I’ll probably never tire of the curiousness of the idea that as we shape our buildings, our buildings shape us. It’s true as the scale increases too…as we shape our cities, our cities shape us.

It’s interesting, then, to think about how we think about cities. I’ve heard people oftentimes refer to cities with a feminine pronoun, “her”. It’s purely a human condition, to want to make everything like us. What does it mean for Detroit to be talked about in the feminine? It must mean femininity is gritty. It’s strong. Resilient. Graceful. Beautiful. Mystical.

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Even a cursory glimpse at the history of the city will reveal is feminine badassery. I went on a historic tour of Detroit a few months back and learned that women have always been critically present in Detroit’s history.

Different ways women are present in Detroit’s history (some quick takes):
Marie Therese Cadillac (kayaking hundreds of miles from Quebec to Detroit!!!) saving her husband’s drunk ass and putting the early Detroit settlement back on track.
The women on our city’s icon.
St. Anne! The patronness of the city.
The cigar-rolling women (who made up 8x the employees of the auto industry at that time, by the way) who are largely credited for funding the women’s suffrage movement.
Anna Scripps Whitcomb (of the Belle Isle Conservatory) who saved hundreds of orchids from being destroyed during WWII.

Though these examples are from a distant past, history is still alive around us. How is Detroit continually pumping the fiery feminine in today’s world? Look at Crain’s Most Influential Women, or dang, look around you.