IN THE SEA OF MEN For centuries, the role of women in shipping had been underrated and limited to the minimum. The situation began to change dramatically in the 20th century as a result of the growing number of women defying the existing limitations. To this day various belief s in what guarantees safety and brings fair winds are still popular among male ship crew members who need them to have a sense of control, to calm down and to have a fear of illness or death eased. The awareness of all perils at sea has led to numerous superstitions. One such superstition has it that the presence of a woman on board a military or merchant ship can make the sea gods
18 | Spring 2020 | Lifestyle
angry and, as a result of their anger, the weather conditions are likely to deteriorate dramatically and the sea will get rough. The belief in bad luck brought by the fair sex on board a ship caused women to be excluded from shipping and led to numerous tragedies. One of them was throwing overboard more than 60 women who, in 1379, ended their lives in the Irish Sea. What remained in contradiction to this superstition was the conviction that a ship with a figurehead representing a woman with widely open eyes and unsheathed breasts would be blessed with the grace of sea gods. Another explanation why women were not allowed to work on board a ship was the opinion that their good looks might distract the male
crew, be a source of conflicts, jealousy and lower the morale. Despite the danger of losing their lives, some women would decide to serve aboard a ship dressed as men. One of them was Mary Read, born in England in 1685. Shortly after birth, she was disguised by her mother as Mary’s lately deceased half-brother. Thanks to this, Mary and her mother could live comfortably on the money inherited from the dead boy’s grandmother into Mary’s teen years when, dressed as a boy, Mary found work as a foot-boy. She changed it then to serve aboard an English military ship and fought on many fronts.
