Post (C) Doris McCraw
aka Angela Raines
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| Photo (C) Doris McCraw |
Relevant? It depends. I've been thinking about relevance lately. With March as National Women's History Month, the question of women's relevance in Western History is important to me, but is it the same for others?
Relevance: important to the matter at hand. This is the definition that a search brought up.
When we read Westerns, the stories are usually male-oriented, with lots of action, etc. If the story is female-oriented, it seems the same action, etc., or, my personal pet peeve, the woman is 'violated' and needs to be saved or seeks revenge.
How true or realistic is this in actual history? How many times have men gone off and it's the woman who does her job and his while he is gone? Think about Abigail Adams, Civil War Wives, or any number of occasions when the woman is placed in the position to make the decisions.
What are your thoughts on the subject?
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| Photo (C) Doris McCraw |
Part 2:
Blogs, relevant? As the first part mentions, it is important to the matter at hand.
Blogs are a great way for a writer, new or experienced, to showcase their abilities. At the same time, what is contained in the subject matter is also something to consider.
I write about history. Almost everything I post on a blog, Substack, or other social media is usually history-focused, so most of my work will show up on searches.
Tagging is also relevant to ensure the quality of what you are sharing. The keywords, the means of searching for your work, are also important.
So, Blogs? Relevant? Love to hear your thoughts. Too many blogs, no time? Commenting? Do you like to know how people respond to your work?
Until next time.
Doris McCraw
History is written by people who know how to read and write. Unfortunately, so many women did not know how, and that's why their history is so often overlooked. I would suggest that people do genealogy--you will find out what your female faced.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGreat advice and I appreciate your insight on learning more about women. Doris
DeleteDoris, as always, you made me stop and think. I remember my mom telling me a LOT of stories about her family and the women, especially, because she was the oldest in her family, and I always kind of think of her as a version of "Aunt Pittypat" in GWTW--she knew everyone, who they were related to and how, and usually had several stories she either knew firsthand or had heard told, and she remembered soooo much of it. But, I was a foolish youngster and didn't have time to listen or care about those old stories until I was older, and it was almost too late. How I wish I had written them down! One story I do remember was how my great-grandparents had come to Indian Territory from Tennessee (on the run, because my great grandfather had quite a temper and was a headmaster in a girls' school and had whipped one of the girls--the father of the girl was out for blood and he had to leave the state). Anyhow, he and my great grandmother came to Indian Territory and had their little cabin in the southeastern part of the state, and at one point, he had to go away for a few days and left her alone. She opened the door one day to find a line of Indians outside her door wanting basic provisions. They were hungry. She was so afraid of them, but she did give them what she could. Even being afraid, she knew she couldn't give them everything or she and her own family would starve, so she stood her ground and gave them half of what they had. They took it and left, and came back once in a while but not often. We don't often think about the courage that the women had to face in daily life, just in situations like that, coming from a place where she never would have imagined having to be faced with that. There must have been so many things that required women to try to think quickly, just as men had to, and really, back then, even children.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic. As for blogs. I love blogs but don't often have time to read them. I think they are still relevant but they aren't the "new thing" as they once were, and everyone is used to them now. I still try to read as many as I can, though I often can't or don't respond. "New and improved" Blogger sometimes makes that impossible. LOL
You've still got me thinking!