This research paper aims at giving a broad outline of pioneering journalistic projects in England and Ukraine – periodicals The Female Spectator and The Pershyi vinok which were written by and for women. It surveys a scope of the two collections, the main genre forms, themes, characters as well as their significance in the history of English and Ukrainian literary journalism and literature in general. The authors hope that the article will find a wide audience interested in prominent and less known names of those women writers who not only opened up a new era of conquering the domain originally taken by men but contributed to the rise of literary journalism in both countries as well. By using recurring themes, motifs, myths the editors of the women’s journals Haywood, Kobrynska, Pchilka together with other women authors created heroines enabling the reader to see the patters of feminine behavior and ponder over the problem of quest for female identity. The study clearly indicates that these fascinating journalistic projects hold a significant place in proto-feminist and feminist history of both countries considering the fact that they made women’s concerns sound palatable and important, assisted English and Ukrainian women to define their roles within the then social context and challenged the status quo of the deeply ingrained norms related to a woman’s place in society.
Conquering a Male Domain: The Female Spectator and The Pershy Vinok