No woman in the three-hundred-year history of the karyukai has ever come forward in public to tell her story -- until now.

"Many say I was the best geisha of my generation," writes Mineko Iwasaki. "And yet, it was a life that I found too constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave." Trained to become a geisha from the age of five, Iwasaki would live among the other "women of art" in Kyoto's Gion Kobu district and practice the ancient customs of Japanese entertainment. She was loved by kings, princes, military heroes, and wealthy statesmen alike. But even though she became one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, Iwasaki wanted more: her own life. And by the time she retired at age twenty-nine, Iwasaki was finally on her way toward a new beginning.

Geisha, a Life is her story -- at times heartbreaking, always awe-inspiring, and totally true.

Economic Imperatives for Women's Writing in Early Modern Europe delves into the early modern history of women's authorship and literary production in Europe taking a material turn. The case studies included in the volume represent women writers from various European countries and comparatively reflect the nuances of their participation in a burgeoning commercial market for authors while profiting as much from patronage. From self-representation as professional writers to literary reception, the challenges of reputation, financial hardships, and relationships with editors and colleagues, the essays in this collection show from different theoretical standpoints and linguistic areas that gender biases played a far less limiting role in women's literary writing than is commonly assumed, while they determined the relationship between moneymaking, self-representation, and publishing strategies.

A fascinating look at the lives of women who bore the heat of day in Christian mission, but who were often forgotten by history until now.

From Homer to Tim O'Brien, war literature remains largely the domain of male writers, and traditional narratives imply that the burdens of war are carried by men. But women and children disproportionately suffer the consequences of conflict: famine, disease, sexual abuse, and emotional trauma caused by loss of loved ones, property, and means of subsistence.Collateral Damage tells the stories of those who struggle on the margins of armed conflict or who attempt to rebuild their lives after a war. Bringing together the writings of female authors from across the world, this collection animates the wartime experiences of women as military mothers, combatants, supporters, war resisters, and victims. Their stories stretch from Rwanda to El Salvador, Romania to Sri Lanka, Chile to Iraq. Spanning fiction, poetry, drama, essay, memoir, and reportage, the selections are contextualized by brief author commentaries. The first collection to embrace so wide a range of contemporary authors from such diverse backgrounds, Collateral Damage seeks to validate and shine a light on the experiences of women by revealing the consequences of war endured by millions whose voices are rarely heard.

Revives the overlooked stories of pioneering women aviators, who are also featured in the forthcoming documentary film Coming Home: Fight for a Legacy During World War II, all branches of the military had women's auxiliaries. Only the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, however, was made up entirely of women who undertook dangerous missions more commonly associated with and desired by men. Within military hierarchies, the World War II pilot was perceived as the most dashing and desirable of servicemen. "Flyboys" were the daring elite of the United States military. More than the WACs (Army), WAVES (Navy), SPARS (Coast Guard), or Women Marines, the WASPs directly challenged these assumptions of male supremacy in wartime culture. WASPs flew the fastest fighter planes and heaviest bombers; they test-piloted experimental models and worked in the development of weapons systems. Yet the WASPs were the only women's auxiliary within the armed services of World War II that was not militarized. In Clipped Wings, Molly Merryman draws upon military documents-many of which weren't declassified until the 1990s-congressional records, and interviews with the women who served as WASPs during World War II to trace the history of the over one thousand pilots who served their country as the first women to fly military planes. She examines the social pressures that culminated in their disbandment in 1944-even though a wartime need for their services still existed-and documents their struggles and eventual success, in 1977, to gain military status and receive veterans' benefits. In the preface to this reissued edition, Merryman reflects on the changes in women's aviation in the past twenty years, as NASA's new Artemis program promises to land the first female astronaut on the moon and African American and lesbian women are among the newest pilot recruits. Updating the story of the WASPs, Merryman reveals that even in the past few years there have been more battles for them to fight and more national recognition for them to receive. At its heart, the story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots is not about war or planes; it is a story about persistence and extraordinary achievement. These accomplished women pilots did more than break the barriers of flight; they established a model for equality.

This book explores the significance of gender in shaping the Portuguese-speaking world from the Middle Ages to the present. Sixteen scholars from disciplines including history, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, literature and cultural studies analyse different configurations and literary representations of women's rights and patriarchal constraints. Unstable constructions of masculinity, femininity, queer, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender identities and behaviours are placed in historical context. The volume pioneers in gendering the Portuguese expansion in Africa, Asia, and the New World and pays particular attention to an inclusive account of indigenous agencies. Contributors are: Darlene Abreu-Ferreira, Vanda Anastacio, Francisco Bethencourt, Dorothee Boulanger, Rosa Maria dos Santos Capelao, Maria Judite Mario Chipenembe, Gily Coene, Philip J. Havik, Ben James, Anna M. Klobucka, Chia Longman, Amelia Polonia, Ana Maria S. A. Rodrigues, Isabel dos Guimaraes Sa, Ana Cristina Santos, and Joao Paulo Silvestre.

Though there has been a rapid increase of women's representation in law and business, their representation in STEM fields has not been matched. Researchers have revealed that there are several environmental and social barriers including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities that continue to block women's progress in STEM. In this book, the authors address the issues that encounter women of color in STEM in higher education.

The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That's where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born. Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Deadwood was comprised mostly of single men, a ration of men to women as high as 8 to 1, never less than 3 to 1.The lack of affordable housing, the hostile environment, the high cost of travel, and the expense of living in Deadwood prevented many men from bringing their wives, girlfriends and families to the growing town. Hoards of prostitutes and madams came to Deadwood to capitalize on the lack of women. By the mid-1880s, there were more than a hundred fifty brothels in the mining community. The most notorious cat house in Deadwood was owned and operated by Al Swearengen. Swearengen was an entertainment entrepreneur who opened the house of ill-reputed shortly after he arrived in town in the spring of 1876.Initially known as The Gem, the brothel was host to a number of well-known soiled doves of the Old West from Eleanor Dumont to Nita Celaya. The brothel was in continual operation for more than sixty years. The business changed hands a number of times during the six decades it was in existence. Among the many madams who ran the cat house were Poker Alice Tubbs, Mert O'Hara, and Gertrude Bell. The business also changed names a number of times. It was known as Fern's Place, The Combination, and The Meoldian. When the brothel officially closed in 1956, it was known as The Beige Door. In the spring of 2022, The Beige Door will once again be open for business. This time as a museum. The South Dakota Historical Society have invested in refurbishing the brothel and making it ready for the public to tour. The book Deadwood's Red-Light Ladies: Behind the Beige Door will focus on the infamous cat house, those that managed the business, their employees, its well-known clientele, the various crimes committed at the location, and its ultimate demise.