History should also be ‘herstory’

[SIGN OF THE CRUZ by: Danilo P. Cruz]

IT IS SAID WOMEN have no collective memory of themselves.

Is there not injustice or iniquity when more than half of mankind is without history? The plaint, however, is understated, for this number does not include the teeming underclasses who have no memory of themselves either — men & women, peasants, workers, etc. — because they have been swamped by the summary orthodox history of the very few, of great names, great events, great dates. But embedded in their subconscious, genetic memory are the unarticulated, centuries-old agonies & protestations against male injustices in the social order.

But times are changing & today, it is often said that “history should also be herstory.“

History was written not only by the victors but also by the victors who were men.

Worldwide, there has not been a major woman historian until Barbara Tuchman arrived, while in the Philippines, if I am not mistaken, or with apologies to Blair & Robertson, the situation was the same until Milagros C. Guerrero wrote with Teodoro Agoncillo their textbook in Philippine history.

Women, therefore, were more or less invisible for a long time not only in history but also among historians. This invisibility was an aberration because in human society, in day-to-day reality, women have always been around with their own experience & development. ###