In this week’s Wednesday Five: a new exhibition shows the evolution of how women experienced bathing; a crowdfunding platform set up by women researchers for women researchers; Refinery.com answers the question: How to wear sweatpants without looking lazy; this week’s dose of inspiration is the team photo of the Edmond, Oklahoma girls softball team; and John Oliver on the dangers of the internet for women. 

1.

La Toilette: The Birth of Privacy

A wonderful review by Alissa J. Rubin in The New York Times takes us through a current exhibition, “La Toilette: The Birth of Privacy,” on view at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. She also gives us a fascinating history on the shift from publicness to privacy for women and the intimate act of bathing. Rubin writes:

For centuries, however, women experienced the ordinary act of washing in less than complete solitude. Women of a certain class were rarely alone, even when attending to the most intimate parts of their bodies. Their lives were, in a sense, communal property, especially those of wealthier women who until the mid-19th century were the ones most frequently depicted in artwork, although prostitutes and mistresses were also subject matter.

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2.

Crowdfunding Platform by Women Researchers for Women Researchers

Image via Instrumentl.com

We’ve all seen the headlines about women and girls making great strides in STEM fields. Now, it’s great to see those women also making leaps in self-funding their brilliant ideas. A new platform, Instrumentl, founded by Angela Braren,Victoria Kentner and Katharine Corriveau, has a simple motto: “Get Funded. Get Out There.” Even more beautiful, the platform is centered around women in science funding other women in science. Take a look at all the brilliance in one place. These are some of the important and world-saving campaigns on the site: How will glacier loss affect water resources?, Understanding Coral Reefs Before It’s Too Late, Uncovering Sea Turtle Feeding Grounds.

Read more about the founders of Instrumentl at our friends at womanthology.com.

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3. 

Image via Refinery.com

Okay, we admit, we were fascinated by how Refinery.com would answer this question. Because, as everyone knows, sweats were invented for lazy-never-leaving-the-house-to-be-seen-in-public-days. But, apparently, there’s a generational divide in that thinking. That said, Rachel Besser of Refinery says, “With the right styling, a cool pair of sweatpants can look perfectly put-together.” So, check out how to “pair your sweats with dressed-up extras,” add “a blouse that gives a bit of waist-definition” to the droopy sweats, or “add work-appropriate touches, like an oversized button-down.” In other words, the sweatpants, like everything else in fashion, can be reinvented.

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4.

Team Spirit

Image from newsok.com

In this week’s dose of inspiration, we share with you the team photo of the Edmond, Oklahoma softball team, which has gone viral. The photo was conceived of and taken by Betsy Gregory, a full-time mom who also has a photography business. In the photo, the little girls are wearing “Frozen” dresses and donning eye black on their faces. A powerful message.

Read more about the team and  photographer mom Betsy Gregory at newsok.com.

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5.

John Oliver on the Dangers of the Internet for Women

John Oliver tackles online harassment as a major problem for women. He unpacks how rare it is that this kind of crime is ever prosecuted.