The Introverted Detective

Spies were in every war. Espionage was how you got information about the next enemy attack and their strategy, as well as who was in charge of what and anything else that made a difference in the war. Knitting Stitches were a way of sending coded messages. When it came to WWI and II this meant hiring women to be 'code girls'. These women would go home and tell their folks they pushed pencils and were personal secretaries, when they were actually breaking codes for the military. WACs and WAAVs were hired to do this, though WAAVs got cooler uniforms and more perks. This wasn't the only espionage that went into these wars. Men and women were both spies, through code-breaking and undercover work. Today I'm here to tell you all about them. WWI Mata Hari Exotic dancer Mata Hari did strip teasing and was shot for spying for the Germans. She was Dutch, but claimed to be raised as an Indian temple dancer. She performed under the name Lady Gresha MacLeod, ...

The Civil War, two sides fighting each other over the issue of slavery. This war was filled with female spies. Who else could get closer to a general or an officer than a 'harmless' woman? There were dresses that held secrets in their underskirts and women wouldn't be frisked. It was genius! In the Civil War women weren't equal to men, according to society, so women could get real, real close to diplomats, politicians, officers, and leaders in the community and pass on what they overheard to the side they actually supported. A little charm, some romance here and there, maybe some listening at doors, and you already have a lot of information at your fingertips. As for messages being hidden, try hiding a message in your hair or underskirts. Most men are not going to frisk a young or aged woman. Women spies were caught, in some cases, but by then the other side had gotten quite a bit of information if the spy was smart. Some got messages out despite house arrest. ...

In a previous blog post, I talked about propaganda toward women. Today is propaganda directed toward men. Propaganda is political, biased information put out to influence the public through any media source possible, sometimes subtle in nature and other times extremely obvious. The Disney Cartoon Private Snafu  - WWII era propaganda from Warner Brothers I'm starting from the Civil war and ending on today's propaganda, because believe me, propaganda is still out there. It just isn't as obvious as the 1950s carpooling posters and offensive appliance ads. I'd encourage all of you out there to analyze the messages in your daily dose of media to see what comes up over and over again. You might be surprised. Civil War proslavery propaganda The civil war, as most know, was within one country over the issue of slavery. Most of the propaganda was in the form of songs, songs that sang that real men went off to fight. Some propaganda toward men was in the newspap...

Every war came with propaganda, and most wars told men and women different messages. Today's post is all about what women were told from the civil war up until now. Next week is going to be what men were told up until now. WWII propaganda for carpooling and saving gas What is propaganda? Propaganda is promoting a political point of view through the use of posters, movies, and any other media source possible. It is usually biased and probably not reliable information. Now that we all know what propaganda is, let's dive in. Civil War The civil war was one country fighting itself over the issue of slavery. There were two sides, Confederate and Union (South vs. North). The South was for slavery and the North was not. It divided families and brothers fought brothers.  We think about propaganda for WWI and WWII, but why not dig into propaganda during this war? Every war had it and used it to rally support for their side. In this case, it began long before the fig...

Men have expectations put on them, just like women do. Today I'm going to break down what was expected of them from the 1800s to now. (If you want to see what was expected of women, read my previous post.) Men have gone to war, gone to work, enforced the law, and done the dirty work in society (by dirty work I mean manual labor) for centuries. Unlike women, they were generally expected to be out making the money and fighting wars for most of their lives. Without further ado, let's go into the specifics of what was expected when. What's Expected and When 1800s -   No surprise here, they were the breadwinners. To be a breadwinner here means to be working a trade or factory job, being a pastor, or being a civic leader in the community. They were responsible for their families. When it came time to fight the elements or the civil war, you fought for your family and their survival. This was a tough time to be anyone, but especially so if you were male and had to pr...

Women today have a choice of what to wear. We aren't expected to be housewives all our lives, be stay at home moms for life, or focus solely on finding a husband. We can now be single, working women. We can be married working women, too, thanks to the changing times and the freedom we have acquired in today's era. If you so desire you can be a stay-at-home mom, but it's a choice you can make for yourself. The point? We have a choice. 1950s ad for a mixer  I'm going to give you a brief overview of every era up to now. Coming up next week is the men's side of expectations up until now.  The Overview  1800s -  Your status, in this case, matters. Middle and upper-class white women had the expectation of educating the kids. Either way, you stayed home and raised the kids. Being in the public sphere wasn't a woman's place, according to that society. There were white women writing, usually under a different, male, name. While some did that, othe...

Chivalry, some of us think it is holding the door open for women and that is all. We'd be wrong, then. Chivalry code has to do with integrity as a knight, love, and battle. Yes, it does say treating women well is good, but it also has the guidelines to a fair fight. Chivalry is the honor code of a knight. In Medieval times this was understood by all. It was a part of their society.  A knight was aggressive in battle, but honorable at home. There was etiquette when it came to women. Think King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and you have the romanticized example. The Code According to The Song of Roland, this was the code knights adhered to.  1. serve God/maintain Church  2. serve Liege Lord in valour/faith  3. protect the weak/defenseless 4. give aid (succour) to widows/orphans  5. refrain from offending  6. live by honor for glory  7. despise being paid for reward  8. fight for welfare of all  9. obey authority...