Morning everyone,

Lots of my favourite things in today’s episode, all round the theme of marriage.

This article about the fluidity of gender, who can marry whom, and where status is derived in Igbo communities is extremely touching. It also reminds me of the article on literacy from episode #20 – these options are open to, and needed by, uneducated women in most cases:

In Lokpanta and certain other Igbo communities, gender, particularly female gender, is not fixed. It is a cultural construct that can be transcended. In Osumenyi, where I come from, a woman who is menopausal can apply for privileges only accorded to men. She can be initiated into certain groups meant for men only, and when she dies, she can be given male funeral rites.

https://www.guernicamag.com/features/the-transformation-of-mama-paulina/

I was very excited to find a) that Mary Anne Disraeli was a hoarder and b) that someone has gone through her massive pile of stuff and written a book about it. If you know of other hoarders in history, let me know. Anyway, Disraeli married her for her money, and then they made love work:

Examining her papers after her death in 1872, Disraeli was astonished: “She does not appear to have destroyed a single scrap I ever wrote to her.” Until Daisy Hay took on the task, no one had mined them for her sake rather than his.

http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21645736-touching-story-british-prime-minister-and-his-unusual-wife-mismatch-made

Did you have star charts as a child? I did and it explains many, many of my adult behaviours. Here’s a short story from The Toast offshoot The Butter. It starts slow and I’d recommend sticking with it:

http://the-toast.net/2015/03/06/sticker-chart-short-story/

Have a lovely day,

Alex.