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The Matilda effect: 5 women who made men famous
The Matilda effect: 5 women who made men famous

Video: The Matilda effect: 5 women who made men famous

Video: The Matilda effect: 5 women who made men famous
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The world could have known about these women and their talents much earlier, but they remained in the shadows for a long time. The fair sex, it seems, believed that it should be so, because for many centuries they were inspired by the idea: the world is ruled by men, and only they can contribute to science or art. The phenomenon even got its own name, the Matilda Effect, named after Matilda Jocelyn Gage, who first described it. The Matilda effect is the denial of women's contributions to science and the transfer of work to male colleagues.

Margaret Knight

Margaret Knight
Margaret Knight

She worked for the Columbia Paper Bag Company in 1868 and for several months worked on the creation of a special machine that could make paper bags with a flat bottom. When the designs and blueprints were complete, she sent them to a local shop mechanic to make and assemble the mechanism. However, a certain Charles Annan, who saw the papers from the mechanic, immediately appropriated the authorship and tried to obtain a patent for the invention. Fortunately, Margaret Knight had no intention of surrendering without a fight. She went to court and with drawings, layouts, photographs and the same ready-made packages in her hands, she was able to win the case.

Margaret Keane

Margaret Keane and her paintings
Margaret Keane and her paintings

The American artist, who painted original canvases, which were called paintings "with big eyes," for many years had to put up with the fact that the whole world considered her own husband to be the author of her paintings. Walter Keane convinced his wife that he could make the most profit for the family if he introduced himself as the author. He really was a skillful businessman, but his greed turned out to be much stronger than thoughts of family. He literally exhausted his wife, demanding more and more new paintings from her, and he himself bathed in the rays of glory, listening to praises addressed to him. It seems that at some point he even believed in his own genius.

Margaret Keane
Margaret Keane

When Margaret tried not only to restore justice, but also to leave the tyrant husband, her life turned into a real nightmare. Walter kept his wife and daughter locked up, fearing that everyone would find out the truth. And yet, Margaret was able to bring the case to court, where she brilliantly drew a figure with big eyes in an hour, while her husband could not do even a few strokes. By a court decision, Walter Keane paid his ex-wife $ 4 million in compensation, and all his further attempts to take away the authorship from his wife failed.

Alice Guy

Alice Guy
Alice Guy

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alice Guy managed to shoot more than 100 films before her marriage. Alice's spouse was Erbert Blashy, the manager of the studio for which she worked. In 1910, she opened Solax Studios, becoming the first woman to own a film studio. She was the first to change gender roles on the screen, and presented a film in which women ruled the world, and men, accordingly, suffered from their oppression. True, all the laurels went to the wife of Alice Guy. Erbert Blashy opened a new film studio, brought his name to the fore and persuaded his wife to merge the two companies. And soon he was able to very neatly "get hold of" all the achievements of his wife. Subsequently, justice was nevertheless restored, and the name of Alice Guy was forever inscribed in the history of cinema.

Sidonie Colette

Sidonie Colette
Sidonie Colette

The fame of a talented writer was appropriated by her husband, a provincial journalist and writer, who did not particularly shine with the beauty of his style. But he had a talent for seduction, thanks to which he was able to charm Sidonie Colette and even publish four of her novels under his own name. While the writer was working on her creations, her husband enjoyed the fame and incredible income that he received not only from books, but also from the sale of copyrights to use the name of Claudine, the heroine of the first novel "Claudine at School". Fortunately, the scam was quickly revealed, and Sidonie Colette received the recognition it deserved and entered the history of world literature.

Elizabeth Maggie

Elizabeth Maggie
Elizabeth Maggie

It was this woman who became the author of the much-loved game "Monopoly", although in 1903 it was named The Landlord's Game. The creator was passionate about politics and invented her game in protest against large monopolists. But three decades later, a certain Charles Darrow appropriated the authorship and sold the rights to release the game to Parker Brothers, receiving more than one million dollars as a result. The true author got only $ 500 at one time.

Margaret Murray, too, has gone through a time when her discoveries were attributed to men. But despite all the obstacles, she managed to become a prominent figure in science. They noticed in different ways: if her successes became common achievements, then the failure, of course, belonged to her alone. And some of Murray's suggestions the scientific world has never forgiven.

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