'Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History'

The first walking tour that I developed back in 2023 was called “Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History”, but why did I choose that phrase and where did it come from?

It was coined by an American Historian called Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and it was a phrase from an article she wrote in 1976. The phrase has been attributed to many other people over the years including Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt, with even Princess Leia from Star Wars saying “well behaved women rarely defeat Empires”! In her article, Laurel highlights the idea that history often ignores the quiet and well behaved women meaning their achievements can be overlooked. She says that the slogan works because “it simultaneously acknowledges and defends misbehaviour”.

Her phrase didn’t gain popularity until 1996 with the rise of the internet when a Journalist stumbled upon her article changing the word ‘seldom’ to ‘rarely’ . This was subsequently picked up by a woman from Portland, Oregon who wanted to put the slogan on a t shirt . By this time twenty years had passed so Laurel couldn’t remember where she had written it (she’d like my ‘Well Behaved Women of a Certain Age ‘ Walking Tour!) She gave the woman permission to use the phrase in exchange for one of the t shirts and the rest is history. In an article from 2020, Laurel says that people are free to use her slogan, going on to say that you can “attach any meaning you want to its five words, recognising that you, not I, are responsible for any trouble it may cause”.

So I chose to theme some of my walking tours around this famous phrase, as we very often hear about the men connected to Belfast, but

no one was talking about the women. On my walking tours I talk about Artists, Writers, Suffragettes, Social Campaigners and all round Trailblazers.

Were they all well behaved? You’ll have to come on one of my tours to find out.   

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