Thread by @jasonporath

They're making a Cleopatra movie? Ethnicity/casting debates aside, whyyyy? There's been a million Cleopatra movies and there are so many more interesting African and Middle Eastern women to cover. Like:

Shajar al-Durr, who defeated Louis IX, ended the seventh crusade, and ransomed Louis IX back to France for 30% of France's GDP. rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/sha…

Zenobia, who defeated Rome to conquer large swaths of the Middle East and establish her own Palmyran Empire: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/zen…

Hatshepsut, who was so successful built so much stuff that a generations-long attempt to erase her from history couldn't do the trick: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/hat…

Sayyida al-Hurra (real name unknown), who controlled much of the Mediterranean with her Moroccan pirate fleet, to get revenge on the Spanish and Portuguese for the Inquisition: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/say…

Arwa al-Sulayhi, who rose from tragedy to avenge the deaths of her family and become greatest ruler in Yemen's history: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/arw…

Amanirenas, one-eyed warrior queen who so frustrated the Romans that they never set foot south of Egypt again: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/ama…

Taytu Betul, Ethiopian empress who drove all of Europe mad when she defeated Italy and drove them out of the country: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/tay…

Ranavalona I, infamously cruel mad scientist queen who fended off the combined forces of England and France, sparked her own industrial revolution, and advocated giant weaponized scissors as defense mechanism: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/ran…

Yaa Asantewaa, who led an incredibly successful war against the British when a jerkwad colonial demanded the Asante's national treasure for himself: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/yaa…

Mkabayi kaJama, who put Shaka on the Zulu throne -- and then took him off it by force: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/mka…

Nzinga Mbande, who led a guerrilla war against the Portuguese for four decades to maintain her kingdom's sovereignty: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/nzi…

Nwanyeruwa, who started a nation-wide block party to protest unfair taxation:
rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/nwa…

Moremi Ajasoro, who went undercover with an enemy tribe to learn their weaknesses, then escaped and spread the word to her people: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/mor…

Labotsibeni "Gwamile" LaMdluli, who used colonial bureaucracy against the colonialists themselves, and in so doing managed to save her country: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/lab…

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a teacher who dethroned a king through protest and should be held up on the same level as Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/fun…

Yennenga, the founder of Burkina Faso, who was an unbeatable warrior princess that just wanted to settle down and have a family: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/yen…

Mekatilili wa Menza, who broke out of prison and performed ecstatic dance across the entirety of Kenya to rile up anti-colonial protests: rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/mek…

Hell, you could even do Nitocris, who lured her enemies into a specially-rigged chamber which she then flooded -- although she's probably myth. rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/nit…

And if you're hellbent on casting someone of European descent, at least make it interesting -- like anarchist necrophilia erotica author Isabelle Eberhardt, whose main surviving photo features her in a hat that says "VENGEANCE." rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/isa…

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

(for those who don't know me, and are confused by the cartoon pictures, it's what I do: writeups/illustrations of women that wouldn't make the cut for animated musicals, in that style anyway, because why *don't* we give these to kids?)