In the Shadow of Man
Untold stories of the women behind the Space Race and inventions such as the Wringer Washer
Oftentimes, women are sidelined when it comes to recognition for their actions and inventions. Since most of the revolutionary inventions came out of the late 1800’s to late 1900’s the credit would usually be given to men because that was the norm at the time. Women were housewives and therefore in capable of inventing or even being educated, according to society. Meanwhile, men were allowed an education and were assumed to be the smarter ones in a relationship. As a result, women were not recognized for their great achievements.
In a controversial essay titled “Can the Subaltern Speak?”, Gayatri Spivak talks about a group of people, the subaltern, who have no recognition, no agency, and no social mobility in society. She says that because our society is constructed by gender, men become dominant and since women cannot speak, per se, they have to live in man’s shadow. Now obviously these women can physically speak but the problem is whether or not someone can hear them. The idea that women had their own voice and were not just subjects of study was what made Spivak’s essay so controversial. However Spivak was just trying to bring women’s oppression to light.
The Face Behind the Wringer Washer Was a Black Woman
That’s right a black woman invented the wringer washer, a primitive form of washing machine, where sopping wet clothes went through two metal rolls to remove all the excess water that was usually done by hand wringing. So why wasn’t she credited for her invention? Why didn’t we see a surge of “Eglin Wringer Washers” in the 1880's?
According to Eglin, white women, who were the intended customers, would not buy a product made by a black woman. So she sold the idea to a man for $18 and that was it. This incredible woman was a house worker who made this machine to make laundry easier on herself and instead of patenting it, she sold it off and never made a name for herself. She therefore had no recognition and definitely no social mobility, so she was forced to silence her voice in order for her product to make it in society.
Spivak mentions that being poor, black, and female presents a 3 fold obstacle; it’s just more hurdles they have to jump in order to get the recognition they deserve. Race and gender are the primary obstacles women of color have to overcome when trying to patent products. Nowadays it’s much easier for women creators and inventors but in the late 1800’s and 1900’s it was significantly more difficult to even get a product out there in the world because of society’s strict view on women as pure housewives. Black women had an even harder time because they were the maids and butlers to a lot of white families. Most likely, they were not even considered intelligent enough to make a worthwhile product. Society was oh, so wrong. Women were definitely smart enough to invent and black women especially were smart enough to send men to space.
NASA is for Black Women Too!
A recent box office hit, Hidden Figures, depicts the story of the three black women who were considered the “human computers” behind the 1960’s space program that sent three men to space. Their names are Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughn.
NASA started accepting black women with college degrees into their space program between the 1930’s and 40’s. NASA basically wanted women to work behind the scenes and make these launches run as smoothly as possible, similarly to how women used to be switchboard operators. They sat in a room and made things work and then they went home and were never credited for all that they did. When people think of NASA, they might be drawn to the many many photos of men who worked in the main rooms, giving orders and running the operation but behind these men were an army of educated women doing the real work.
So, in 2016 Margot Lee Shetterly wrote Hidden Figures to help give a voice to these three women because they were not getting recognition for one of the most amazing feats of our society. At the time, surely these women were not allowed to accept recognition for their intelligence and abilities because it was the 60’s after all and in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, so white people especially were not about to give due credit to the black women who were actually the brains behind the space launch.
As a result these black women were subaltern in their own right because, until recently, they were not given recognition, agency, or social mobility. They might have been working at NASA but as women they were being paid less, as black women they weren’t recognized for their work and they had no way of moving up socially. Again, Spivak’s words about it being harder for black women echo in my mind. Unfortunately, it took 54 years for these women’s stories to be told and even then their struggles are only depicted in a film whose profit will most likely not directly benefit them.
Stepping Out of the Shadows
While I know the task is not simple, I believe that the idea of the subaltern needs to be extinguished. Everyone deserves to speak and everyone deserves their recognition. Spivak believes that the subaltern cannot speak but I know that they can, we just need to listen to them. By doing work like Shetterly, we can start to help pull women out of the shadows of men. We need more books and articles about women who have invented or were the secret backbone of programs.
I have noticed some posts floating around the internet about young black girls and boys who are starting to create things like new tech or more affordable clothing. As long as we continue to give them the recognition they deserve, as long as they have agency and have a change to move up socially, then we as a society can remove the idea of a subaltern and start to praise women and women of color for their amazing work.
If you’d like to educate yourself about some famous inventions made by women, visit Women Inventors and give credit where it is due.
