... On Hedy Lamaar [day 12]

One of the most dangerous things about the way patriarchy in our society manifests to me is how it teaches us to only value women for things they can't control fully like their beauty or their status. As such it often reduces women to their phsyical attributes and ignores the significantly more interesting aspects. One woman who suffers from this in history, at least in some ways, is Hedy Lamaar.

Yes, this Hedy Lamaar

.Let me tell you a little bit about this lady here. Born in Vienna Austria in 1914 her real name is Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. Now, first of all, that name alone explains a bit of badassery. Her name is Hedwig! When you grow up with a name like that you need to get tough just so the kids stop using your head as a toilet brush or a dark wizard doesn't shoot you out of the sky. 

(Okay I admit, that was too soon.) 

Regardless she got her start in movies in Austria as a teen and in the 1930's gained internationa l attention. Then things got real! I mentioned the 1930's. You know what's coming. That's right fools see, Ms. Lamaar was at one point married to a successful munitions manufacturer. She was basically married to Howard Stark. If Howard Stark got rich selling weapons to the literal Nazis because that's EXACTLY where her husband got his money. Ms. Lamaar was not happy in the marriage and eventually said quite emphatically I'm sure...

Also note: An accurate picture of me getting off of work

After kicking her Nazi supporting husband to the curb she moved to the U.S. and started kicking ass as one of the most highly successful and glamorous women of the MGM golden era of the 30-40's. That said as I stated above, I think we do Ms. Lamaar a disservice focusing solely on her beauty. 

Because here's the thing, she was a badass actress but also a rather brilliant woman. Let me ask you a question. Do you like your phone? Of course you do you look at pictures of cats on it all day. So if you like your phone you have Ms. Lamaar to thank for the little radiation box you keep in your pocket. 

Pictured: Many ways to rot your brain. 

See, Hedy didn't invent the cell phone but she did co-invent something called the "secret communications system" which is a technology upon which cellular technology would later rely. The system changed radio frequencies in such a way as to make the information impossible to decode. Though Hedy and her co-inventor wouldn't get a lot of attention for their patent right away it would later become important not only in phones but faxes and other wireless communication as well as more closely to the time of its invention, helping protect secret messages from the Nazis. 

Yep. This actress was also helping fuck up the Nazi's shit and set it up so the goose steppers couldn't see it coming. This should not be an underestimated accomplishment. We get so caught up in the first person to invent the final product of a thing we ignore the people who make the baby steps along the way to get to the final product and Hedy shouldn't be ignored for her contributions here. Most of the people I deal with can't work a fax machine, let alone tell you really work their phones and Hedy Lamaar pioneered tech that was in its infancy in her day. She was definitely more than just a pretty face. 

So tha'ts the skinny on Ms. Hedy. Hopefully this reminds all of us that there is more to compliment about a woman than her looks even when she did kind of win the genetic lottery. That's all for today. Tomorrow... honestly I've got no idea who tomorrow's is going to be. I'll probably pick a subject and take a look at women who've made important contributions to it but it's been a long day and I'm too tireed to pick right now. We're sailing into uncharted waters here folks. But that's where the magic is.