Research Guides: SWGS : Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Everyday Life and Women in America [AM Digital] c. 1800-1920 Rare books, pamphlets & periodicals relating to US social & cultural history; strong on conduct & household management; contrasts urban & rural cultures.
History Vault: Women's Studies Primary source collection featuring Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections and Collected Documents; Struggle for Women's Rights: Organizational Records 1880-1990; Women's Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library: Voting Rights, National Politics, and Reproductive Rights; Women at Work during World War II: Rosie the Riveter and the Women's Army Corps; and Southern Women and their Families in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Holdings of the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
HistoryMakers Streaming oral history archive, documenting African American contributions to American life, culture, social movements & organizations. Subject coverage includes the arts, business, civics, education, entertainment, law, media, medicine, the military, politics, religion, science, sports & style.
Ms. Magazine Archive (1972-present) Digital access to every issue of the influential feminist magazine, Ms., from its launch in 1972 to the present, including iconic covers, articles, essays, interviews, book reviews, original fiction, and poetry, which document the evolution of feminist thought and social change.

The Quest for Labor Equality in Household Work: National Domestic Workers Union, 1965-1979 [Archives Unbound]
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Documents the Union's origins and includes correspondence with both Georgia and national political figures; subject files illustrate the Union’s involvement with the Black community organizations and various federal agencies.
Witchcraft in Europe and America [Archives Unbound]

Women and Social Movements in the U.S.,Scholar's Edition [Alexander Street] Primary documents, books, images, scholarly essays, book reviews & teaching tools relating to US history, as seen through women's eyes.
Women at Work during World War II [ProQuest] Contains records of the Women’s Bureau (U.S. Department of Labor) and correspondence of the Director of the Women’s Army Corps. Documents women’s work in war industries, equal pay, childcare & race, and service in the Women’s Army Corps.

Women's Issues and Their Advocacy Within the White House, 1974-1977 [Archives Unbound]
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Documents Patricia Lindh’s & Jeanne Holm’s liaison work with women’s groups and their advocacy within the White House on issues of special interest to women.

Women's Studies Archive [Gale] Primary sources from the 19th & 20th centuries, including diaries, letters, photographs, news clippings, organizational records & journals; documents the issues that have affected women's societal contributions & social status and the women's movement.
Women’s Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library [ProQuest] Covers voting rights, national politics, and reproductive rights.

Defining Gender [AM Digital] 1450-1910 Primary sources from British archives on conduct & politeness; domesticity & family; consumption & leisure; education & sensibility; the body.

Feminism in Cuba, 1898-1958 [Archives Unbound]

Gerritsen Collection 1543 -1945 An international collection of books, pamphlets and periodicals on feminism & the women's rights movement worldwide.

Perdita Manuscripts, 1500-1700 [AM Digital] Digitized manuscripts of women's writings from early modern Britain. Includes works of poetry, religious writing, autobiographical material, cookery & medical recipes, and accounts. Includes supporting contextual essays.

Women and Social Movements: Development and the Global South, 1919–2019 Primary documents, reports, articles, essays, and letters that examine the economic and social participation of women on a global scale.
Women and Social Movements International [Alexander Street] 1840+ Digital primary sources, including conference proceedings, reports of international women's organizations, publications & web pages of women's organizations, plus letters, diaries & memoirs of women active internationally since the mid-19th century.

Women, War and Society, 1914-1918 [Archives Unbound]
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From the Imperial War Museum, London; includes charity & international relief reports, pamphlets, photographs, press cuttings, magazines, posters, correspondence, minutes, records, diaries, memoranda, statistics, circulars, regulations and invitations.

Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections and Collected Documents [ProQuest] Digitized versions of Sanger's personal papers, outgoing correspondence, and records; coverage includes the birth control movement, women's rights, suffrage, feminism, reform & social work, arts, and middle-class family life.

Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin and the Daughters of Bilitis [Archives Unbound]
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Extensive information on the founding and growth of the homophile movement, especially the Daughters of Bilitis and The Ladder, including early meeting minutes, correspondence, chapter records, membership data, and manuscripts unavailable elsewhere.

Harper's Bazaar Archive [ProQuest] 1867+ Fully searchable, including every advertisement; chronicles the work of world-renowned designers, models, photographers, stylists & illustrators. Useful for topics in women’s studies, material culture, design, fashion, marketing, advertising, etc.
Independent Voices: A Collection of an Alternative Press Alternative press newspapers, magazines & journals from the latter half of the 20th century, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries.

International Women's Periodicals, 1786-1933: Social and Political Issues [Archives Unbound]

LGBT Magazine Archive [ProQuest] The archives of major periodicals devoted to LGBT+ interests, dating from the 1950s through to recent years.
Lily: A Temperance and Feminist Newspaper 1849-1856 1849-1854, then Mary Birdsall 1855-1856). Initial coverage of temperance issues later expanded to include articles on child-bearing, education, and women’s rights, with many articles by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Ms. Magazine Archive (1972-present) Digital access to every issue of the influential feminist magazine, Ms., from its launch in 1972 to the present, including iconic covers, articles, essays, interviews, book reviews, original fiction, and poetry, which document the evolution of feminist thought and social change.
Vogue Archive [ProQuest] 1892+ Entire run of the US edition, showcasing the work of the greatest designers, photographers, stylists & illustrators of the 20th & 21st centuries. Up until the 1920s, the focus was on society, not fashion.
Women's Magazine Archive [Proquest] Contains (each from their start to 2005): Better Homes & Gardens, Chatelaine, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents; Redbook; Seventeen, Town and Country, Woman’s Day, and Women’s International Network News.
Women's Wear Daily Archive [ProQuest] Digital archive of Women's Wear Daily and its supplements, from 1910 to within the last 12 months. Every page, article, advertisement and cover has been included.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History & Culture Since 1940 [Gale] Primary source collections on social, political, health & legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities in the U.S. and internationally. Includes the collections Community and Identity in North America, International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 Parts I and II, and L'Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, a collection of French works from the 1800s that were considered to be contrary to the morals of the time.
LGBT Magazine Archive [ProQuest] The archives of major periodicals devoted to LGBT+ interests, dating from the 1950s through to recent years.
LGBT Thought and Culture [ProQuest] Key works and archival documentation, including text, letters, periodicals, speeches, interviews, and ephemera documenting LGBT cultural, political, and social movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Queer Pasts A collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture.

The Smith College Special Collections contain many resources relevant to the study of Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections and Collected Documents [ProQuest] Digitized versions of Sanger's personal papers, outgoing correspondence, and records; coverage includes the birth control movement, women's rights, suffrage, feminism, reform & social work, arts, and middle-class family life.

Ms. Magazine Special Collections Resources Materials related to Ms. Magazine in Smith College Special Collections.
Planned Parenthood Special Collections Resources
Reproductive Justice Resources
Women's Suffrage in the U.S. Special Collections Resources

Finding Artifacts from the SC Special Collections

About the Smith College Special Collections As a steward of historical materials of enduring value, Smith College Special Collections fosters inquiry, critical thinking, and knowledge building through an active engagement with the past and a focus on the future.

Smith College Finding Aids (ArchivesSpace) Finding aids to over 1,000 Smith College archival and manuscript collections. Provides in-depth information about a collection, and a box listing of the materials.

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