significant women through the decades a look at some of the women who have helped shape our world CHARLOTTE THOMAS ILLUSTRATIONS BY BELLA WATERS
40s
First Ladies are often overlooked as being “just the President’s wife.” However, Eleanor Roosevelt broke this idea in every aspect of her life. After her husband’s term ended in 1945, Roosevelt was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She was the first Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and played an incredibly instrumental role in the forming and production of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor used her fame, status and credibility amongst both the USA and the USSR to push for the passing of the declaration and its successful completion in 1948. In 1968, Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize. 50s Marilyn Monroe has one of the most recognisable faces in the world. But what lay beneath the surface of the 50’s icon? Marilyn was incredibly concerned with breaking down stereotypical typecasts in films at the time. Hollywood in the 50s often only cast women for roles that they deemed ‘suited’ their looks and physique. Monroe protested against this, as well as protesting against the beauty standards at the time. But perhaps the most influential thing Monroe achieved for the world was her influence on the civil rights movement in America. She was a close friend of African-American Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, and when Ella was not allowed to play at the popular Hollywood club Mocambo, because of her race, Marilyn called the company and said that she would sit in the front row if Fitzgerald was allowed to play. Ella Fitzgerald later claimed that she “owed a real debt” to Monroe for her assistance in changing the misogynistic and racist nature of Hollywood. 025 the retro issue
