How a tweet asking people to name 'badder bitch than Taylor Swift' turned into a viral badass feminist history lesson
The internet, towards the end of 2017, has turned into a battleground where political ideologies clash against each other. It has turned into a pulpit that is dominated by the bigoted and the sexist who feign oppression and continue to oppress; but every once in a while, this Mad Max wasteland gives way to something powerful.
On November 10, Twitter user Nutella (@xnulz) posed the rhetorical question: “Name a badder bitch than Taylor Swift”; a kind of variation of the “Name a More Iconic Duo” meme. What the user may not have expected, however, is that people on Twitter took it up as a challenge to list women who are “badder bitches” and started sharing stories of women who have exhibited unparalleled bravery in various walks of life.
Name a bitch badder than Taylor Swift ???????????? pic.twitter.com/AkSyQBUIME
— Nutella (@xnulz) November 10, 2017
In fact, soon the tweet that has now been quoted thousands of times turned into a kind of feminist history lesson, educating people about the likes of Malala Yousafzai, Jane Austen, Phoolan Devi, Virginia Woolf, Jeanne de Clisson, Khutulun (the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan) and many more.
Jeanne de Clisson, murderous French aristocrat-turned-pirate who named her ship My Revenge after the French king executed her husband. She spent the next decade killing all the French crews she encountered, sparing only 1 sailor to relay her message of vengeance ☠️⚓️⚔️ https://t.co/7JGPo3qNjj
— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) December 1, 2017
Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya: her husband was killed by the Nazis in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. She went to the Soviet gov’t and demanded to get a tank to kill Nazis. The gov’t relented and she killed Nazis with her tank. pic.twitter.com/9Iinz8ndxx
— (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ (@shonan_naminori) December 2, 2017
Virginia Woolf: she fought the patriarchy, pioneered stream of consciousness writing, co-founded a publishing company, had a female lover, struggled with depression, and walked into a river with rocks in her pockets when she was done with life. https://t.co/zpYlEd22Pv
— Lauren Brown (@laurenalixb) December 3, 2017
Phulan Devi was a Dalit (low caste) woman born to a poor rural family in India and was later called a “feminist Robin Hood” for leading low-caste rebellions and robbing rich communities to redistribute to poor Indian communities. https://t.co/8YYYWGcYrv
— Vriddhi / ವೃದ್ಧಿ (@scaryammu) December 3, 2017
Julie d'Aubigny was a French opera singer/swordswoman in the 1600s who killed over ten men in duels over other women and once took holy vows so she could break into a nunnery, sleep with a blonde nun, then burned the church down and escaped with herhttps://t.co/SaGN3FuELu
— ⚔ Julie d'Atmabigny (@Swordwields) December 2, 2017
zheng shi was a sex worker in Canton who was captured & wedded to a pirate lord and so quickly proved her ability to command that she took over and at one point commanded 300+ ships with 40,000 men and was so fearsome that she forced china and britain to let her peacefully retire https://t.co/uQXD8JsL1k
— being emo isn't a choice like being black or gay (@DOGGEAUX) December 2, 2017
Lucy Parsons was a Black anarchist revolutionary: a formidable speaker, journalist, and tireless labor organizer who fought for women’s rights and co-founded the IWW. The Chicago PD called her “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.” https://t.co/S6pQflrUm8
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) December 2, 2017
Marie Skłodowska Curie defied the Russian occupation of Poland, discovered two elements, saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers in WWI, became the first woman professor in France and won two Nobel prizes, all while raising two kids and being a sex-positive badass. https://t.co/ZJMj35Uzvo
— Tim Blais (@acapellascience) December 3, 2017
Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a Quaker schoolteacher who became a codebreaker during WWI, helped invent the modern science of codes & ciphers, testified against Al Capone’s men at risk to her life, & hunted Nazi spies for the FBI in WWII https://t.co/0CGKfGutOp https://t.co/KBOFEgQh3V
— Jason Fagone (@jfagone) December 3, 2017
As a child, Harriet Tubman had her skull crushed in by a slave owner, was left w/o medical attention for 2 days, + then was returned to working the fields. She went on to rescue dozens of slaves + be the first woman to lead an armed assault during the CW. https://t.co/Swgus7BlRO
— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) December 3, 2017
Khutulun was the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan. She was a strong fighter and insisted that any man who wished to marry her must defeat her in wrestling, but any man who she beat would have to give her a horse. She wound up with 10,000 horses. https://t.co/TQTrKPN9EA
— Samantha Mash ???? (@anamericanghost) December 2, 2017
Not only historical figures, many also spoke about the women they knew personally, whose bravery may not have been revolutionary in any way, but who fought against oppression and regressive social structures of their own accord.
Pratima didi, our house help, was married off to an older, abusive dude when she was 15, forcing her to drop out of school. She continued to educate herself, enough to ultimately run away from her village with her two children. She's currently a single mother working 3 jobs. https://t.co/NryQJoQks4
— rohini (@lesqueerables) December 4, 2017
My mum: Rough marriage, dealt with my dad's alcoholism, his terminal illness and demise. All while raising two children and a dog, running the house and killing it at work. For 14 years. My grandmum, aunts, sisters - Smart, ambitious, hardworking and bomb af https://t.co/2QRkV93N62
— manvi (@ObiWanManobi) December 4, 2017
My mother raised 2 children herself, while working a full time job, and now she owns her own company. And if she hears me calling her a bad bitch she'll murder me. No really. I'm scared. https://t.co/31DRc9l5cT
— πrg (@pi_alize) December 4, 2017
in 1971, my grandmother travelled on foot from chittagong to assam carrying my 2 y/o mother and her twin brother all alone after she got separated from grandfather and her other two children. she shared her belongings and food with everyone in need throughout the way. https://t.co/Y8RwA6HFvT
— soutrik???????? (@soupykaur) December 3, 2017
My dad had a paralysis attack in 2010 and went into depression. My mom, started working, got dad treated, made sure I completed college, started off a business like a boss. Later, dad joined her business. So, yeah. https://t.co/G8IY9G6X8N
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) December 4, 2017
Few women named themselves as well. Not intended as bragging, instead a way to tell their own tales of oppression in this largely patriarchal society.
me. i work, live, and raise my kids on my own, have done for 8 years, live with two mental illnesses that nearly literally killed me and made me unemployable. https://t.co/LFeTIPrONN
— Sandhya ???????????????? (@TheRestlessQuil) December 4, 2017
Survived/surviving 19+ years of domestic violence, sexual assault, one chronic illness with no known cause/cure + depression/anxiety. At 28, my life is my own. I write, just moved to a new city and giving myself everything I never had as a child. https://t.co/Vbci8dFK1O
— Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Rakshasi???? (@shreyilaanasuya) December 4, 2017
Almost every quote/reply tells a tale of unbelievable bravery and tenacity. And while these stories act as inspiration for hundreds of thousands of women online who struggle to take charge in a world dominated by men, it is important to realise that none of these tales are meant to spite Taylor Swift, the American singer/songwriter. Swift’s achievements in the entertainment industry, her songs and her fame are all well-deserved and, if anything, this is a celebration of women like her, who have seized control in a world that has tried to subdue them in every corner, in every way.
It is moments like these that make the troll-infested, toxic chaos that we call the internet a place worth visiting.