History
Event Title
Women at the Helm: Rewriting Maritime History through Female Pirate Identity and Agency
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
History & Classics
Start Date
13-4-2018 9:45 AM
End Date
13-4-2018 10:15 AM
Sponsor
Vivian Deno (Butler University)
Description
The subject of Atlantic based Golden Age (1650-1720) piracy has long been an area of historical and mythical fascination, including the discussion of women at sea. Women at the Helm: Rewriting Maritime History through Female Pirate Identity and Agency queers the history of Golden Age piracy while placing the period’s women within a longer historical tradition of female maritime crime and power. It highlights the maritime women who gained agency and autonomy through the crossing of gender and sexuality norms, as well as women who manipulated their social situations to establish power in a world seemingly run by men.
Women, such as Ireland’s Grace O’Malley and the Caribbean’s Anne Bonny and Mary Read, used the act of piracy and maritime crime to transcend the traditional gender roles placed on women. The sea has historically been a realm outside the reaches of mainland society, where these women could express any aspect of their personal identity. Using the works of gender and sexuality theorists, such as Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, female Golden Age piracy can be understood to be a historical trend where women rework their social positions and perform genders in an advantageous way. Women at the Helm argues that the sea offered an ambiguous, subaltern space for women, allowing a few to circumvent traditional gender norms and live a life of freedom outside the confines of mainland society.
Women at the Helm: Rewriting Maritime History through Female Pirate Identity and Agency
Indianapolis, IN
The subject of Atlantic based Golden Age (1650-1720) piracy has long been an area of historical and mythical fascination, including the discussion of women at sea. Women at the Helm: Rewriting Maritime History through Female Pirate Identity and Agency queers the history of Golden Age piracy while placing the period’s women within a longer historical tradition of female maritime crime and power. It highlights the maritime women who gained agency and autonomy through the crossing of gender and sexuality norms, as well as women who manipulated their social situations to establish power in a world seemingly run by men.
Women, such as Ireland’s Grace O’Malley and the Caribbean’s Anne Bonny and Mary Read, used the act of piracy and maritime crime to transcend the traditional gender roles placed on women. The sea has historically been a realm outside the reaches of mainland society, where these women could express any aspect of their personal identity. Using the works of gender and sexuality theorists, such as Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, female Golden Age piracy can be understood to be a historical trend where women rework their social positions and perform genders in an advantageous way. Women at the Helm argues that the sea offered an ambiguous, subaltern space for women, allowing a few to circumvent traditional gender norms and live a life of freedom outside the confines of mainland society.