Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary as a young girl to “curb her high spirits”. Catharine called her one of her worst-behaved girls, who she “loved the best” Fanny lost her husband young, and her father pressured her into a second marriage. Her second husband was so controlling and jealous she walked out - at a time when divorced women lost everything; their reputation, their family’s support, and any financial security. She started doing the only thing she knew how, writing. She wrote about divorce. About what marriage actually felt like from the inside. that a married woman owned nothing; not her property, not her earnings, not herself. About corsets and the connection between women’s restricted physical lives and their deteriorating health. Within 4 years she had a weekly column in the NY Ledger at $100/week. She was making more than any other columnist in the country (male OR female). While at Seminary, Fanny crossed paths with Catharine’s younger sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet went on to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin and is credited with galvanizing public opposition to slavery in the North. Same school. Same building. Completely different kinds of trouble. — Want to hear the stories of more women who’ve completely changed history (but you’ve probably never heard their name…) Comment BADASS for upcoming tour dates.

The cure for tuberclosis was found in Staten Island. This woman ran the trial. The doctor who oversaw the antibiotic trial was asked what made it successful. He said: Had it not been for the Black nurses, nothing in the hospital and the trials would have worked. In the 1950s TB was highly contagious and had no cure. One in seven people who got it died. White nurses were quitting in droves And so Black nurses stepped up, barred from most hospitals at the time, especially in the highly segregated south, this was the best job available to them. Missouria Meadows-Walker trained at Howard University under Estelle Massey Osborne, the first Black woman to earn a master’s in nursing in the U.S. Arriving at Sea View in Staten Island, she was assigned the men’s ward. Cracked ribs from coughing. Hallucinating fevers. Bigoted patients who hated her and told her so every day (including a Nazi POW who survived under her care). In 1952 the doctor hand-selected her to oversee the first human trial of a new antibiotic. She knew those patients by name, by mood, by history. Her team was at bedside around the clock — taking vitals, tracking emotional state, recording every response. The trial worked. The cure was announced. The doctor was quoted in every paper. Missouria was in none of them. Seventy years later, author Maria Smilios was editing a medical textbook when she found one line mentioning Sea View. She looked for archives about the nurses. It took her eight years to reconstruct their story from scratch, culled almost exclusively from oral history. — Shout out to @mariamsmilios for DMing us about the Black Angels - highly recommend her book!

A doctor was asked what made the tuberculosis cure successful. He said: had it not been for the Black nurses in charge, nothing would have worked. In the 1950s TB was highly contagious and had no cure. One in seven people who got it died. White nurses were quitting in droves And so Black nurses stepped up, barred from most hospitals at the time, especially in the highly segregated south, this was the best job available to them. Missouria Meadows-Walker trained at Howard University under Estelle Massey Osborne, the first Black woman to earn a master’s in nursing in the U.S. Arriving at Sea View in Staten Island, she was assigned the men’s ward. Cracked ribs from coughing. Hallucinating fevers. Bigoted patients who hated her and told her so every day (including a Nazi POW who survived under her care). In 1952 the doctor hand-selected her to oversee the first human trial of a new antibiotic. She knew those patients by name, by mood, by history. Her team was at bedside around the clock — taking vitals, tracking emotional state, recording every response. The trial worked. The cure was announced. The doctor was quoted in every paper. Missouria was in none of them. Seventy years later, author Maria Smilios was editing a medical textbook when she found one line mentioning Sea View. She looked for archives about the nurses. It took her eight years to reconstruct their story from scratch, culled almost exclusively from oral history. — Shout out to @mariamsmilios for DMing us about the Black Angels - highly recommend her book! 🎟️🎟️ Want to learn about more badass women of NYC? Join our 2-hour walking tour running Saturday & Sunday for 6 weeks only. Comment BADASS for the link.

The FBI hired its first Black female agent in 1976. She was 26. They put her on organized crime. Sylvia Mathis had a law degree from the University of North Carolina. Her dean, a former FBI agent, told her she should apply. And she was chosen from over 1,000 applicants. Two Black women had attempted the training before her and didn’t make it through. Sylvia did. They sent her to New York, known in the 70s as ‘Fear City’ The city was nearly bankrupt and crime was at historic highs. The peak of mob control in NYC, 5 families controlled everything: The Genovese, the lucchese, the Gambino’s (later run by John Gotti). First assignment for Sylvia, the organized crime unit. She worked undercover going after illegal gambling and extortion. She built cases against organizations that had been running New York for decades (all as one of 40 women total in an agency of 8,500 agents). She eventually left the FBI in to practice law, then ended up in Florida to take care of her parents where she was Director of a Services Council that provided emergency assistance to the homeless and unemployed. Tragically in 1983, she died in a car accident at just 34 years old. We all know John Gotti, one of the most famous mob bosses in modern US history. However most people have never heard of Syliva, just a badge number and a bunch of sealed undercover records. — For more stories about Badass women who you’ve probably never heard of but should absolutely know…join us on our Badass Women of NYC Tour! Comment BADASS for upcoming dates.

Dirty Dancing is a hidden dedication to the woman who almost got us universal healthcare. 💪 Baby’s real name is Frances, named after Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman ever appointed to a US Cabinet. The screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein references Frances again through the line around Baby planning to attend Mount Holyoke College - Frances Perkins’s actual alma mater. Frances Perkins was the architect of the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, the end of child labor, and Social Security. She had one item left on her list: universal healthcare. She accomplished more than almost anyone in American political history. Most people have never heard her name. — Want to hear more about women like Frances, who you should absolutely know but have probably never heard about? Join us on our Badass Women Tour of NYC. Comment BADASS for more details & upcoming tour dates.

In Dirty Dancing Baby has a real name. You might’ve caught that, but did you know who she was named after? Baby’s real name is Frances, named after Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman ever appointed to a US Cabinet. The screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein references Frances again through the line around Baby planning to attend Mount Holyoke College - Frances Perkins’s actual alma mater. Frances Perkins was the architect of the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, the end of child labor, and Social Security. She had one item left on her list: universal healthcare. She accomplished more than almost anyone in American political history. Most people have never heard her name. — Want to hear more about women like Frances, who you should absolutely know but have probably never heard about? Join us on our Badass Women Tour of NYC. Comment BADASS for more details & upcoming tour dates.

Dirty Dancing is a hidden dedication to the woman who almost got us universal healthcare. Baby’s real name is Frances, named after Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman ever appointed to a US Cabinet. The screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein references Frances again through the line around Baby planning to attend Mount Holyoke College - Frances Perkins’s actual alma mater. Frances Perkins was the architect of the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, the end of child labor, and Social Security. She had one item left on her list: universal healthcare. She accomplished more than almost anyone in American political history. Most people have never heard her name. — Want to hear more about women like Frances, who you should absolutely know but have probably never heard about? Join us on our Badass Women Tour of NYC. Comment BADASS for more details & upcoming tour dates.

The first Black female FBI agent was 26. They put her on the organized crime squad. In 1970s, New York Times Square was open-air crime scene, 5 top mob families controlled construction, the docks, the garbage. The whole city. Walking into that was Sylvia Mathis. 26 years old. Bachelor’s in political science from NYU. Law degree from the University of North Carolina. Only 41 of the FBI’s 8,500 agents were women. Two Black women had tried before her and didn’t make it through training. Sylvia was the first. She was assigned to the New York Field Office. Organized crime squad. She Investigated illegal gambling and extortion. Worked undercover. The records for much of her work is sealed. In 1979 she left the FBI and worked as a New York attorney Before moving to Florida to care for her parents were she became director of a council providing emergency assistance to homeless and unemployed residents. Tragically, she was killed in a car accident when she was 34. She had a reporter in 1976: “I am interested in defending rights and the enforcement of rights. Going into the FBI seemed like a natural step.” No book deal of her work, No movie. Just a paragraph on the FBI website and a badge number: 2658.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In 1976, the FBI had one Black female agent. They put her on the organized crime squad.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ In 1970s, New York Times Square was open-air crime scene, 5 top mob families controlled construction, the docks, the garbage. The whole city. Walking into that was Sylvia Mathis. 26 years old. Bachelor’s in political science from NYU. Law degree from the University of North Carolina. Only 41 of the FBI’s 8,500 agents were women. Two Black women had tried before her and didn’t make it through training. Sylvia was the first. She was assigned to the New York Field Office. Organized crime squad. She Investigated illegal gambling and extortion. Worked undercover. The records for much of her work is sealed. In 1979 she left the FBI and worked as a New York attorney Before moving to Florida to care for her parents were she became director of a council providing emergency assistance to homeless and unemployed residents. Tragically, she was killed in a car accident when she was 34. She had a reporter in 1976: “I am interested in defending rights and the enforcement of rights. Going into the FBI seemed like a natural step.” No book deal of her work, No movie. Just a paragraph on the FBI website and a badge number: 2658.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In 1952, every newspaper in America ran her story. You’ve never heard her name. Christine Jorgensen was born in the Bronx And in 1945 she was drafted into the Army, Assigned male at birth, Christine always knew she was a woman, and so after the war, she began a a transition process, starting hormone therapy and traveling to Denmark for surgery. During this time she wrote a letter home to her parents and someone leaked it to the press. On December 1st, 1952, the New York Daily News front page read: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty” She could have retreated to maintain her privacy, but instead she walked off that plane from Denmark knowing that every camera in NYC would be waiting. She became a nightclub performer. A lecturer. An advocate. She used every interview, even the rude ones, to educate. At the time she came home, public cross-dressing was illegal. She walked off that plane anyway. Historians say she brought what we now call “transgender” to the attention of a global audience. By the 1970s, thousands of people were showing up to hear her speak. Christine herself said she didn’t start the Sexual Revolution. She just gave it a swift kick in the pants.

This NYC woman served in WWII. Her homecoming made front page news for a very different reason. Christine Jorgensen was born in the Bronx And in 1945 she was drafted into the Army. Assigned male at birth, Christine always knew she was a woman, and so after the war, she began a a transition process, starting hormone therapy and traveling to Denmark for surgery. During this time she wrote a letter home to her parents and someone leaked it to the press. On December 1st, 1952, the New York Daily News front page read: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty” She could have retreated to maintain her privacy, but instead she walked off that plane from Denmark knowing that every camera in NYC would be waiting. She became a nightclub performer. A lecturer. An advocate. She used every interview, even the rude ones, to educate. At the time she came home, public cross-dressing was illegal. She walked off that plane anyway. Historians say she brought what we now call “transgender” to the attention of a global audience. By the 1970s, thousands of people were showing up to hear her speak. Christine herself said she didn’t start the Sexual Revolution…she just gave it a swift kick in the pants.

In 1907, a woman wore a one-piece swimsuit to the beach. It caused a scandal that changed women’s fashion forever. In the early 1900s, women swam in wool dresses. You couldn’t swim, you could mainly waddle. Enter Annette Kellermann. Australian champion swimmer. World record holder. She refused to swim in a dress, so she made her own suit, a one-piece, form-fitting, ending above the knee. In 1907, she wore it to a Boston beach and was arrested for indecent exposure. Newspapers covered the story. The public rallied. The judge let her go — as long as she wore a robe to the water’s edge. But the damage was done. Women started asking: Why can’t we move freely in the water? Annette came to NYC and performed high dives and underwater ballet, all in her one-piece. She launched her own swimwear line. By 1912, it was the official attire for women’s Olympic swimming. The Victorian bathing dress was over. Women could finally swim. She freed a generation of women to move. — Want to learn the stories of more women you should really know but have probably never heard of? Comment BADASS for upcoming dates for our Badass Women of NYC walking tour. 🎟️

In 1907, a woman wore a one-piece swimsuit to the beach. It caused a scandal that changed women’s fashion forever. In the early 1900s, women swam in wool dresses. Knee-length. Puffed sleeves. Bloomers underneath. Long black stockings. Bathing slippers… (yes, bathing slippers) You couldn’t swim, you could mainly waddle. Enter Annette Kellermann. Australian champion swimmer. World record holder. She refused to swim in a dress, so she made her own suit, a one-piece, form-fitting, ending above the knee. In 1907, she wore it to a Boston beach and was arrested for indecent exposure. Newspapers covered the story. The public rallied. The judge let her go — as long as she wore a robe to the water’s edge. But the damage was done. Women started asking: Why can’t we move freely in the water? Annette came to NYC and performed high dives and underwater ballet, all in her one-piece. She launched her own swimwear line. By 1912, it was the official attire for women’s Olympic swimming. The Victorian bathing dress was over. Women could finally swim. She freed a generation of women to move. — Want to learn the stories of more women you should really know but have probably never heard of? Comment BADASS for upcoming dates for our Badass Women of NYC walking tour. 🎟️