Blog Post #5: 2nd EOTO Review

Emily Faithfull 

She was a female journalist that spread liberal feminist politics through journalism during 1835 according to this article. She was also a founding member of The Langham Place Circle which advocated for legal reform regarding women's rights with heavy importance on women's employment, and more availability of educational opportunities for girls and women. They also became increasingly aware of the existence of prostitution and overall the need to help those that are oppressed. She was also a part of The English Woman’s Journal which was created in 1859. It was the first monthly magazine to be published by an organized feminist network in England. Their articles involved employment, education, volunteering, notable women, and poetry. This signaled a new era in feminist writing, women’s journalism, and attitudes towards women’s employment. A scandal occurred with a high class admiral and his wife, after where sexual assault charges were brough to light with Emily Faithful. The charges were dropped as Emily Faithful’s affair with the admiral’s wife came to light. Her reputation was tarnished and she was shunned from both the Langham Place Group and the Victoria Press. She would still continue to publish articles and essays regarding women’s suffrage.

Nellie Bly

After submitting a fiery rebuttal back to a writer who made sexist comments regarding a woman's place in the world in the Pittsburgh Dispatch, that same newspaper would offer a position as a reporter according to this article. During the beginning of her journalism career, she focused solely on unraveling sexist principles, showcasing women’s inequality, and even going undercover as a sweatshop worker to reveal poor working conditions for women. She then worked for William Hearst at New York’s World which was a main contributor to yellow journalism and sensationalism. She did an extremely exposing piece on a mental institution called Blackwell's Island in New York. She went undercover as a mental patient for 10 days to experience the treatment of the asylum’s residents. Afterwards, her exposé unveiled the neglect, physical abuse, and overall mistreatment. As a result, the city did a full scale investigation and made significant changes to the mental institution. Another significant piece that she did was when she traveled the world in 72 days which beat the record and also proved that women were able to travel just like men could. She broke many sexist labels as she traveled light with one suitcase and did not fit into the stereotype of women being materialistic and frivolous. Her journey detailed in her book “Around the World in 72 Days” would be record breaking and impactful to how women were perceived.