Showing posts with label Amelia Jenks Bloomer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amelia Jenks Bloomer. Show all posts

Jun 8, 2012

What's in a Name, Bloomers

Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born in 1818. She was a women’s rights advocate, social reformer and temperance advocate. She married Dexter Bloomer, who encouraged her to write for his newspaper. Later she wrote for her own periodical about women's rights.

Among other things, she worked for more sensible dress for women and recommended what was called the Bloomer Costume in 1849. Bloomer believed that “pantalettes” were appropriate clothing for women. These were baggy pants that narrowed at the ankles and were meant to be worn under dresses. Bloomer advocated them because they both preserved a woman’s decency and  allowed her to participate in more activities without having to worry about indecency. That is why bloomer panties were named after her. Elizabeth Smith Miller introduced the costume, but it was Amelia that gave bloomers the name we still use today.

Later she established churches, helped pass suffrage legislation, and she even founded the Soldier’s Age Society. In 1871, she became the president of the Iowa Women Suffrage Society and helped pass a law that put an end to the distinction between male and female property rights. She petitioned congress to either end her taxation or end the “political disabilities” that did not allow her an active role in the government.