Elaine Morgan: a public statue of a 'Hidden Heroine'?

[OutwiththeOutCrowd]

Today is the last day of voting for who is to be the subject of the first statue of a real, influential woman in a public space in Wales.

That's right. There may be a couple of naked marble nymphs here and there, but there is currently no named woman commemorated in this way in an outdoor space in Wales. Clearly, notable deeds have been the purview of men thus far.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1YBm76ymQspSp1xkRwLyxdl/hidden-heroines-merched-mawreddog

But this is going to change. There are five candidates for the planned statue, including Elaine Morgan.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Morgan

I know I am biased as I knew Elaine personally but I think she would be the perfect choice and wanted to let Mumsnetters know there's still a chance to vote for her!

The statue will be close to the new BBC headquarters in Cardiff and, amongst her many talents, Elaine was a scriptwriter for the BBC. However, she is perhaps best known for her ideas about human evolution. She was a proponent of the Aquatic Ape Theory - a theory that's not as crazy as it sounds at first blush!

She wrote several books, the best known being the Descent of Woman. I urge you to read it if you haven't already. It's fresh, funny and feminist to its core.

Here is a wonderful TED presentation Elaine gave towards the end of her life.

And here is David Attenborough talking about some of her ideas.

Please vote if you can, even if it's for one of the other candidates!

Oh YES. To Elaine. My father knew her slightly her I think, and I have read her books.

Voted for Elizabeth Andrews but appreciate the heads up

Well they are all incredible women, it is very hard to choose one.

Where do we need to vote?

I voted for Elaine Morgan. Knew her slightly through work and she really was the most incredible woman.

I also think she 'fits' the proposed location as it will be placed outside the BBC and the journalism school.

Betty Campbell was my second choice. My DD went to her school and we are distantly related to her and she achieved so much in the local area.

But all the women deserve statues. Shame we're limited to one. Perhaps we should start another campaign to lobby for another statue elsewhere in Wales.

gassylady if you go to the first link in my post, you will be able to vote.

Yes, there should be one in West Wales for Sarah Jane Rees (Cranogwen) .

I read Descent of Woman years ago and thought it a good counterpunch to Desmond Morris's The Naked Ape.