Episode 41: Pretty Woman with Leah Lagrone

This week historian Leah Lagrone drops by the HATM studios to talk about 1990's Pretty Woman. We get into a ton of topics including the history of prostitution, sexual norms regarding its policing, the tropes behind books and films about the world's oldest profession, and whether or not Vivian and Richard are still together after all these years. We had a blast with this talk and I hope you dig the episode.

About our guest:
Dr. Leah LaGrone is an assistant professor of history and public history director.

She graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, with a PhD in history focused on borderlands, labor, and gender studies in early 20th century. Her research examines state legislation and the discourse on minimum wages for women, specifically the connections of sex work with low wages. Her current book project, “A Woman’s Worth: How Race and Respectability Politics Influenced Minimum Wage Policies,” demonstrates that the politics around race and the minimum wage for women drove conversations among labor, politicians, and progressive reformers about the future of white supremacy in Texas. 

She has contributed an essay to the anthology "Impeached: The Removal of Texas Governor James E. Ferguson" as well as articles to The Washington Post and NursingClio. She has worked on several public history projects, including "The Civil War Documentary," "Civil Rights in Black and Brown," and the Texas State Historical Association's "Handbook of Texas Women." Dr. LaGrone will teach the public history classes and supervise the public history internships.