About On the Shoulders of Medusa

Why Medusa

On the Shoulders of Medusa is in homage to the women before us whose brilliance was mislabeled as wild, difficult, and hysterical. Medusa is the oldest version of that story. She was attacked, blamed for it, and remembered as the villain. Thousands of years later, the plot keeps getting reused.

We challenge the historical and ongoing pattern of labeling strong women as difficult, brilliant women as unstable, and boundaries as hysteria.

What we do

Through research, education, and advocacy, we work to dismantle the systemic barriers in women's healthcare, education, social advancement, and their pursuit of happiness.

• Research. Story archaeology. We dig up the record, from 19th century diagnostic manuals to this year's bills, so the pattern is impossible to ignore.
• Education. Policy and health information written for people, not lobbyists. Plain English, kept to the United States, with sources you can check.
• Advocacy. Pointing your anger somewhere it can change something, starting with the weekly report.

What we cover

• Women's Rights and Policy: bills, rulings and executive orders, explained without the spin.
• Women's Health: care, access, and the research that left women out.
• Work, Money and Bias: pay, credit, and whose ideas get taken seriously.
• Story Archaeology: the women history labeled wild, difficult and hysterical.
• Local Spotlights: organizations near you doing real work for women.

How we work

Every article links to the sources behind its facts. We say when something is our opinion. When we get something wrong, we fix it and say so. Read our full editorial standards.

Our tone

Part support, part satire, and a little angry. We think that's the correct amount.