Scott Pilgrim vs Emotional Abuse

 What do this movie and graphic novel series have to do with emotional abuse? A lot! Take one look at Ramona running from Gideon and tell me what you see. Today I'm going to talk about why this series and movie do an excellent job of illustrating emotional abuse in a unique way I've never seen before.

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The plot of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is not all about Ramona because it focuses on Scott defeating her seven evil exes, yet the whole situation is clearly all about Ramona's love life and past. Gideon makes it impossible for her to easily move on with life after their break-up by contacting six of her exes (not ex-boyfriends, exes) to create a league. This league then has to be defeated by anyone who wishes to date Ramona (counting Gideon as the seventh ex).  This is what Scott runs right into when he meets Ramona and is enthralled by her. She has already run away from New York to Canada to avoid Gideon and her past. Still, we see it catch up with her all thanks to Gideon. 

There are several points that show Gideon was emotionally abusive to her. For one, Ramona references that he paid no attention to her when they were together. When she left he became possessive of her. In the books he actually dresses Envy up like a dress-up doll and treats her badly, too. Envy, too, is a victim of Gideon because he manages her later on in the books (post -Todd being defeated). He even put a chip in Ramona's head (film version) to control her right back to him. The evidence is overwhelming. The league is more than enough to show you what lengths he'd go to to keep her with him. 

Inside Ramona's Head

Here is where the people who only watched the movie miss out on imagery. Scott sees inside her bag (insides her head) twice. Once was an accident and she was highly embarrassed. Twice was the last battle against Gideon, in which the parts of Ramona, shown as duplicates of her, finish off Gideon. What Scott sees is a part of Ramona that is sitting at Gideon's feet in sexy underwear and later shackles. Gideon himself is on a large throne in a dark corner. That image speaks volumes on how much damage Gideon had done already and how she wasn't quite mentally past him. As shown in the last book, the other duplicates of Ramona had just about had it with Gideon (demonstrating her attempt to try to move on). 

This is all significant for two reasons. The first is that she is sitting chained at Gideon's feet, revealing that she is not free of Gideon and he holds control over her. They even showed her at a level just below Gideon at the end of the movie (chaos theatre as Scott enters). It explains why she'd go back to him after running all the way to Canada to get away from him. Also, she is wearing sexy clothing which indicates that he uses her instead of loving her. The way he treats Envy Adams tells me he plays with women like toys and doesn't like to share. 

Photo by Comic Pow

The second is that Ramona has to defeat Gideon on a mental plane. In order to truly be free of the man, she has to deal with all of it mentally. The movie ending didn't do this (because I suspect it is easier to draw in a book than film). That is the only real difference between the two forms of Scott Pilgrim, other than the chip. Either way, we do see Ramona take a shot at Gideon. She kicks him in the balls in the movie and Scott does the defeating with Knives because Gideon kicked her down the stairs. No matter what, though, she did defeat him in her head in order to take a shot at him. The book is a better ending, but I digress. 

The League

We need to talk about the league itself in all this. Gideon went to the trouble of doing "two hours" of research to get contact information, contact her exes, and get them to agree to this whole fiasco. The book says one wouldn't agree to it, if you look, so at least one of her exes wasn't ridiculous. This involves slander. Yes, Ramona didn't end things well with the majority of her exes, but to go this far requires some form of slandering her. This is talking behind her back and plotting to destroy her love life forever, at the risk of being killed and turned into quarters. 

Did Gideon consider that he was destroying her life as all this happened? No. He didn't even consider it. She was an experiment to him. While I will point out that some exes contacted him in the book, he didn't have to go this far. Not only this, but the book goes farther than this, showing that Gideon freezes and collects his girlfriends so he can thaw them, then date them at his leisure whenever he wants. His plan was to add Ramona to his collection, as well, and possibly Envy.

Also, Gideon alters Scott's memories, too. He damages Scott and Ramona to sabotage the relationship. He is pure, unadulterated evil. People are just pawns in his mind. He uses his powers to manipulate everyone. The paragraph below, from the Scott Pilgrim wiki fandom, describes it perfectly.

Photo by thecoli.com

"In many ways Gideon is a typical case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder: he possesses a highly grandiose, idealised and very unrealistic view of himself, and reacts with extreme anger and defensiveness whenever reality even slightly contradicts his illusions. His entire perception of the world is filtered through his ego, and this extends to his relationships, which are emotionally abusive, over-demanding, and devoid of any real affection. Instead, he views the girls he dates as accessories to his greatness, giving them the bare minimum emotional attention and otherwise neglecting and exhausting them, yet his messed up ego causes him to react violently when they dump him, wanting to punish them for suggesting he is anything less than amazing."

As you can see, Gideon isn't quite right. He is likely a high-functioning sociopath.

Emotional Abuse Defined

Looking at all of the above, let's take a look at the definition of emotional abuse and the ways it shows itself. Psychology today says the following:

"Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior in which the perpetrator insults, humiliates, and generally instills fear in an individual in order to control them. The individual's reality may become distorted as they internalize the abuse as their own failings."

First of all, the image of Ramona at Gideon's feet is literally internalized abuse. Already we see this definition come into play. Another thing about abuse is that the person gets in the way of your personal goals, and what better way to do this than sending your other exes after your current boyfriend. Jealousy and being possessive also come into play here, which reminds me of the bio frozen exes of Gideon. He watches Ramona in both the book and movie. A huge red flag is that he also dresses Envy up like a doll.  This guy takes abuse to a whole new level with his mind powers, as well, so he has already defined himself as the worst abuser Ramona, Envy, and the frozen exes in the ceiling could ever meet. I think my debate here is finished. Ramona will forever be a hero for defeating him with Scott at the end of the series.

Sources:

Gideon Graves | Scott Pilgrim Wiki | Fandom

Emotional Abuse | Psychology Today

Types of Abuse - The Hotline

Why we don't notice everything

 Just how much of our world do we pay attention to? Do we truly notice everything we should? Let's find out. Below is my research on this topic and how it impacts us. 

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While technology does not help the lack of observation some humans show, it is not all to blame. Our psychological mind has to filter out what it deems unimportant or we'd be insane by now. You have to train yourself to remember observations like Shawn Spencer. It isn't all our devices' fault. Schools also don't put this at the top of the list sometimes, because even logical deduction is sometimes low on the list and the two do connect.

To put it simply, our brains can't focus on everything at once. We filter out what is unimportant and prioritize even within our own minds. Sherlock is not neurotypical. If you wish to get some of his skills you have to learn logical deduction. He can pay attention to so much because he is not quite normal (making him a bit quirky). Most people can't do what he does. Today I explore the average observation levels of average people. I will, however, touch on the exceptions to the rule.

Common Occurrences

What do you see every day that you don't notice? Plenty, actually. For one, your brain will autocorrect words sometimes. For another, the common objects that we see almost every day no longer show up on our radar, especially if we haven't needed them for an extremely long time. Also, if someone does the exact same thing for a long enough period of time, your brain will consider it normal and won't draw your attention to it. This was proven when one of my roommates in college cleaned the room every Friday and I never noticed - at all (but not because she did a bad job -she did a good job). 

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Another thing about us humans is that we focus on ourselves more often than we know. Introspective people can get lost in their own minds, for example, and not notice that their roommate cleaned every Friday, even as that person watched her clean every Friday while doing homework. This is why people who fade into the background get a lot of information from conversations (servants, people wiping tables.....). There are many people, like cleaning workers, that actually can become invisible to many people because they do the same thing every day. 

The summary of this whole section is this; if it is common and happens daily, we won't take much notice of it. 

Choosing What Is Important

There are times that we choose to focus on something and tune out what is unrelated. For instance, I could do a puzzle and ignore the time on the clock. We do this all the time. In a busy street, we turn our attention to the sign that says when to walk or the shops we pass. We don't stop to focus on every single detail. It is all filtered mentally into two boxes - important and unimportant. It is called selective attention and it stops us from going absolutely insane. We select what goes in important and ignore the rest. You probably don't remember what color the driver of a car was wearing unless you have been trained to observe like Shawn Spencer (who was taught to do this by his father early in life). 

Visual attention goes two ways - spotlight and zoom-lens. Spotlight works exactly like a spotlight, where the most important is in the middle and the rest get put in the margins from there. Zoom-lens works like a camera lens, zooming in to laser-focus on something or zooming out for the big picture (which takes more time to process). Auditory (hearing) attention has to do with the volume of the conversation. Cocktail effect makes it so you can hear only tidbits of the conversations at a time. If a change in volume happens you will notice, but the language could change mid-conversation and the volume could stay the same, yet you might not notice.

Getting Lost In Our Heads

So, I mentioned getting lost in your mind earlier. I do that all the time. Someone can easily sneak up on you and scare you that way. It can easily happen to introverts or introspective types, as well as literally everyone on the planet.  For now, let's talk about our thoughts. 

We wander everywhere in our minds and don't stay in the present near enough. Don't believe me? Tally how many times you are thinking about the future or travel back into the past in your thoughts. It is shocking how much time we spend in our brain ignoring our present moment of life. Wandering thoughts actually give us stress. If you start to take notice of this and correct yourself, you'll see so much you didn't before. Writers who sit in cafes and observe people see quite a lot of human nature. You should try cutting time out of your day to observe the public population around you (preferably in a safe place) with a journal. 

How do you stop yourself from getting lost in your head? Well, it's hard. We do it so often that we are blind to it most of the time. Introspective humans are especially guilty of this. It all starts with recognizing that you are wandering. After that, you bring yourself into the present and focus all your attention on something happening 'now'. Not later, not in the future - now! This temporarily shuts off autopilot. You will have to do this repeatedly, but after a while, it gets easier to recognize when you wander off into your own head. It is worth it. 

The Exceptions To The Rule

Introverts, as much as we get lost in our heads, pay attention quite a bit so we don't have to ask verbal questions. Yes, you heard me, we notice more than what we voice. This requires logical deduction (whether it is at Sherlock Holmes level or not is up to you). For instance, at work there are many people at tables with nametags. Helpers and nurses take orders to tables, but often ask where someone sits if they don't know. Even with table numbers on the order (which did help after that was included), some will still ask who sits where. Anyone with logical deduction skills won't need to ask unless someone doesn't have a name tag. The tags go unnoticed by many due to being common items that are always there. Using logical deduction saves time and means I don't have to have to point out where everyone sits. 

Those with mental illness also pay attention more, but for social cues. Appearing normal is a major reason to observe those around you. Keep this in mind when you see someone who looks like a fish out of water. They may not be a person with mental illness, but the concept still remains because we all want to be approved of and look normal (mostly). Still, those that deal with mental illness will be paying extra attention. 

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Observant people can do many things. For one, they can tell if you are lying sometimes (being human we're not always right). Bodily cues give off whether you are uncomfortable or lying. These people see introvert zones and are often good friends to introverted people as a result. They will take in details about places and people that they often have to play dumb to (because irritating someone like Sherlock does is not the best thing to do). Also, some people are seriously spooked by you knowing more about them than they shared. In general, good and fully engaged listeners are good observers, too. Speaking of being fully engaged, they are also more situationally alert. They also have their stuff organized in such a way that when it is moved they will notice. This is because it was there for a reason and placed for maximum productivity. They are usually analytical types. Landmarks also pop out to these people, meaning they may actually know where they parked or by what shop you entered the mall at. These observant souls also have a lot of factual information in their pockets. As if all this wasn't enough, they are better judges of character, have great critical thinking skills, and people watch. If you see a perfectionist, think of the observant. They will find something new in their old favorites, too. They are better at relationships due to noticing facial expressions and stress or changes in people.

The Takeaway

At the end of the day, we are human. We have a brain that can't pay attention to everything at once. It has to filter out some of it so we can function correctly. Quite frankly, most of us are not Sherlock, but we can develop our ability to stay in the present instead of checking out. We can logically deduce and train ourselves to notice life around us. Try it today and you'll see a whole new world. You may even be able to figure out more by yourself and find more independence. 

As for our technology, it is an inanimate object that we can use for good or evil. With boundaries it is good and without it, well, you'll be mastered by it. Any type of technological addiction can be stopped with healthy boundaries and accountability. Remember that your devices do not have to rule over you. If you need to take a day and leave them on their chargers unopened, go ahead. I used to once every week and it was marvelous, especially during the editing process I was going through. Devices are designed for the tasks you use them for. If you find yourself surfing the web out of boredom put it down and go find a personal project or book. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/metacognition-and-the-mind/201806/why-we-stop-noticing-the-world-around-us

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-selective-attention-2795022

https://www.inc.com/nate-klemp/harvard-psychologists-reveal-real-reason-were-all-so-distracted.html

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00023

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/15-things-only-incredibly-observant-people-would-understand.html

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/introduction-to-perception/

Writing Research Vs Stalking Online

Researching characters using real people you know is a fine line and involves a lot of playing dumb, as well as making sure you don't smash that like button. Writers, we've all done it. Even people who aren't writers do this out of boredom. Let's look at where the fine line is - you know, the one you cross and people start suddenly screaming. 

Photo by Social Media Marketing - RG Pacific

Stalking is defined as:

1. to pursue or approach stealthily (hunting and animals,  so unrelated to us)

2. harass and persecute someone with unwanted and obsessive attention

3. stride somewhere with a proud, stiff, angry manner ("she stalked off into the room.")

Only one of those definitions should be avoided by researching writers. The online definition of this is getting hazy due to social media. You can now look months back into someone's profile in a mere click or two. Technically, it is public information if posted on a public profile. You don't need much more than an hour to find months of posts, maybe even years. This is where we find the fine line getting a bit blurry. Curious people can stumble over it out of boredom, character research, or pure curiosity about how someone has been doing. Today I highlight the differences between legit stalking on social media and just looking around. 

One Time or Ten Million Times

If this person has indeed friended you and you need to know the colors they commonly wear for the sake of a Christmas gift or character profile you are not suddenly an evil stalker. Scanning through their albums at one point for a bit less than an hour thinking about what colors to make their Christmas sweater is not legal stalking. No lawyer can put you in jail for that. 

Photo by kiles.homeunix.net

What is wrong is checking the profile of a stranger, ex, or anyone else every minute of the day to keep track of what they are doing when. That is abuse. Stop. That isn't research, so don't call it research. The bottom line is that it has to be constant and obsessive to count as stalking. Most of us do not obsessively research like this when writing a character to life. If you do, go get counseling. 

Use of Information

What are you using the info you found for? Color of wardrobe? Assessing the character of the person you just agreed to date? It matters what you are using it for. If you are using it to track someone this is unhealthy. If you are using it to create a likeness of someone in your next novel and only look at their photos when you are writing the character profiles out, you are fine. Just play dumb later or you might freak them out. Looking for information only when you need it is definitely research and is not constant, not unless you are the FBI and someone is wanted dead or alive. Detective agencies are a whole different ball game.

Social media is also a lot less creepy if you are friends on the platform. Seriously, just hit follow for your writing inspiration. The posts come to you, straight to your newsfeed. It is easy and takes less effort. I said in a previous blog that people-watching can also lead you over this fine line, so I'll repeat some of that information here. Do not ever tail anyone you people watch. Never is that acceptable. Never even consider it. You wait until after they leave the coffee shop, finish your drink, then go home. Follow someone on their social media, not to their work or their home. 

Everyone Knows Vs Hush Hush

It helps to be upfront and ask friends while researching something. Also, being friends on the platform means they know you are looking at their page. Open and honest is far better than hiding in the walls like Bruno (I only know about Bruno from the hype about the movie, FYI). You can even tell them you are basing a character off of them and consult with them openly, if you are that close. 

Did I mention playing dumb earlier? Yes, but you can stop playing dumb to something when someone tells you the information you already know. I will tell you right now that some humans don't like when they have been analyzed based on their social media or people-watched. Some are a bit easy to spook. Avoid those humans when researching. You will run into that at times, but remember who you need to not spook. 

Spooking vs stalking is a matter of how often you people-watch and research. Again, tailing someone daily is stalking. People-watching while you eat lunch is not stalking. Spooking someone happens when they suddenly notice you and get the wrong impression. It happens. That is when you avoid that person. Even then, they might still be spooked by you. Just try not to let it happen. Artists are people who aren't easily spooked, generally. 

The Fine Line

Let me give you just a few rules of thumb before you stop reading. 

1. Only look when you need the information and don't like any posts you find.

2. Never use the information you find to track anyone or anyone close to them. 

3. If a person is easy to spook you should not be researching them. 

4. Be sure they are your friends and be open about what you are doing and why. 

These four guidelines will keep you from crossing that fine line, a line that gets harder to see as we post more online. Be careful out there writers. 

 Using Social Media Responsibly

Social media is an inanimate object we use daily. We have a choice of using it for good or evil. Stalking is misusing it. Research is not. Looking at someone's profile over social media and doing nothing cannot be held against you in court. It is when you use it to track someone or harm someone that you will be in trouble. Please be mindful of what you post publicly online. Everyone can see it. You have the power of good or evil in your hands. Be responsible. 

Sources:

15 Differences Between Stalking And Research On Social Media (elitedaily.com)

Is it considered stalking to look at someone's social media profiles? - Legal Answers - Avvo

Stalking in the age of social media - USC News

Corsets Worn Correctly

 Shaping devices are nothing new. They were also complicated. Some people also misused them or gave them a bad name. Not everyone tight-laced and most did not. After some deeper research on the topic, I'm going into the upsides and downsides of corsets.

I did some deeper diving into this. While there are downsides to this type of support, they were not as toxic as some humans portrayed them. Part of the reason for this is that we see people in edited photos and forget that padding was sold for body shaping. Also, women-owned businesses were often in the fashion industry and men going against suffragettes did not like that. That doesn't mean all women liked corsets, but those going against them screamed their message to the world. 

Modern corsetry is careful to size corsets to you, but way back when they sized them, too. Waist training is common now. Wearing corsets for cosplay is also common. Cosplayers will tell you to only wear them for so long. People with back problems wear something similar to a corset. We see ball gowns with support in them on the red carpet. They have not died. Are they the same? No, but they have not completely disappeared.

The Correct Way to Wear a Corset

First of all, there is a way to break them in. Second, they are sized to you or should be. Third, you should be able to breathe in it even if you can't move as freely. Fourth, wear a layer of fabric underneath it. 

To put one on (after you have sized it to you!) Hourglass Angel brand of corsets suggests this:

"It’s a little tricky to lace up in a corset, so we advise using a mirror or getting assistance from someone. First, gently unroll the corset so that the laces are facing up. Pull them apart, loosening the X’s starting from the center. When you put it on, you know that the correct side is up when the hooks that clasp in front are on your right. It should be very loose when you clasp it; never pull or tug on the hooks when you fasten the front. Next, pull the laces starting at the top and bottom and work your way towards the middle, pulling the loops as you go. The pull loops should be at the natural waist. Tie them when you’ve reached the desired tightness."

Again, tight-lacing for long periods of time is dangerous. Though the myth that all corsets are dangerous is not correct, there is some medical evidence of young women who tight-laced and pushed lungs into ribs. Don't do that. Please only tighten to a safe waistline. Women wore pads and other undergarments to get to the shape they wanted to be, so it wasn't all the corset. Hourglass Angel also suggests that if you feel pain, shortness of breath, or that it is not comfortable after tightening and seasoning to take it off immediately. 

As for breaking it in, "seasoning", you start by not pulling it as tight as it will go. Wear it an hour each day or 2 to 3 days to allow it to adjust to your body. Then you can lace it tightly (but not so tight you can't breathe or it hurts). Your body should become used to it. There is a lot of compression. For this reason, people who wear corsets unlace them slowly and allow their bodies to adjust to the lack of compression as they take them off. Don't just throw it off from the front or your body and the corset will not react nicely (depending on corset type). The video below will show you visually how to take off and put on a corset correctly.

You will find that waist training and tight lacing are different. Some people will tell you tight lacing can be done every once in a while for only short periods of time. I advise you just don't do it at all, but you are making that choice for yourself and taking on any risks that includes if you do. Tight lacing is around 4 inches in reduction or more, approximately. Waist training is just a few inches and wearing consistent corsets for a period of time. I'm going by Lucy's Corsetry advice. She recommends custom fit for daily use due to health safety and comfort.

Not all Corsets are okay to wear

Modern corsets, for medical or fashion reasons, are not the same as the old corsets of the 18-1900s. Different designs evolved and changed as fashion and propriety shifted. Short version, not all of them were safe then or now. Buy it custom, please, and do your research. I'll let someone else explain it in their words. She tells the reality of corsetry better than I can.

As the lovely human above explained, it is complicated. Historical dramas have, thus, gotten it wrong on many occasions (like every costume department often has in Hollywood). Women did adjust to their body shape and use pads to create optical illusions. Even puffy sleeves helped that illusion. Remember this when attempting a body that has a tiny waist. Also, altered pictures don't help us create accurate costumes. Real women had real bellies and real boobs. 

Is this woman scrunched in like a wasp? No, she's not, and she looks perfectly wonderful. And she is wearing a corset. Little Women didn't show women looking like wasps, either, though they did leave out some undergarments when it came to characters that were tomboyish. What I'm saying is that the Gibson Girl was not always the fashion and not everyone wore it. If you did you likely had servants and were rich. Women in the position of the March family needed functional clothing. It was considered a functional undergarment for most women and it had a variety to it. They even created dance corsets.

Many YouTubers will tell you all about how inaccurate the corset myths in Bridgerton and many other dramas are. Just look it up and you'll find it. 

The Most Common Inaccuracies

If you can believe it, some have shown actresses wearing them backwards and upside down. Oops! People don't know what is up and down when it comes to corsets on some sets. That just sounds dumb, truly, but Westworld was the one that dressed their ladies with upside down corsets, so, let's go check on their wardrobe department. 

Another one you see in Bridgerton is no undergarments under the corsets. One, you ruin the corset faster that way, and two, that looks like it hurts. Anyone who knows how to wear a corset has underneath slips for it. That was what layers of undergarments did (as well as body shaping). 

Another one is using the wrong time period corset. Another oops. Most viewers won't know the difference at all. I won't know the difference. Just the historical experts will know the difference. This is why Hollywood often doesn't worry about it unless they are dealing with an intense fandom. It is the lowest priority on their list and where liberties are taken, especially if no one will notice.

Similarly, corsets in time periods that didn't use them are a common whoopsie. Again, only historians will notice. It is something your common audience won't notice while they sit in the theatre. Only history buffs will be upset. Liberties will be taken vigorously for the sake of sexy costuming. Look online and you'll see so many sexy costumes with corsets worn incorrectly.

The myth that all corsets are bad, as broken by the research of people who have worn them correctly, is there. Tight lacing is shown in several movies to be painful. What has been said, though, is that a filming schedule does not allow time for seasoning corsets. Unfortunately, this makes it somewhat painful for the actresses. If you can't season a corset to fit your body you will likely not like wearing it. Some feminists will also claim it is oppression, but I have no opinion on that because I'm being objective here. Also, women made them, so I'm not so sure that's correct.

What About The Medical Evidence?

Yes, medical evidence, let's get to it. I'm going to surprise you with what I found. Corsets got the blame for a lot of medical problems, yet, we cannot prove all those problems to be corset-given medically. Tuberculosis was originally thought to be corset issues and - ta da! - they were wrong. Breast cancer caused by corsets? Nope, still exists and most of us are wearing bras. 

An actual ribcage of a tight-laced
woman

What can be said is that tight lacing is not a good idea and they condemned the practice. The use of elastic started to take hold around this time. Front laced corsets were also medically endorsed to help posture without causing injury. Highly laced corsets also caused some back problems, which made you depend on the corset for your back because it weakened muscles. Tight lacing was mostly what concerned doctors due to the constriction of it. 

Tight lacing was a bad idea for a real reason and I don't like to see anyone try it for even short periods of time. "Chicken breast" is not just a meal for dinner; it is when ribs fractured and you got lung atrophy, which required healing via being immobile. The pressure of the corset could cause this. Despite this, doctors did not believe women who came for treatment of corset injuries. Organs did move around and women in the time were told to be pale and frail to be attractive. The louder men shouted about corsets, the more some women tight-laced. Did it cause ribs to compress? Yes, it did. We have skeletons to prove it. It was said to have caused trouble giving birth, but I don't know if that was just genetics on some ladies or the effects on soft tissue and tight lacing. Childbirth and pregnancy are not quite proven as parts of tight lacing by medical evidence.

Sources:

Corseting: How to Wear a Corset (Complete Guide) (hourglassangel.com)

WAIST TRAINING vs TIGHT LACING (& suitable corsets) | Lucy's Corsetry - YouTube

The Costumes of ‘Little Women’: An Interview With Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran | Vogue

https://www.flickriver.com/photos/vintage_women/tags/corset/

Top Five Ways Movies Screw Up Corsets – (frockflicks.com)

Did Corsets Harm Women’s Health? | Books, Health and History (nyamcenterforhistory.org)

Vintage X-rays reveal the hidden effects of corsets (cnet.com)

How the Cultural Becomes Biological: Evidence for Corseting in the Skeletal Record | The Classic Journal (uga.edu)

Pictures:

Period Corsets: A custom fit for every shape, the Period Corsets fitting process

The dangers of tight lacing: the effects of the corset — Royal College of Surgeons (rcseng.ac.uk)

Victorian Servanthood

 Life below the stairs during the Victorian era was not glamorous. If you think working for the public in a restaurant or store puts you in contact with ungrateful people, consider what the servants of the ungrateful rich dealt with. Service jobs were done by "inferiors" who were supposed to be invisible unless needed. If you were treated well you were lucky, but not everyone worked for people as nice as the Bridgertons. 

To be clear I am not talking about slavery. This is paid servanthood that is not forced. This is comparable to being an employee in personal maid services or a kitchen worker (though today you won't be treated like you are inferior unless you have a crappy boss). The rich employed people to bend to their every whim. While Cinderella may have technically been a slave, most domestic servants were paid money. If they weren't it was slavery.

The Roles and Duties

The wages of servants were different based on roles. The butler had the benefit because he had no expenses except clothes, got discounts from tradesmen, collected the end of candles, and collected one bottle of wine for every six bottles served. Below is a range of wages (1890s) in today's money based on my research. In America today these are below the poverty level. In between this range is the butler, cook/housekeeper, lady's maid, parlour maid, cook, housemaid, kitchen maid, and scullery maid. All of these people have no money for leisure by today's standards. Some of them work for next to nothing. 

Housekeeper - 9,139.00 per year  to  Between Maid - 1818.00 per year

The duty of house staff will revolve around the family. There is also a social hierarchy within servants. A butler and housekeeper, for instance, are higher above other staff members. Uniforms were only 1900s creations. It is basically loyalty to a family for a long time.  The chores the upperclass wouldn't do were done by the house staff. 

Maid duties vary based on how many maids there are. Scullery maids did dishes. Laundry maids did -obviously - laundry. Parlous maids maintained the drawing and sitting room. Chamber maids maintained bedrooms. A lady's maid was the private maid of the lady of the house. Between maids ran from the garden to the house. Kitchen maids helped the cook. 

The kitchen also included the cook and under cook, employed by the butler and housekeeper. The cook managed all the kitchen staff. Their job was essential to impress guests. The footmen represented the estate. They accompanied the lady of the house on trips, served meals, and assisted the butler. They were generally well dressed. They held doors open and helped at meal times. The Butler was the highest rank and ran the staff. He oversaw all of it. The housekeeper helped him run the female staff and decor in the home. She would have been a high ranking servant. 

The grounds keepers included head gardeners. Grooms and stable boys cared for the horses and were often young boys as young as ten. Game keepers maintained the bird population for hunting purposes. A governess and nurse looked after the children. If more than one nurse was there, it'd be a head nurse overseeing other nurses. You could be around 15 years old to be a nurse. Governesses taught female children (Meg and Jo March as an example). Boys were sent to boarding schools (like what Jo ran). She'd be in a difficult status position due to being higher than a servant and lower than her employer. This was caused by a governess being educated while most servants weren't.  

The Upsides

Despite the hardships of the job, the service people took pride in their work. At first, they had to ask for even short periods of time off (and that was frowned upon). However, just like now, they could get days off. It was sometimes given as a reward and taken away as punishment. The 1880s began a half day off after lunch on Sundays. Once each month was a trend at that time, too. Provided chores were finished, they got these days free. The 1900s introduced an evening off a week, but often only in households with many servants that covered each other. Time off was a thing even then. It was provided and it was worth more than gold to someone who worked for so much of their life. The 1890s even offered them holiday leave for one to two weeks, which they used to see family. They often saved wages for a good while to afford the train travel. 

While no one was looking the servants let their hair down. Like I'll mention in the next section, forbidden visitors often came when the master and mistress were away. It was also not uncommon for some family members to get cozy with servants. It caused some scandal if it created a child out of wedlock, but often it was on the down-low. Large households that required more servants had "the high life" downstairs. This was playing cards, secret visitors (forbidden, obviously), pillow fights, music, dancing, getting drunk, and practical jokes. Life was not always dull and boring. I'm willing to bet that servants probably created a family-like bond in the process of working in the same house for years. 

Depending on your master or mistress, they might have a kind heart and provide a piano or reading and sun room for you. You could have relationships with your family. Most were not denied trips to town and walks in gardens. All this was yours for the use, provided you got back on duty on time (9 or 10 pm). While that cuts leisure time short, I will say a kind employer did give you at least some time to enjoy yourself. 

Servants had an advantage when it came to family secrets and closet skeletons. Being invisible unless you are needed has a weird benefit that allows you to hear and see what others don't. In short, you have more gossip fuel than you know what to do with (which servants got known for). The servants know the family better than they ever dreamed. If I were investigating a murder I'd go escort myself down the stairs and get the goods on everyone while nobody was home. I'd become a forbidden visitor for evidence. I'm not actually sure if being invisible is a good or bad thing in this case, so I'll say it just is (neutral). It depends on the situation. 

A living space and a meal were guaranteed if you served a wealthy family. If not, you were in a bad spot. The worst of everything if you served someone who barely had enough money to pay you. But in the case of a wealthy family, you had a roof over your head and food to eat. It was good to not be on the street. It was better than selling yourself for money. If your employer cared for you they treated you well. After years of loyalty to a family, some of them might take care of your needs later on in life. 

The Downsides

If you wanted your own personal space to be sacred, you were mistaken. Consider Harry Potter sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs and Cinderella in the attic. Consider going to bed in the kitchen area. An undeniable fact was that early in the 1800s servants did not have their own space. You were not to be seen when you were not wanted. Harry Potter and Cinderella slept where 1800s servants would have. Men tended to guard the plate down in the kitchen, though, so they bedded down in the kitchen often.

Even after the 1900s revealed servants' rooms that were an attempt to attract women into personal service, the personal space was still not there. You couldn't put up personal decor. Your space could also be raided at any time and you couldn't say no. Household guides suggested keeping servants on their toes. Sound fun? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. A bare-bones room with no personal effects that is hidden away from where guests would roam might be a servant's quarters in some old houses. Servants halls provided a social life, as limited as that was, for the staff. That, too, was a room that was particularly plain. If they had time to gather around a fire it was available. No gas lighting was provided downstairs in most households. This type of life required getting past a feeling of lonely isolation because most of your social contact was with fellow servants and your employers did not get friendly with you - although some employers and servants got friendly and had what is known as a "bastard" (an illegitimate child). 

I will note that making servant quarters plain is not dangerous. I will also note that, according to Timeline documentaries, they cut costs in the servant quarters in some houses that cost servants their lives or health. Stairs were sometimes only even where the guests were about and in the areas that were lived in by the family. Staircases in servant areas were sometimes not even. When you are carrying a plate of food or any heavy object that can throw a monkey wrench into your day faster than an avalanche with no rescue crew. Servants died on stairwells that didn't have even steps because it cost less to make servant stairs subpar. It extended the budget of the family to do this. Older stairs can be uneven anyways, yes, but if you notice that one area of an old Victorian era house has standard steps and the downstairs does not you are seeing the difference in status reflected into how the house was built. 

When I said it was lonely, I also mean romantically lonely. Unless you met your men in private and in secret you really couldn't have a relationship. They couldn't kiss you goodnight before duty because of a rule of "no followers" on the way back to your duties. Again, most of the relationships that happened were not spoken of and the strictest of secrets. Visitors to servants were forbidden. In some family closets you will also find a few skeletons. Children were had between a family member and a servant downstairs in some circumstances. In wealthy circles this was nothing short of shameful for both the servant and the family member, however, the servant would get dismissed and be unlikely to find work in that wealthy circle. It was worse for the servant. 

There were rules to follow by servants, generally summed up by being invisible unless needed. It was expected that you be calm and quiet. You basically have to do your job speaking as few words as possible and minding your Ma'ams and sirs. You are to keep your thoughts to yourself. Again, invisible is the expectation. Efficient, quiet service is what is asked of you. You are essentially part of the house itself. What this screams is that you are not equal. Does it sound like the worst job in the world? Actually, no, but depending on your employer it could be absolutely awful or absolutely wonderful. I put it under downside because it sounded so strict, yet, it depends on how strict your master or mistress is. Children actually related to servants more often due to the expectation of being seen and not heard. Governess and nurse bonded with the child more than some parents. 

Holidays were hard. Boxing day was for servants (giving boxes to servants). Sometimes they switch roles on that day. Servants had to run parties for the family. Wealthy families and upper-class families had many parties. You worked when others were off and free. You bent to the whims of your master and mistress for your paycheck.

A Bonus Section about Victorian Sexism

I hesitate to bring this one up, but I think it is worth noting. It is history and it is sexist, but it happened and I won't ignore it. Women were sometimes treated like children. What I hesitate to tell you is that women who did wrong in households were sometimes spanked. The guide to Victorian household management (written by Mrs. Beeton) suggested it. This was considered a wholesome book. Yes, I know, it's awful. Would you like an excerpt? 

“I am distinctly in favour of the rod, duty, obedience and discipline make for very good, well behaved girls. Even ladies of rank must on occasion be treated like a child and put across the knee. She must make her own arrangements for her punishment, as it is essential that she must loose all sense of power. Failing this the party administering the punishment should always part or lower the girl’s draws as this adds to the feelings of shame.”

This is a problem. This was only suggested for women. Did young boys get the belt for doing wrong? Sure, but no one suggested that they pull down their drawers and spank them with their drawers down when they were no longer children. Men got to grow out of childhood and women in that era did not. Let's not repeat the Victorian era, please! You even see this in some westerns.

*Here I will decline to put any pictures because the ones I found from the Victorian era were either erotica novels, showed a full butt to the world, or were children being spanked and not grown women. All of the pictures of women looked so sexualized that it made me sick.*

Sources:

Servants' Lives - Weddington Castle

On spanking and Victorian household management | A Voice in the Corner

Servants: A life below stairs - BBC News

The Servants of a Victorian Household (simplehistory.co.uk)

Victorian Era Servants in homes: Duties and rules (victorian-era.org)

What was it like to be a servant in Victorian times? (treehozz.com)

The Life of Domestic Servants in Victorian England (thegreatcoursesdaily.com)

Pictures:

https://austenauthors.net/regency-servants-valet-and-ladys-maid/

(510) Pinterest

Life in domestic service in the 1930s - 1939 Register | findmypast.co.uk

Solving Puzzles 101

 As a Nancy Drew gamer, puzzles are an everyday part of my life. I think I'd go insane if I didn't have a jigsaw puzzle going or didn't have a game to play. I have so many sudoku books in my possession I may never finish them all. Today I'm going to talk about every type of puzzle I can and how to do them, including tips and tricks to solving them. 

Chris Ramsay and others on Youtube have channels that explore solving physical puzzles. So many Nancy Drew gamers stream and post on Youtube it'd take you months to watch them all. Markiplier and others play a variety of strange and fun games (horror and otherwise) consistently and for charity. Youtube is a treasure trove of people who solve puzzles for a living or just for Youtube in their spare time. I'll let you look these people up later, but for now, we'll start with categories of puzzles. 

The categories of puzzles I'll talk about today are physical, numbers, letters and words, logic, and jigsaw. Physical puzzles are described as puzzles you hold in your hand and play with using your hands. Number puzzles involve the use of numbers. Letter and word puzzles involve letter arrangement. Logic puzzles have to do with the use of logic and deduction. Jigsaw puzzles are interlocking pieces that create a picture. Most of these are obvious, but I include this breakdown anyway. 

Physical

The types of physical puzzles out there are vast and priced in many ranges. My husband loves these. I am incredibly frustrated by them. It takes someone who plays with everything in front of them to love these brilliant little and big objects. I don't exaggerate when I say that you have to find every button and moveable piece possible to solve some of these complicated physical puzzles. They come in metal, wood, and lego. Chris Ramsey says a puzzle is solved not only by taking it apart, but by also putting it back together like you found it. The latter part of the process sometimes takes the most time. These are known as brain teasers, technically. 

I said I'd include tips and tricks to these puzzles. The best advice I have is to find whatever moves and go from there. This really is messing with an object until you find the answer. Don't think too hard or you'll miss it. They are vast in form, too, so if you are truly stuck you can contact the company or find a tutorial online (hopefully). Some have pins that need to be moved and switches in them. Some are slider puzzles that create images.

It would take forever to categorize the variety of these things, so I won't. I'll put a link to Chris Ramsay instead and let you explore the rest of his channel to find that variety on your own. Click here for Chris Ramsay's Youtube channel! Happy exploring!

Numbers

Sudoku, Hidato, Nonograms, and Yohaku are all number-related puzzles. They all include logic, too. Sudoku is putting numbers in a square so that none repeat in any line. Hidato is putting all the numbers in the box in a way that creates an unbroken string of numbers diagonally, horizontally, and vertically. Nonogram solving is coloring in specific boxes specified by numbers on the side (no, not color by number). Yohaku is newer and I don't have a simple explanation for it. It is, and I quote, "a new type of number puzzle that will test your number sense and problem-solving skills. Each yohaku is either an additive or a multiplicative puzzle (as indicated by the symbol in the bottom right of the grid). Your task is to fill in the empty cells such that they give the sum or product shown in each row and column." 

Given Yohaku was last described, the tips and tricks for that involve being good at math. I am not. I found a good description of this, however, from somewhere else, and here it is. I know I have seen this puzzle in one nancy drew game somewhere. I purely guessed at it or cheated. All it is, truly, is basic math and time. 

Sudoku is one of my favorites. You start by looking at what numbers can't be in certain squares. Go square by square until you can logically eliminate what numbers can't go in a space and what can. Usually, they give you enough set numbers in an average puzzle to put at least a few numbers down. If you are doing a sudoku with five connected puzzles that share corners, do the corners first and then finish the middle. I do these rather well, but everyone has their own strategies to use, which you can find several of in this link. There are fancy and complicated versions if you need more challenge than the average human. 

Sudoku Example

Nonograms are a pain to do, at least for me. What I do know is that you do the rows that indicate a whole row of colored squares first. Then you logically deduce where the rest go based on that. Even then, you can find yourself guessing and checking the back of your book or cheating on them (cough couch, Shadow At Waters Edge, cough cough). The bigger it is, the harder it is. Someone explained this rather nicely in the link here. They even give you a sample one to try that isn't massively hard to do. 

Hidato, also known to Nancy Drew gamers as "renograms", is creating that string of numbers based on where the set numbers are placed. My husband also loves these. I literally bought him a book of them for Christmas because he exhausted the supply of them in Shadow At Waters Edge. This is basically logical reasoning. The shape of your box can be anything, so some are rather creatively shaped. I found a tutorial for a small hidato, should you want to try it. This is the tutorial. 

To be fair, a lot of these do go in the logic category, too. Some Sudoku also begins including letters. Challenge levels of these go from beginner to massively creative large ones that are nearly impossible. You can find the level you want. Start with beginner, though. Don't overwhelm yourself with a task that takes practice when you didn't start with the basics. 

Logic

Here we have chess problems, grids, brainteasers on paper, and visual trick puzzles, as well as many other types. 

Chess puzzles require you to know how to play chess, obviously, so I'm going to go ahead and assume you know how to play chess if you are doing these puzzles. I have a video below that will give you a bunch of chess tactics. Chess is logic with long-term thinking. I do know how to play, but this man in the video below is much better than anything I can come up with on my own. 

Visual trick puzzles have to do with illusions. These are something related to how many triangles are in a picture, and you have to count the tiny triangles within the bigger ones. You have to think outside the box. Not too many tricks for this type of puzzle, sadly, so I can't give you much help. This is the one puzzle that has no tip with it. 

Logic puzzles go broadly in many directions, and yet, I can give you one guideline on multiple types in one shot. Eliminate the impossible and you're left with the possible. Start by eliminating what can't be the answer and go from there. I notice that some people are shockingly good at logical thinking and others miss what I see as the obvious. No one is stupid, to be clear on that, but not everyone has a natural inclination for logic. 

Logic is important for many reasons, one of which is that everyday problems can be solved using it. An example from my work is people asking where a resident sits, even though they (except for a few new ones) have name tags on their tables. When one is given a table number and a name, logically they could reason out who at the table it should go to (minus those without name tags). That is an everyday logic problem. You can find more in adult life all the time. Adult life is a series of logic problems, even down to prioritizing stuff on my office desk.

You'd be surprised who's not strong at logic and who is. Those who have that strength are generally not asking questions that can be answered by basic logic (especially introverts). We simply figure it out ourselves and go, rather than ask what we know the answer to. We may doublecheck sometimes, though, just to be safe when something is critical. Pay attention to the use of logic around you today.  You can Sherlock Deduce about anyone through learning more about logic and observation.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Another favorite of mine is jigsaw puzzles, particularly in 500 to 1000 pieces. You can find challenging and extra challenging ones in pieces into the 1000s and puzzles with no edge. Some are all corners or all black and solid colored or with transitioning colors. Again, whatever challenge level you want is out there. I adore the mystery puzzles that have no image to go off of and have a mystery booklet to read. 

Here I count mechanical puzzles as related to Jigsaw. This is still interlocking pieces and creates something. It may be slightly different. All the same, I consider it the same strategy, especially with jigsaw puzzles that create buildings and 3D images. It is the same concept. The only difference is sorting is only by shape.

My strategy is simple. I also have a patience level that allows me to counted cross stitch and embroider for months. It takes patience and time to do this type of puzzle. If you have no patience or attention span you shouldn't start a puzzle (and ditto for counted cross stitch). 

I begin by dumping the puzzle pieces out of their box/bag and sorting the edge pieces out. I often have to do so again while constructing the edge of the puzzle (the missed-a-piece curse). After the edge is all nicely constructed and correct I sort them by color or pattern or both. I suggest getting a bunch of bowls to sort pieces into or investing in a simple, cheap puzzle sorting set. You take one color/pattern and put together all the pieces you can, repeating that process for all of the sorted bowls. You do this until you are stuck with a bunch of pieces that are multiple colors or you finish the puzzle. In the case of multiple colors, sort them by shape and try to fill the holes in the puzzle using shape. Eventually, you'll get there and have a beautiful image on your table or surface. 

You can frame it, put it away for future solving, or pass it on. When I solve it I give it a victory lap (aka leaving it up for a day) and then put it away, making sure the corner pieces are in a bag for when I solve it next. If I didn't love it the puzzle goes to one of my relatives. Much like books I dislike, puzzles I dislike leave my personal collection.

Words and Letters

The arrangement of words and letters involves crosswords and word searches, as well as board games like Scrabble. It comes down to how big your vocabulary is and knowing what your words mean in some cases. Scrabble boils down to knowing exactly what words can be placed in valuable spaces (which takes talent). In the general sense, avid readers and writers ace these types of puzzles. Also in this category, codebreaking is a real thing. Ciphers and anagrams are word puzzles. 

Codebreakers that broke Enigma machine codes used the art of arranging letters to do so. Some of our puzzles today and fun codes we know about were used during the war for real message sending. Ciphers are challenges that real men and women faced for the sake of war and espionage, which is amazing. Word puzzles were actually useful. Ciphers involve a keyword and shift in letters. You'll find tips for that type of puzzle right here. 

Crosswords are all about knowing what your words mean and arranging them in the correct spaces. This blog is getting a bit too long, so I will let you explore this link of tips yourself. When it comes to word searches you simply have to be observant. For more pointers, click here. Anagrams are word scrambles. Click here for some help on anagrams.

Sources:

https://www.yohaku.ca/

The Ultimate Sudoku Strategy Guide | Learn all the Tricks (bestofsudoku.com)

Pictures:

Jerry's Mechanical Puzzle & Brain Teaser Collection: Puzzles Crafted By Eric Fuller For Sale (smallpuzzlecollection.blogspot.com)

Premium Sudoku Cards for Android - APK Download (apkpure.com)

Jigsaw Puzzles Sales Skyrocket During COVID-19 (mix106.com.au)

illegitimate children - a history

I talked about fallen women already here, but we have yet to talk about the shame connected with being an illegitimate child. What happens when it isn't your fault you were born outside of marriage? Let's find out. 

Photo by legalnaija.com

First of all, you couldn't inherit any title or anything. Daughter of a duke? Means nothing. No status or inheritance for you. Basically, you would be a dirty secret that got swept under the rug by most people. Even if you didn't have a parent with a title it was bad. You represented the sin of your mother. Some women ditched their children at churches in the area in order to spare themselves shame. Some even killed their own children. The term for an illegitimate child is still in use today as an insult - bastard. At this point in time, you do not have to endure abuse for being born out of wedlock (thankfully for many children), but it has not always been so. 

Society's Flawed View 

The father was considered the leader of the household. Without the man of the house, it was thought that illegitimate children on the street became criminals. Often, a woman with an illegitimate child was not given aid (as established in my blog on poorhouses) due to her immoral reputation. Again, the child was proof of her sin at that time. The woman and child ended up on the streets without help in many cases, thus the possibility of turning to crime was high for both mother and child. In my opinion, this was more of a problem society created, but society at that time thought immoral people shouldn't be given extra help. In summary, it wasn't your fault and now no one will help your mother, thus you get punished for being born. Your reputation is mud already. 

In wealthy families you might be sent off to be a skeleton in a closet metaphorically. One Bridgerton novel covers this. The mother dropped her off to be a ward of the father, who cared for her rather well, but kept her origin a secret. Is that better than the streets? Yes, but if anyone finds out your origin you are still mud. Rich families had plenty of these secrets going around. You could also be given up for adoption, which was probably better than the streets, too. Mistresses had children, just like other women, and some families did care for the illegitimate children that came from them. Skeletons in closet secrets are often illegitimate children.

How do you know?

How could you tell in historical documents that someone was illegitimate? The lack of a father's name on a marriage or birth certificate. Easy as pie. Age is also a sign in census records. Sometimes grandparents got the child. If the youngest child has a whole lot of older siblings and the age of parents is a little older you can figure it out. The church baptism certificate might also straight up say "bastard" on it. Yep, it's mean, but they sometimes put it bluntly. When looking for the father of a child, check to see if the household servants are connected or the mother married the father shortly after (thus step-father is the biological father). Poor law records and parish records might actually tell you who the father is. Earlier illegitimate children were cared for by the church, which took care of poorhouses and workhouses. 

A woman drops her child off as a "foundling" 
Photo by BBC history

Lies breed stories that don't make sense. People will hide family history for various reasons. If you had an ancestor that was illegitimate you might find this out real quick. Be tactful if you look into that bit of family tree. Aside from the records, a story might not make sense and your common sense might tell you someone lied. Did someone pass off a child as a sibling when they weren't? Did someone disappear to a nursing home and come back with a weird depression? If someone was a foundling, you might have a real clear clue. Believe it or not, women killed their children out of shame, too. 

Strangely, the law still has some weirdness for illegitimate children. Click here for details. It is a bit complicated. I'll let you look at the link in this paragraph. Laws change. Back when there wasn't equal protection men were not entitled to help the child. The child was no one's child because legally a man's child was his property and not the mother's property. Which was terrible. 

Famous illegitimates

In the case of William the Bastard, he did inherit - but only because there were no legitimate children of his father. He was the eldest, so he got to be Duke. He also led a successful invasion of England. After this successful invasion, he was known as (drum roll please!) William the Conqueror. While his barons took advantage of him earlier on, he was a hard man due to his childhood and resorted to cutting off the hands and feet of rebels to gain control back. 

Lawrence of Arabia was illegitimate. He traveled around visiting castles, then the middle east. He joined the British war office during WWI. They sent him to Cairo, where he gave them maps and Turkish war positions. He later arranged an Arab revolt against the Turkish government and was instrumental in its success. Unfortunately, the allies carved up the middle east afterward. 

Alexander Hamilton is one we know well. He was the second child of a Scottish drifting merchant and a woman having an affair. He worked in a counting house first, then went on to go to college where his studies were interrupted by a revolt. He became captain of the artillery when fighting began and got Washington's attention, becoming his aide-de-camp. He made enemies of Arron Burr and eventually was challenged to a duel that ended in his death. 

Leonardo Da Vinci - Photo by discoverwalks.com

Lastly, but never least, is Leonardo Da Vinci. He was the product of a wealthy florentine man and a peasant girl with easy virtue. He painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. His seventeen siblings did not appreciate him and considered him a stain in the family. His success, however, made up for getting denied some of his father's estate. He got some satisfaction, too, out of getting all his uncle's estate (while everyone else was disinherited entirely). 

Sources:

 https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/apr/14/guardianspecial4.guardianspecial215

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/inheritance-rights-for-legitimate-and-illegitimate-children-47186

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/illegitimate-child

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/illegitimate-ancestors/

https://www.nature.com/articles/146298b0

Big Bastards: 10 of History’s Most Influential Illegitimate Children (historycollection.com)