Women's History Month

This page provides direct links to audio and video files about women in the following categories:
Art, Design & Performing Arts; Business and Economics;
Civil Rights; Culture and Folklife; Government, Politics and Law
History; Music and Performing Arts; Poetry and Literature; Science, Technology, Engineer & Mathematics (STEM)

The stories focus on intrepid women from the turn of the 20th century who managed to break into new professions, step into leadership roles, and fight for suffrage and an end to discrimination.

(En los cortometrajes digitales, haga clic en “cc” y seleccione "Spanish")
Las historias se centran en mujeres intrépidas de principios del siglo 20 que lograron abrirse camino en nuevas profesiones, asumir roles de liderazgo y luchar por el sufragio y el fin de la discriminación.

In 1946, Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). When Howard Stark is accused of treason, he secretly recruits Peggy to clear his name with the help of his butler, Edwin Jarvis.

Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckner, in 1976 San Francisco, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is growing up at the crossroads of the fading hippie movement and the dawn of punk rock. Like most teenage girls, Minnie is longing for love, acceptance, and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny, and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.

Available at the LGBTQA Res Ctr

In the closeted 1960s, two young women met and fell in love and so began the extraordinary tale of Edie and Thea, whose engagement to each other would span more than forty years Directors Susan Muska and Gréta Ólafsdóttir The Brandon Teena Story present a lovingly crafted documentary in which Edia and Thea recount how their improbable romance ignited a lifelong journey around the world and through history. Though touched by events like the civil rights movement and the Stonewall riots, Edie and Thea s relationship transcends politics and is a shining example of love s ability to endure. Ultimately, in their 70s, with Thea s health in rapid decline, the two seize the opportunity to fulfill their dream of getting married. The film captures their inspiring journey to Toronto and Thea s last trip on a plane where the lovers are finally able to make their vows. Told with candor, wit, and great affection, Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement is an American love story for the ages.

Amateur lawyer Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) develops chromium case against Pacific Gas & Electric and wins.

The tumultuous life of famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is vividly brought to the screen by director Julie Taymor and producer/star Salma Hayek. Kahlo's story is traced, from the debilitating trolley accident she suffered as a teen and her stormy marriage to muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina) to the duo's extramarital flings and Kahlo's search for her own identity in her art. Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Geoffrey Rush, Edward Norton also star. 124 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English.

Essential viewing for students, educators, counselors, policy makers and parents, THE GENDER CHIP PROJECT is being hailed as an important resource for addressing the disparity of representation of women in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Although women comprise the majority of undergraduates in America, only 20 percent are earning degrees in engineering and computer science. With statistics like these—and controversies such as the firestorm created when a prominent university president suggested women lack innate abilities in math and science—it’s clear that the road to success in the high-stakes STEM professions is not an easy one for young women.
THE GENDER CHIP PROJECT illustrates this challenge as it follows five extraordinary women majoring in the sciences, engineering and math at Ohio State University. Meeting regularly throughout their four years of school, they create a community to share their experiences and struggles as women stepping into traditionally male domains, and find support in dialog with their female professors. Now chaptered for easier use, the DVD shows how these extraordinary students are finding their own way to navigate and succeed in these male-dominated areas of study.

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

The film tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells were used without her consent to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey), the film chronicles her search, along with journalist Rebecca Skloot (Byrne), to learn about the mother she never knew and understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks' cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever.

Presents the work of Sister Jeannine Gramick, who offers compassionate Catholic ministry to the gay and lesbian community, contrary to official church practice and doctrine. When then-Cardinal John Ratzinger issued an edict that such work was in defiance of the Church and must be ceased on threat of excommunication, Gramick continued her outreach work and during this film attempts to meet with Ratzinger directly. The film follows her on that journey, as well as capturing other moments of Gramick's work and dialogue with the larger community, as regards both her motivations and her efforts to reconcile her own spiritual beliefs with those of the Church.

THE JOY LUCK CLUB tells the uplifting story of four remarkable friends whose extraordinary lives are filled with joy and heartbreak. Their lifelong friendship reveals a mosaic of the startling events and conditions that have shaped their lives -- and how these experiences have affected the hopes and dreams they hold for each of their children.

Located at the LGBTQA Res Ctr

Krudas explores the lives and work of a Cuban lesbian couple who are hip hop singers and performers. The duo Krudas addresses issues such as women’s liberation, lesbian rights, female solidarity, and racism. Their work is deeply engaged with feminism and strong ties to their African roots.
Their songs represent an effort to upset semantics and syntax. Krudas conceive language itself as the root of female exclusion and thus summons men to engage in dialogue refusing to engage in any hierarchical structures. Krudas emphasize the use of the first person—one will hear the repetition of the first person “yo” (I) often followed by their own names to further personalize their discourse. Krudas’ first person extends beyond mere autobiographical narrative; their “I” is an attempt to formulate a double subjectivity, what philosopher Luce Irigaray “I-she” (”Je-elle”) and “I-he” (”Je-lui”). In addition to leading the hip hop duo and the street performance group Tropazancos, Krudas have also organized a network of female hip hop artists, Omega, to unite women in the hip hop and alternative music scenes. Omega's goal is to join forces in order to generate larger projects, including all-female collective performances, recordings, and workshops.

This documentary series examines how women have helped shape America over the past 150 years, striving for a full and fair share of political power and economic opportunity. Built from the archive of interviews completed for the website Makers.com, the documentary includes talks with movement leaders Gloria Steinem and Eleanor Holmes Norton, as well as with those who opposed the effort. Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Katie Couric and Hillary Clinton offer personal stories

Inspired by the powerful true story of a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Academy Award® nominee Felicity Jones), On the Basis of Sex depicts a then-struggling attorney and new mother facing adversity in her fight for equal rights. When Ruth takes on a ground-breaking case, she knows the outcome could alter the courts' view of gender discrimination. Stronger together, Ruth teams up with her husband, Martin Ginsburg (Armie Hammer), to fight the case that catapults her into one of the most important public figures of our time.

Charissa King O'Brien's intimate short documentary captures this pivotal collaboration between two influential artists, as world-renowned painter Riva Lehrer completes a compelling portrait of Alison Bechdel ("Dykes to Watch Out For," "Are You My Mother," "Fun Home") over the course of two years, yielding a highly satisfying work of psychological insight.

What does it mean to create futuristic costumes from the past? Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter’s Afrofuturistic designs imagine the fictional African nation of Wakanda without the influence of colonialism. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” she takes this theory to another imagined world that draws on Mesoamerican history. In this episode, Carter breaks down the creative process behind her unique approach to costume design.
Ruth E. Carter has been nominated for Best Costume Design at the 95th Academy Awards for her work on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Located at the LGBTQA Res Ctr

This movie is a family coming-of-age comedy about Chelsea, a teenager who just wants to be seen as normal. However, with the strange lifestyle that her family lives as her stepdad completes his indie horror movie projects, she spends much of her time frustrated and embarrassed by her family. Then, along comes Danielle, a sometimes brash, almost always self-confident young lesbian who has been kicked out of her own family because of her sexuality. Through their friendship, Chelsea starts to realize the true value of friends and family who love unconditionally.

Available at the LGBTQA Res Ctr

Screaming Queens tells the forgotten story of the first collective act of militant resistance to the social oppression of queer people in the United States--a 1966 riot by transgender prostitutes at a late night cafeteria in San Francisco, three years before the famous gay riot at New York's Stonewall Inn.

Available at the LGBTQA Res Ctr

How do we create a history from a past that was hidden? Swimming with Lesbians dives into the darkest depths to find the answer. The film looks at an upstate New York community’s efforts to create an LBGT historic archive. Extraordinary lesbian activist Madeline Davis uncovers the lives and histories collected for this archive—some sad, some quirky, some tender—and all richly imagined through the Blue Sky lens. The film share’s Davis’s mission to create a lasting legacy for the LBGT community: “We are ephemeral. This is for the ages.”

Available at Love and the LGBTQA Res Ctr

San Francisco icons, Del and Phyllis are known as the founders of the modern lesbian civil rights movement.
With incisive interviews, rare archival images and warmhearted humor, No Secret Anymore reveals their inspiring public work, as well as their charming private relationship. It is a delightful way to meet these legendary lesbians, known as the founders of the modern lesbian civil rights movement. When they courageously launched the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, it became the first public organization for lesbians in America.
No Secret Anymore follows them through six decades, tracing the emergence of lesbians from the fear of discovery to the expectation of equality.