The Body Blog

Welcome to the first of a series of posts on 100 of the world’s most amazing and admirable women throughout history. This massive list will be in short bursts of five, one each week, I think. You’ll find that the list is in no particular order, and that, since I am American, there is a heavy presence of American women listed. Feel free to love or despise the women I’ve chosen for this post, and if you like, leave a comment with suggestions on who to add to the next list, or who you think I should have scratched from this one. I hope that you, as I, find inspiration here. Enjoy…

1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

At a time when few women were revered for their minds or societal contributions, Hildegard von Bingen mastered a wide range of concentrations – medicinal and theological writing, musical composition, poetry, botany, playwriting, and naturalism, to name a few. She was a consultant to popes, kings, bishops and saints. She didn’t care much for the limits of words, so she wrote her own alphabet. Oh yeah, on top of everything else, she found the time to introduce us to the female orgasm:

When a woman is making love with a man, a sense of heat in her brain, which brings with it sensual delight, communicates the taste of that delight during the act and summons forth the emission of the man’s seed. And when the seed has fallen into its place, that vehement heat descending from her brain draws the seed to itself and holds it, and soon the woman’s sexual organs contract, and all the parts that are ready to open up during the time of menstruation now close, in the same way as a strong man can old something enclosed in his fist.
- Hildegard von Bingen

Pretty steamy, Hilde. Pretty steamy indeed.

2. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States of America from 1933-1945, champion of national and international human, civil, and women’s rights and reform, was rightfully coined the “First Lady of the World” by President Harry Truman for her commitment to the fair distribution of liberty. She etched new responsibility onto the nameplate of “First Lady”. With her influence and leadership, Roosevelt helped shape many of the freedoms we Americans enjoy, and as the first woman to speak at a national convention, write a syndicated newspaper column, and hold weekly press conferences, she was a powerful voice for the many voiceless.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

3. Harriet Tubman (circa 1820-1913)

Born into slavery and given the name Araminta Ross, Harriet Tubman freed herself from the horrors of slavery and returned to slave states using a network of safe houses, the Underground Railroad, to free at least 70 other slaves. Despite a seizure-inducing head injury, the result of a slave owner’s rage, she became the first woman to officially lead an armed mission during the Civil War resulting in the liberation of over 700 slaves. As if that weren’t enough, post-war, she was part of the reform movement for women’s suffrage.

I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
- Harriet Tubman

4. Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Helen Keller was struck with illness at 19 months of age. It left her blind and deaf. With the help of her teacher, Annie Sullivan, Keller overcame her lack of sight and hearing to become not only the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelors degree, but also an internationally recognized author, orator and activist, battling opposition to women’s suffrage, socialism, pacifism, birth control and worker’s rights. She helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, and is one of the most celebrated American authors in history.

Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
- Helen Keller

5. Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)

The first of her family to be born free, African-American Sarah Breedlove, later known as Madam C.J. Walker, was a business tycoon who introduced a wildly successful line of beauty and hair care products targeted to black women. Walker was the first American woman of any heritage to become a self-made millionaire.

I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations…I have built my own factory on my own ground.
- Madam C.J. Walker