From Joan of Arc to Virginia Woolf, to get ahead throughout history women have had to either be controversial or act in a way which raised eyebrows at the time. Of course, not all of the women listed below behaved like Snow White, but they have all lead colorful lives and have impacted the lives of others:
1) Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896)
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of the controversial novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This book was an explosive best seller during the 19th century, only outsold by the bible, and some say it helped pave the way to the American Civil War.
The book was an anti-slavery novel which emotionally depicted the lives of black slaves during the period. The book outraged those in the south and after the war began earned the author a meeting with Abraham Lincoln in Washington. Allegedly Lincoln on meeting Stowe said “So, you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”
Whether this is a factual account of what was said or not, it cannot be denied that the book certainly added fuel to the abolitionist cause.
Stowe wrote many other books and novels mainly on social issues of the time and was often asked for her opinion on political and important social matters.
While today a woman achieving this level of deference is not uncommon, back then within the social structure of the time, what Stowe achieved as a woman in terms of her views on abolitionism and her stance on other social causes is truly quite remarkable.
2) Pam Grier (26 May 1949 – )
Here is a woman who made a career out of being a controversial badass and revolutionized cinema at the same time.
As the queen of 1970s American Blaxploitation films, and the first leading black female action hero, Grier’s characters would use sex and guns to get their point across.
Her films portrayed her as an attractive strong black woman who stirred much controversy at the time with men of all races feeling threatened by her indomitable characters, while also empowering women.
Although her characters portrayed her as a strong black female, Grier is actually a mix of races which includes Hispanic, Chinese and Filipino. Her mother being Cheyenne Indian and her father an African American.
Grier herself did not have an easy childhood, being raped at the age of 6, however despite difficulties and being exposed to violence, alcoholism and racism, she was brought up with a strong sense of the importance of self-sufficiency.
This shone through in her roles where she played liberated and empowered women.
Her impact on cinema cannot be denied.
Not only has she empowered women, fully embraced her heritage and used her sex appeal to portray women as a powerful force to be reckoned with as opposed to mere sex objects or ‘eye candy’; but she also paved the way for female action heroes for years to come.
3) Margaret Thatcher (13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013)
There cannot be many women who have divided a nation as much as Margaret Thatcher. Britain’s Prime Minister from the period 1979 to 1990, the ’Iron Lady’ is probably one of the most controversial political figures in modern history.
Love her or hate her, this grocer’s daughter changed the political landscape of Great Britain and also its foreign policy which was to have an effect on the world for years to come.
Known for her ’no nonsense’ attitude and steely determination to ’get things done’, this woman certainly did not suffer fools gladly.
However, it was this same blinkered resolve that saw her victorious in the Falklands War, which also contributed to her downfall. She inspired an intense dislike in some people (often those who lost their jobs through her political and social reforms) and respect and admiration in others (often those who benefited).
Even on her death, the UK nation was polarized between those who loathed her and those who loved her. Which, ironically, not being one for wishy washy views herself, is probably just as she would have wanted it
Whatever you think of Margaret Thatcher, one thing is for sure, she was a woman to be reckoned with.
4) Empress Dowager Cixi (11 November 1861 – 15 November 1908)
This incredibly powerful woman controlled the Manchu Quing Dynasty in China for 47 years and although portrayed as a despot by some, others see her as a scapegoat for actions beyond her control, and someone who brought China into the modern age.
Cixi was not born into any political or ruling dynasty but was initially a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor. After becoming pregnant and giving birth to the Emperors son, due to her own shrewdness and intelligence she rose to become second in rank to the Empress within the Emperors harem.
Because Cixi could read and write Chinese she had plenty of opportunity to help the Emperor in day to day state affairs and thus learned the art of governing.
After the death of the Emperor she became joint Empress with the late Emperor’s first wife and following careful planning, strategy, a coup and a few executions later, Cixi was to become the absolute power figure in China.
Unlike other Queens and Empresses, Cixi was not born to rule which made her rise to power all the more remarkable.
Although some view her as a feminist icon who brought medieval China into the modern age, banned foot binding and oversaw the Boxer Rebellion among other notable achievements, her actions and methods remain controversial to this day.
5) Germaine Greer (born 29 January 1939)
As soon as you think of modern day ’feminism’ one of the first people who come to mind is Germaine Greer, the Australian born journalist, TV personality and serious academic.
Famous for her ground-breaking book ’The Female Eunuch’ published in the 1970’s, Greer has been an outspoken proponent of women’s ’liberation’ ever since. She has also penned other works related to women’s rights and is regarded as one of the most prominent feminist voices of the twentieth century.
Her various views, not just on feminism, have courted much controversy throughout her long career.
Not one to be afraid to ’tell it like it is’ her stance on women’s rights have also got her into trouble. She was once even arrested for using foul language in New Zealand in a speech back in the 70’s.
She has referred to herself as an ’old anarchist’ and believes that one should always challenge the status quo and has said ’What has to keep on happening is a constant process of criticism, renewal, protest and so forth’.
Fortunately with people like Greer around it is unlikely that protest will ever stop.
She has certainly made people think differently in terms of feminism when it comes to equality, the economic status of women, as well as issues arising from sexual repression.
6) Indira Gandhi (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984)
You don’t get much more controversial that Indira Gandhi (no relation to the spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi).
She was both the most loved and most hated Prime Minister of India and was a powerful political figure who helped shape India into the nation it is today. Her father Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India and she was the third, ruling India on and off for almost 20 years.
She oversaw the war with Pakistan which was to create the nation of Bangladesh and also advanced her country’s agricultural programs and hence improved the conditions of the poor.
Even so, she was seen by some to be an authoritarian and corrupt politician and was unpopular because of the forced sterilization program she adopted in an attempt to control the ever increasing population.
Indira led with a strong hand and was never afraid of getting rid of high ranking officials in her government, regardless of how long they had served or any loyalty they had shown to her or her father.
She is even quoted as saying “My father was a statesman, I’m a political woman. My father was a saint. I’m not. “
Not since Sultana Razia in the 13th century had there been a woman ruler in India.
She was to be assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984 following Operation Blue Star, an Indian military operation against Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers.
7) Margaret Sanger (September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966)
Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United Stated and popularized the term ’birth control’.
She was a radical feminist, sex educator and nurse. She also authored many books on birth control and marriage.
Sanger wanted women to have better sexual health and available birth control. This conviction stemmed from her early work as a nurse on the Lower East Side of New York which had made her aware of the effects of unwelcome or unplanned pregnancies.
She had also witnessed this by her own personal tragedy as her mother died of tuberculosis at the age of 50, brought about by the strain of 11 pregnancies and 7 miscarriages.
Sanger was to go on to found the Planned Parenthood Federation and also in her lifetime helped bring about the first ever oral contraceptive pill.
However, some of her views on birth control and abortion have been criticized today as being immoral and possibly even racist. It has been alleged that some of her motives for the introduction of birth control had more to do with the dark sciences of social engineering i.e. eugenics and race control.
However, whatever view you take of her, the fact is she did devote her life to legalizing birth control and making it universally available to women.
8) Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 10 November 2008)
Also known as ‘Mama Africa’, Makeba was one of the most outspoken and visible opponents of apartheid in South Africa.
During her lifetime she was to become feted in some countries while banned and unwelcome in others, such was her controversial reputation.
Songstress and protester, she became the first African woman to win a Grammy and introduced African music to many in the west. While her songs were to make her famous, she was also to become unpopular with the then apartheid South African government.
So much so that when she returned home from abroad to attend her mother’s funeral in 1960 she was turned away at the airport as the authorities had terminated her South African passport.
However, other nations came to her rescue and during her lifetime she was issued international passports by Belgium, Ghana and Guinea. She was to return to South Africa following the release of Nelson Mandela in the early 90’s.
Her marriage to controversial black activist and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael had a negative effect on her career in America and the couple moved to Guinea. Makeba was to go on to perform in Africa, Europe and Asia.
She was to die of a heart attack at the age of 76 after performing at a protest concert in Italy.
9) Wallace Simpson (19 June 1896 – 24 April 1986)
Not many women can say that their romance forced a king to abdicate, but this American socialite literally rocked not only a nation but also a monarchy with her choice of lover.
When her first marriage to US Naval Officer Win Spencer ended in divorce in 1927 she went on to marry Ernest Simpson in 1934. It was during this marriage that she allegedly became the mistress of Prince Edward, Prince of Wales who was next in line to the throne to be the King of England.
Once Edward was made King, Simpson divorced her husband in preparation to marry King Edward; however this was not to be. If the King were to marry someone with two living ex-husbands this would have caused a constitutional crisis at the time. This was because the King was also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England which did not allow remarriage of divorced people with living ex-spouses.
Simpson’s plans were shattered.
In order to marry the woman he loved, Edward was forced to abdicate and was given the title of the Duke of Windsor, Simpson thus becoming the Duchess of Windsor.
They went on to live a life of leisure and were even accused of being Nazi sympathizers. Naturally Simpson has been a source of much controversy in British history, and there have been many rumors about her private life and the real reason for marrying the King
Some say she was after money and position whereas other people just saw two people deeply in love, a great romance where a man would even give up his crown for the woman he loved.
Perhaps Simpson summed it up herself when she allegedly said “You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance.”
10) Wangari Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011)
This woman was not only the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize but also the first African woman. As well as being leader of Kenya’s democracy movement and founder of the Green Belt movement she also authored 4 books.
During her lifetime she fought against deforestation as well as women’s rights. She encouraged women to plant trees (community based tree planting) and in the process created jobs for the poor and oxygen for the world.
She was also the winner of many awards. However, her activism often brought her into conflict with the government and she was frequently imprisoned and received beatings as well as death threats.
As well as her political and social activism Maathai’s private life was not without controversy either. A lengthy divorce with her husband Mwangi Mathai saw her publicly accused of adultery with another Member of Parliament and saw her ex-husband accuse her of being “cruel” along with other accusations of being unable to control because of her ’strong mindedness’.
The judge found in Mathai’s favor and Maathai was later to accuse the judge of being either incompetent or corrupt in a magazine interview. This ill-fated interview saw her imprisoned for 6 weeks for being in contempt of court.
She was also once allegedly reported as saying that HIV/AIDS was created by Western scientists to decimate the African population, an accusation which she denied and she called such views ’wicked and destructive’.
She was a controversial choice of the Nobel Peace Prize too, being well known for environmental activism rather than just peaceful protest. But Maathai recognized that environmentalism was linked to poverty, that poverty was both a cause and a symptom of environmental degradation.
Maathai’s political career was well known as she struggled for democracy, human rights and environmental issues in Kenya. She was definitely a visionary, and did much for the country she loved.
She died at age 71 of complications connected to ovarian cancer in September 2011.
Many of the rights we now take for granted are in place because of those who dared to speak up in the past, so never be afraid to act on what you think is right, or what is in your heart; because you never know where your actions might lead.
Cover photo: ushistoryscene.co
I think that it is a little sad that in today’s world, and the ever so “evolved” 2013, that in an article that is about controversial women who rocked the world, not a single one of them represented any other race, ethnicity, or nationality than white. So you mean to tell me that there are not any Black, Asian, Latina, Middle Eastern, African, or Pacific Islander women that have made an impact that rocked the world? I am sorry but, I have a hard time believing that.
Did you miss the two African women? Or do you just want to start something.
Actually, 6 of the 10 are not white! Why do people make a comment about something that they obviously know nothing about? Smh