Women and girls are sharing their journals to create a herstory of the pandemic

Women and girls are sharing their journals to create a herstory of the pandemic

Transcript¹

On an angst-ridden night in the spring of 2020, Lori Ann Terjesen lay in bed worrying about the "imperative²" to give voice to single mothers, hourly wage workers and other women bearing the brunt of traditional caretaking roles during the pandemic.

Severe restrictions³ were in place across the U.S. at the time, including stay-at-home orders, and no vaccine⁴ was yet available.

Women have been disproportionately impacted by a pandemic that exacerbated⁵ inequalities, according to the Pan American Health Organization. They have accounted for the overwhelming majority of health care professionals, caring for COVID-19 patients and facing an increased risk of contracting the virus: 72% of all cases among health workers across the Americas, according to PAHO data from January 2020 to January 2021.

Terjesen spearheaded a call for women to submit their journals and other physical and digital items to the National Women's History Museum, where she serves as vice⁶ president of education. She sees the project, which includes and reflects the myriad⁷ experiences of women, as an opportunity to create a more holistic⁸ picture of the time. She notes that history that is taught in schools in general is still male-dominated.

Aimee Walters; age 25-34; Mississippi; homemaker. "My fiber⁹ arts journal reflects my pandemic experience watching the numbers; I looked at the latest update with my family every night. I crocheted¹⁰ a Case Snake, where every row, including the tongue, represents a day, and each color represents the number of new positive Covid19 tests in the US that day," said Walters.

Libby Tyson/The National Women's History Museum

"The very act of saying there is an immediate¹¹, urgent need to ensure that women's voices are heard and collected and remembered in the retelling of this history and really calling that out as an action in itself is important," she told NPR's Morning Edition. "It's my hope that we will remember that there are voices that have traditionally been left out and that we immediately respond, saying, 'Your story has value. Please don't lose it. Please record it. Please share it with us.'"

The effort is known as "rapid response collecting," when museums acquire objects related to a major moment in history as it unfolds.

After nearly two years, the online museum, whose offices are based in Alexandria, Va., has received more than 500 submissions¹², some of which are exhibited online. There are handwritten journals, but also hand-sewn books, large canvas paintings, movies, audio recordings¹³, quilts and even memes.

"We defined 'journal' very loosely and just asked women to journal their experiences in whatever medium made them feel the most comfortable," Terjesen said.

Jennifer Hawkins Hock; age 45-54; North Carolina; Artist, writer, co-owner of sign/advertising business. " My journal is hand-written and typed, illustrated¹⁴ with my own sketches¹⁵, collage¹⁶ artwork, and photography. It includes commentary related to Covid and social conditions, as well as nature observations. It is bound by hand with coptic-stitching. Approximately 162 pages," said Hock.

Libby Tyson/The National Women's History Museum

One thing they all had in common was how deeply personal the reflections were.

A security guard wrote about how she had to check the temperature of everyone entering a distribution plant and make sure they used hand sanitizer and wore masks. But despite being on the front lines, she wasn't provided with a mask.

An oncologist composed poems about the loss of a patient whose cancer was in remission but who died from COVID-19.

Terjesen recalled getting an email from a non-binary teenager saying "I'm a Gen Zer – my generation doesn't communicate with letters and journals... A lot of times, we just send memes to each other. And I said, 'Great, give me the memes.'"

Months later, that diarist ended up taking up paper and pencil to express their frustrations¹⁷ to a future reader. "That was a very memorable¹⁸ journal, and all it was is one letter," Terjesen recalled.

She expects the records will be invaluable¹⁹ to historians in the future as they document a pandemic that saw women double up on traditional caretaking roles, with schools and workplaces shuttered.

That sleep-deprived balancing act of working women is a familiar one for Terjesen, the mother of three young children ages three, six and eight years old.

But for all its pains, the pandemic has also taught some valuable lessons. Terjesen said it's changed her outlook on life.

"Another aspiration²⁰ I would have for this project, as well as all conversations and considerations around women's roles, really is that we can be flexible, we can learn in different ways, we can work in different ways," she said. "There are ways to exist other than the 'go, go, go' kind of culture that we had before."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

8 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

9 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

10 crocheted   

v.用钩针编织( crochet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mom and I crocheted new quilts. 我和妈妈钩织了新床罩。 来自辞典例句
• Aunt Paula crocheted a beautiful blanket for the baby. 宝拉婶婶为婴孩编织了一条美丽的毯子。 来自互联网

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

13 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

14 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

15 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 collage   

n.拼贴画；v.拼贴；把……创作成拼贴画

参考例句：

• A collage of coloured paper covers a table top.一副彩纸拼贴画盖在桌面上。
• He has used a mixture of mosaic,collage and felt-tip pen.他混合使用了马赛克、拼贴画和毡头笔。

17 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

18 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

19 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

20 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。