Introduction

All history is constructed by persons in the present representing the events of the past. It is essentially an interpretation of those events, and, as Catherine Hall has pointed out, always serve current interests:

"Historical research is always premised on a relation
between past and present, is always about investigating the past
through the concerns of the present, and always to do with interpretation"
Catherine Hall, 1992

The feminist historical approach grew out of the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s when feminist academics demanded a shift from a 'male centred' focus in mainstream history. Gerry Holloway claims that history has been constructed by men for 2,600 years - since Herodotus first wrote around 450BC (Holloway 1992). The omission of women's lives from historical records has been fiercely criticised by feminist writers such as June Purvis (1995), Jane Rendall (1991) and Dale Spender (1983), and much work has been done over the last thirty years to restore, reclaim and respect the history of women.

This task has been carried out in three important ways:

1.  By adding women back into history. This exercise is often what June Purvis calls identifying the lives of 'women worthies' (Purvis, 1995:1/2)

2.  By identifying the historical origins of the social construction of gender, and examining the implications of this for women in both the past and the present

3.  By beginning to explore and examine the category 'woman' more specifically - examining diversity and difference in women's lives.

Task for students:

Think about the three points raised above. Can any of these help us to consider the implications for women's lives today?