HERSTORYPORTRAITS
A series of portraits of exceptional women
that with their actions, creations or life choices
made a great contribution to women’s emancipation
and gender equality, without necessarily calling themselves feminists,
in some cases openly rejecting the definition,
but acting with the same values
Can female action be more feminist than feminist activism?
Can female action be more feminist than feminist activism?
featured on
- 25 April 2021, Italy's Liberation Day -
New version of Joyce Salvadori Lussu
- 25 April 2020, Italy's Liberation Day
Joyce Salvadori Lussu -
She was a novelist, a poetess, a political activist,
captain in the brigade Giustizia e Libertà,
partisan fighting against imperialism,
colonialism and nazifascism
- Franca Viola -
She was the first one to say no to the Italian
"rehabilitating marriage" law
according to which the crime of rape
could be cancelled by the marriage
between the victim and the rapist
She refused to marry her rapist
breaking the Southern Italy social conventions
and allowing the abolition of the law on August 5th, 1981
- Eileen Gray -
According to critics Le Corbusier
was affronted that a woman could create
such work of modernism and out of jealousy
he painted murals all over the house,
to claim a bit of ownership of the project,
thus causing Eileen's architectural career break.
Villa E-1027 is now recognized
as one of the first masterpieces
of modernist architecture
- Lucia Valerio -
She was the best Italian female tennis player
during the late 1920s and the 1930s
Used to be called "The Lady of Tennis "
she preferred to be called "Miss"
instead of "Lady"
because she chose to never marry
for the love of tennis
- Coco Chanel -
Her revolutionary designs allowed women
to put away the corsets and restricting garments
and replace them with comfortable
simple and elegant outfits
that influenced the fashion world
in a way that won't ever be forgotten
- Fanny Durack -
She was the first woman to win
an Olympic gold medal in swimming
during the 1912 Stockholm Olympics,
first Games that allowed women in swimming competitions
- Ida Lupino -
She began her acting career during the mid-30s
Then she switched from acting to directing,
becoming the first woman to direct a noir film,
"The Hitch-Hiker"
- Tina Modotti -
She's recognized as one of the most important
female photographers of the 20th century
She was also a model, an actress, a traveller
and a revolutionary activist.
She lived many lives in many worlds,
becoming a symbol of freedom
and women's empowerment
- Amelia Earhart -
On May 1932 she became the first female aviator
to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean
- Nadia Comaneci -
She was the first gymnast to be awarded
a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games
No longer allowed to travel outside of Romania
she defected Ceausescu's dictatorship