True Women of the West To see a women’s true worth is deeper then beauty. If she does not document her story, then who will tell it in its full truth? Throughout history a woman’s story was lost. As a society we have glamorized history of women who were called, Red Light Women, Soiled Doves, and Painted ladies. History books leave out many details of what these women lives were really like. Today’s equal rights activist, Roma Thompson, takes a different approach in bringing awareness about todays current equal rights issues. Roma has spent the last three decades designing costumes and doing research on important women in Colorado history, to present to groups, all over the western United States. Thompson’s passion of the rough life of a working girl in the Wild West, opened her eyes to the ugly true of the battle of equal right’s that women have endured throughout history. Every women in history had a story, from the parlor women, to the Madam’s, and history’s leading women activist. Even though, women still struggle to be equal in today’s society, Roma feels that educating on the women in the past, will bring awareness to the true worth and importance of women in the world. Thompson creatively transports her audience back in time to the early 1900s, starting with the painted ladies and madams, and leads into women who inspired her the most. Brothels could be found in all different areas—mining towns, cow towns, logging camps, large cities, cattle-shipping centers, end-of-track towns, army settlements, and frontier boon towns; these same brothels ranged from makeshift tents to dignified mansions, and even portable brothels that traveled around the country. Considering prostitution had been around in the West before the West became a part of America, it makes sense that prostitutes were some of the first to populate and establish businesses in the West; they played a significant role in developing areas. Prostitution then continued to increase along with industrial cities and the opening of the western frontier, and soon after became generally accepted in “red-light” districts. Prostitution in the Old West was just as exploitative, degrading and traumatic as it is today—with the added bonus that local newspapers would name, shame and hound you to suicide. In the interview with Roma Thompson, she stated that, “There where high levels of suicide, addiction, violence and rape among frontier prostitutes, a depressing thought made even more depressing by the callous reporting of it in local papers.” Thompson claimed the brothels acted as poverty traps, forcing the girls into never ending competition with one another for enough scraps to eat, with no hope of escape. Put simply, it was a profession for people with no other options and about as glamorous as a week in a ditch. Painted ladies. Soiled Doves. Women of the night. Red light ladies. Public women. Whatever they were called prostitutes are very much a part of the history of the Wild West. In a part of the country when men outnumbered women three to one and sometimes much higher, prostitutes of the Old West were very popular, and also considered a necessity. But what were their lives really like? The movies have often portrayed these women in ways that gloss over the truth or are simply an outright lie. These portrayals are not even close to reality. In reality, prostitutes of the Old West had a very difficult life that often ended tragically. The sad truth of the matter is most of them died young, and in poverty. Suicide was extremely common among prostitutes of this time. Others drank themselves to death or overdosed on laudanum, which was a form of liquid opium. Still others were killed violently, caught in bar brawls, shot for stealing a man's money when he was sleeping or passed out, killed by jealous customers or other prostitutes. In addition to the violence, many of the “Soiled Dove’s” died of diseases like tuberculosis or syphilis, and some died from botched abortions, because birth control was primitive, and having a child meant loss of money and time working. Many of these women where lost in history, never documented, and their stories stayed with in the walls of the parlors they worked in. This violence, addition, and suicide did not stop at the prostitutes, but also consumed the Madam’s of many of these brothels. Few of the operating brothels were considered clean and high-end. Thompson talked about how there were few Madam’s that took care of their girl, by providing in house physicians, the finest of gowns, and personal hygiene items. It was these brothels that catered to the upper class men, politicians, and police officers. “Madam’s like Lou Bunch, from Central City, where respected by the community. She was extremely involved in the community, and often gave money to charity. Lou Bunch and her girl would be the first to offer aid in sickness and injury.” Thompson said. In the book, Our Ladies of the Tenderloin, confirmed that many of the Madam’s and prostitutes were the first to come to aid in many of the mining towns. “In fact, the prostitutes were always, without exception, the first to volunteer their services. They nursed the sick men, cooked and cleaned, spoon fed the victims, and helped bury the dead.” (Wommack, pg.126) Lou Bunch was the first Madam that Thompson researched, and revealed the amazing untold story of the “Soiled Doves”. After ten years of researching, and playing many roles of the Madam’s and prostitutes, Thompson expanded into history of game changing women of Colorado. (K Margaret Brown, Polly Pry, and Mary Harris “Mother Jones”, are a few of the women that Thompson found inspirational. Thompson found that even though these women were well known names in Colorado history, it was still very difficult to find the true story of these women. Many history books like Colorado Chronicles: Famous Colorado Women 2, have very brief chapters, leaving many large and important details of the women’s live out. The Colorado chronicles lead their story of early life of Molly Brown and ended at the sinking of the Titanic. (Avery. pp. 22-25) Thompson spoke about all of the great and untraditional role Molly Brown took on after the Titanic, like being a women that ran for congress before women even had the right to vote. “Margaret was described as an “Amazonian” woman, a woman who could swear like a miner, a refined woman who could speak five languages, a woman born into poverty but who pulled herself up the ranks of society by her bootstraps, and was praised by kings and princes for her graciousness. She continued to be a folkloric figure in Colorado.” (Legends of the West) Thompson said, “It was women like Molly Brown, that will live on forever, for the work that she did for equal rights, and most of all women’s and children's advocacy.” To have had the courage to stand up for what you feel is right, even when the odds are stacked against you, is an amazing trait to have. One of the characters that Thompson also enjoyed playing was Polly Pry, The first female journalist for the Denver Post. In Thompson's interview she recalled a story of Polly Pry’s. Polly was working on a story about the working conditions of the mines, and how the miners where being unfairly treated. Polly could not get into the mines as a women, so Polly went undercover as a man, and got a job in the mines. By Polly pretending to be a man, she was able to uncover the true inhumane working conditions of the mines. When the story was released, there was uproar in the mining camps. The miner now had the attention of the public. Polly also had another woman on her side, advocating for the miners. Her name was “Mother Jones”. Mary Harris was known as “Mother Jones”, the most famous female labor leader of the nineteenth century. Mother jones had dedicated her life to improve the life of the working class. Even being sentenced to twenty years in prison at the age of eighty-three, and got granted a pardoned by the governor, she returned to Colorado and was present for the Ludlow Massacre the following year. She made a national crusade of that tragedy, even lobbying President Wilson. By discovering the women of the past Thompson found an addition meaning and purpose to her life. Thompson had never stood up for any topic, and spent the majority of her life being dependent on a man, that she never really gave equal rights any thought. Thompson now has found her way to be an advocate for equal rights be educating on the women of the past, and bringing awareness to the true past of the women of the West. If not for every woman in history we would not have the rights we do today. Walking through the past with Roma Thompson, was an amazing education for me. This is a woman I have known all my life, and now had a whole new respect for who she is and how she got involved in the Legendary Ladies of Central City. Thompson is proof that education is power. If not for the stories and lives of the women of Colorado, Thompson would have never seen how important equal right’s truly are. Thompson stetted that, “Though out all of this I have found my self worth, and now see myself as an individual.” By telling the true history of the different women in the West, Thompson has brought these women back to life, and giving them their due time in the spot light. It is now Thompson’s life’s work to tell the true history of how the West was built, and the importance of women. References
Ayer, E. (1982) Colorado Chronicles: Famous Colorado Women 2. Fredick,CO. Jende-Hangan Bookcorp
Koski, J. “American Old West. Natouris History”. Soiled Doves of the Old West. Web. 23 May. 2014. Retreived from: .
Legends of the west. (2004). In The greenwood encyclopedia of American regional cultures: The rocky mountain region. Retrieved from http://0- search.credoreference.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/content/entry/abcarcrmr/legends_of_the_west/0.
Wommack, L. (2005). Our Ladies of the Tenderloin: Colorado’sLedgends in Lace. Caldwell, Idaho. Caxton Press