The podcast explores how eels evolved electricity, from ancient misconceptions to their unique abilities. It also delves into the history of 'women's work' and craftivism, challenging traditional gender roles and highlighting the significance of women's resistance movements.
Electricity evolved in eels through electric organs, challenging assumptions about lightning and fish.
Traditional 'women's work' like knitting and embroidery had male involvement, challenging gender stereotypes.
Crafts have deep cultural roots beyond gender roles, showcasing a rich history of artistic expression.
Craftivism blends creativity and activism to advocate for social change, reshaping perceptions of traditionally feminine crafts.
Deep dives
The Origins of Knitting and Women's Work
Knitting, a process using a single yarn to create fabric, has origins that are said to date back to ancient Egypt. Early forms like nalbinding were used for clothing. Historically, activities such as cooking, pottery, and needlework were considered women's work due to being conducive to childcare and household responsibilities.
Craftivism and Gender Roles
Historically, activities like embroidery, crocheting, and quilting have been viewed as women's work. The association with childcare and slow, repetitive tasks led to these crafts being stereotyped as feminine pursuits. However, these hobbies were not inherently women's work and were not exclusively for women.
Deconstructing Traditional Gender Roles in Crafting
The idea that knitting and similar crafts were always women's work due to their compatibility with childcare is challenged. While early examples of knitting originate from ancient Egypt and were associated with women, the gendered perception of craftwork does not define its entirety.
Evolution of Craftwork and Artisans
Crafting, including activities like needlework and pottery, has a rich history with origins in various cultures. While certain crafts may have been traditionally associated with women, their roots go beyond gender roles and are intertwined with cultural practices and artistic expression.
History of Knitting and Craftivism
Knitting has been historically viewed as a prestigious craft, not solely associated with women's work. Knitting guilds were formed in the 14th century, predominantly by skilled men to attract wealthier clients. Over time, knitting spread through Europe, with both boys and girls encouraged to learn. Additionally, the industrial revolution mechanized knitting in the 1500s, increasing efficiency. This industrialization led to knitting becoming a skill exclusively pursued by wealthier women by the mid-19th century, emphasizing decorative items, further reinforcing class distinctions.
Craftivism and Women's Rights Movements
Craftivism emerged as a form of advocacy, blending creativity with activism to strengthen voices for justice. The suffrage movement utilized fabric banners to amplify women's rights messages, marking a crucial intersection of art and activism. Second-wave feminism saw a shift in acceptance of traditionally feminine crafts as art forms, challenging patriarchal distinctions. The concept of craftivism continues in third-wave feminism, linking creativity with social and political movements, notably used to convey messages across cultures and advocate for change.
Crafts as Personal and Political Tools
Crafts, such as hand-sewn work bags, were utilized in early political campaigns, such as anti-slavery movements and colonial resistance through homemade textiles. The significance of craft as a personal and political tool throughout history underscored the role of women in creating and passing down these skills. Moreover, crafts like embroidery and quilting conveyed hidden messages, enabling women to communicate and resist social norms, shaping narratives beyond traditional gender roles.
Happy moisturizer to all who celebrate, Ella’s just here for moral support, when did they put batteries in eels, someone's just statically charging these eels, what did we call electric eels before electricity? why would we think lightning and a fish are the same thing? the necrotizing torpedo and the torpor eel, Aristotle was a shite time traveler, “in all of humanity, if people think they can pout it up their asshole they will”, Allessandro Volta what a convenient name, electric fish gave us the battery not the other way around, the electric organ, when did electricity evolve? electric organ discharge, electrogenesis, it’s not an eel! get in line with the other animals that need their names fixed, 90% of an eel is electric organ, what does it feel like? turning fish to stone, shocks can function like a neurotoxin, the electric doublet can make fish twitch, Ella has a revelation, the physics is the biology, it’s all electric baby, magnetic animals 2 electric boogaloo, the domestic arts, This Woman’s Work, it was never always women’s work, old socks, but what does this have to do with men?? Ella predicts the British stealing a sock, male knitting guilds, knitting fishermen makes perfect sense, knitting was “compatible” with many kinds of life, mechanized knitting made it feminized, of course it’s always intersectionality, you know what’s appropriate for a woman is to do this thing we don’t need anymore, being demoted as an art form, “male art vs female craft”, Caroline’s just doing this topic to show their crochet is art, weaponizing the male ego to bring back knitting, bequeathing a valuable and symbolic thimble, Tom gets emotional over a salacious thimble, if that’s not art what is, also I can't believe you actually read all these thanks <3 - Tom, spinning bees to defy the British and seize the means of production, “Artists’ Suffrage League”, Faith Wilding and Harmony Hammond, craftivism, it’s not “women’s work” it’s “everyone’s art”.
