Navy blue button with white graphic and blue text.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, or WCTU, was a major organization for the Women’s Suffrage movement. Founded in November of 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio, WCTU aimed to advocate for suffrage, labor laws, prison reform, and temperance. The white ribbon bow on many of WCTU’s memorabilia symbolized purity. Their headquarters were in Chicago, Illinois but there were local chapters in different states. These local chapters were called “unions”. Among the members were Annie Wittenmyer, as president, and Frances Willard as corresponding secretary. However, in 1879 Frances Willard became president until her death in 1898.

Frances Willard’s involvement in WCTU made for one of the most influential and prominent women’s organizations during the 19th century. Willard was born in 1839 in upstate New York to a middle class, Christian family. When Willard was growing up her family moved first to Ohio, then to Wisconsin, before finally settling in a suburb of Chicago called Evanston. Willard’s work with WCTU included a policy in which she called the “Do Everything” policy. This policy entailed that members advocate for temperance education and legislative mandates for local, state, and national prohibition. Willard linked both the temperance movement and the women’s suffrage movement through determination and passion.

Today, The World WCTU still advocates for temperance education and Christian values. There are six departments within WWCTU: Christian Outreach, Education, Home Protection, Social Service, Children, and Youth.

Pink and orange owl against white background with pink text.

It is thought that the modern-day baby shower originated as a “stork shower,” one of many types of showers described by etiquette expert Emily Post in her 1937 edition of Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage. This edition is the first to mention a gift-giving party for expectant mothers and deems them only appropriate to be held in the early afternoon, with only “intimate girl and women friends of the mother invited.”

White background with an off white ring around the outside. In the center is an upside-down pink triangle. All font is black. Above the triangle reads “Sonoma State”, in the triangle reads “Safe Zone,” and diagonally at the bottom in a different font reads, “ally.” Around the outside of the button reads, “Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender & Questioning” with a dot at the end.  

The HUB cultural center at Sonoma State University is a student support space that seeks to foster connections and build community on campus. Their programming focuses on inclusivity and equality, with much of their work engaging with gender and sexuality. The concept of a “safe zone” is a space (physical or metaphorical) where conversations are met with care and support. On many college campuses, staff and students undergo some “safe zone” training and then wear visuals like buttons or stickers to indicate that they are open to engaging in supportive conversations – specifically around LGBTQIA+ topics.

The upside-down pink equilateral triangle is a symbol for various LGBTQIA+ identities. It was originally used by the Nazi regime as a visual cue for stigmatization of homosexual concentration camp prisoners. However, in the 1970s, it was revived and reclaimed by gay rights activists. This reclamation was met with some trepidation until the AIDS epidemic hit. In 1987, ACT UP chose to invert the triangle, so it faced upward, becoming a powerful visual symbol of pride and resilience in the face of horrendous persecution. More contemporarily, the pink triangle can be seen at protests and pride parades, on a range of materials.

White and black text on bright pink background. "Girls!" is in black while all other text is white. Curved along the bottom of the front face is white text for the website.

The Powder Puff Pilot brand has been selling merchandise catering to female pilots for around ten years. The spark that started the company came from Sue and Dale Hughes’s child. The couple’s eight-year-old daughter, who was interested in flying, asked if aviation logbooks came in pink. Due to the fact that ninety-four percent of aviators are men, logbooks and other merchandise usually come in more masculine colors and designs. There were not any pink logbooks. Sue Hughes, one of the owners of Powder Puff Pilot, discussed the discrepancy in merchandise, and she found great support among female pilot friends for aviator merchandise targeting women. 

The inspiration for the brand name came from Will Rogers who referred to the Women’s Air Derby, a transcontinental air race, as the “Powder Puff Derby.” 

"Silly boys, airplanes are for girls," is a word play on the well-known slogan, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” from General Mills Trix cereal.

Blue background with white and yellow text with red graphic.

Reach Out and Read is a non-profit program founded in 1989 to encourage daily reading to young children. Under this initiative, pediatricians supply new parents with books during regular check-ups in an effort to get them to read aloud to their kids. Knowing the positive benefits reading can impart to small children, healthcare professionals are striving to lay the foundations of success early on through literacy. Over the last three decades, more than 34,000 medical personnel have participated in Reach Out and Read helping to distribute 7.4 million books to 4.8 million children every year.

The program was started by a group of pediatricians and educators from the Boston Medical Center and made reading aloud a doctor-recommended activity. The program empowers families to integrate storytelling in their daily routines and prioritize early childhood literacy. Evidence put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014 indicates that reading from a young age improves parent-child interactions and promotes socio-emotional development. Former First Lady and librarian Laura Bush has also expressed support for the program.

Black background with gray text. 

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