Dr Rebecca Watterson
@drrebeccawatterson.bsky.social
Historian of Psychosurgery, Lobotomies, Millies and Medicine
Working Class | Neurodivergent | Mad
Historian 📜 | Survivor 💜 | Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast + 📖 Substack
Link hub: https://beccadoesthings.carrd.co/
Working Class | Neurodivergent | Mad
Historian 📜 | Survivor 💜 | Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast + 📖 Substack
Link hub: https://beccadoesthings.carrd.co/
Pinned
Becca Does Things
Becca Does Things is where history meets survival. I tell stories of abuse in the past, reflect on my own experiences, and celebrate joy as resistance.
beccadoesthings.carrd.co
🚀 Launch week is here! Becca Does Things is live.
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
When I was 7, my mum’s partner hid my red bomber coat in the cupboard to “teach me a lesson.”
It wasn’t discipline.
It wasn’t harmless.
It wasn’t okay.
✍️ New essay in my Abuse: Loosely Based on True Events series: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/psychologi...
It wasn’t discipline.
It wasn’t harmless.
It wasn’t okay.
✍️ New essay in my Abuse: Loosely Based on True Events series: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/psychologi...
Psychological Punishment in Childhood: The Day My Mother’s Partner Hid My Red Coat
No bruises, but lasting scars — how a strange 'lesson' shaped my trust, fear, and sense of safety.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 17, 2025 at 6:10 AM
When I was 7, my mum’s partner hid my red bomber coat in the cupboard to “teach me a lesson.”
It wasn’t discipline.
It wasn’t harmless.
It wasn’t okay.
✍️ New essay in my Abuse: Loosely Based on True Events series: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/psychologi...
It wasn’t discipline.
It wasn’t harmless.
It wasn’t okay.
✍️ New essay in my Abuse: Loosely Based on True Events series: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/psychologi...
In 1833, Catherine Doran told a Dublin court her husband had assaulted her.
Instead of punishment, the Recorder ordered him to pay her five shillings a week.
Violence became a bargain, not a crime.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4xzV...
#IrishHistory #WomensHistory
Instead of punishment, the Recorder ordered him to pay her five shillings a week.
Violence became a bargain, not a crime.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4xzV...
#IrishHistory #WomensHistory
Five Shillings and a Promise: Catherine Doran and the Ordinary Brutality of 1833 Dublin
open.spotify.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:05 AM
In 1833, Catherine Doran told a Dublin court her husband had assaulted her.
Instead of punishment, the Recorder ordered him to pay her five shillings a week.
Violence became a bargain, not a crime.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4xzV...
#IrishHistory #WomensHistory
Instead of punishment, the Recorder ordered him to pay her five shillings a week.
Violence became a bargain, not a crime.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4xzV...
#IrishHistory #WomensHistory
I’ve made a permanent Abuse Support Directory on my Substack — NI, UK, Ireland resources.
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to look. I wanted to make that easier. 💜
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/abuse-supp...
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to look. I wanted to make that easier. 💜
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/abuse-supp...
Abuse Support Directory
A resource list for readers in Northern Ireland, the UK, Ireland, and beyond.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 3:34 AM
I’ve made a permanent Abuse Support Directory on my Substack — NI, UK, Ireland resources.
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to look. I wanted to make that easier. 💜
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/abuse-supp...
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to look. I wanted to make that easier. 💜
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/abuse-supp...
Catherine of Aragon has been remembered as a meek and submissive figure. But in truth, she resisted Henry VIII’s annulment, endured loss and humiliation, and still signed her letters: Katherine the Queen.
New podcast episode here 🎙 open.spotify.com/episode/2Kza...
New podcast episode here 🎙 open.spotify.com/episode/2Kza...
The Queen Who Said No: Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII
open.spotify.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Catherine of Aragon has been remembered as a meek and submissive figure. But in truth, she resisted Henry VIII’s annulment, endured loss and humiliation, and still signed her letters: Katherine the Queen.
New podcast episode here 🎙 open.spotify.com/episode/2Kza...
New podcast episode here 🎙 open.spotify.com/episode/2Kza...
In 1816, Harriet Shelley drowned in the Serpentine. Abandoned, pregnant, erased as 'Harriet Smith'.
On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay I remember her — because history belongs to survivors, not just to poets. 💜
💌 Read: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay I remember her — because history belongs to survivors, not just to poets. 💜
💌 Read: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
The Forgotten Wife: Harriet Shelley, Suicide, and the Erasure of Women’s Pain
On World Suicide Prevention Day, we remember a young woman written out of history — and the patterns of silence that still echo.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:14 PM
In 1816, Harriet Shelley drowned in the Serpentine. Abandoned, pregnant, erased as 'Harriet Smith'.
On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay I remember her — because history belongs to survivors, not just to poets. 💜
💌 Read: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay I remember her — because history belongs to survivors, not just to poets. 💜
💌 Read: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
Catherine of Aragon wasn’t just divorced.
She was the queen who said no.
New Substack essay live today:
👉 beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/catherine-...
#History #SurvivorHistory #CatherineOfAragon #SIX
She was the queen who said no.
New Substack essay live today:
👉 beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/catherine-...
#History #SurvivorHistory #CatherineOfAragon #SIX
Catherine of Aragon: 'No Way'
Survivor of Patriarchy, Gaslighting, and a King with a God Complex
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Catherine of Aragon wasn’t just divorced.
She was the queen who said no.
New Substack essay live today:
👉 beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/catherine-...
#History #SurvivorHistory #CatherineOfAragon #SIX
She was the queen who said no.
New Substack essay live today:
👉 beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/catherine-...
#History #SurvivorHistory #CatherineOfAragon #SIX
September Goals 🌟
Big goals, small joys, daily habits.
👉 Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/september-...
Big goals, small joys, daily habits.
👉 Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/september-...
September 2025 Goals:
Debt, Dreams, and Dough (Literally)
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:59 AM
September Goals 🌟
Big goals, small joys, daily habits.
👉 Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/september-...
Big goals, small joys, daily habits.
👉 Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/september-...
Debt Update: £40,527 to £39,953.
This is coerced debt from surviving economic abuse. For too long, I carried the shame alone. Now I’m facing it.
📖 Full story: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/debt-updat...
#DebtJourney #EconomicAbuse #CoercedDebt #SurvivorVoices #BreakingSilence #CostOfLiving
This is coerced debt from surviving economic abuse. For too long, I carried the shame alone. Now I’m facing it.
📖 Full story: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/debt-updat...
#DebtJourney #EconomicAbuse #CoercedDebt #SurvivorVoices #BreakingSilence #CostOfLiving
Debt Update #1: Surviving Economic Abuse and Coerced Debt
How I am tackling nearly £40,000 of coerced debt during the cost of living crisis, one payment at a time.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Debt Update: £40,527 to £39,953.
This is coerced debt from surviving economic abuse. For too long, I carried the shame alone. Now I’m facing it.
📖 Full story: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/debt-updat...
#DebtJourney #EconomicAbuse #CoercedDebt #SurvivorVoices #BreakingSilence #CostOfLiving
This is coerced debt from surviving economic abuse. For too long, I carried the shame alone. Now I’m facing it.
📖 Full story: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/debt-updat...
#DebtJourney #EconomicAbuse #CoercedDebt #SurvivorVoices #BreakingSilence #CostOfLiving
Catherine Doran, 1833.
I first encountered her case through historians O’Dowd and Luddy. Newspapers reported her husband’s violence and Catherine’s plea that she would forgive him if he promised not to do it again.
Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/five-shill...
I first encountered her case through historians O’Dowd and Luddy. Newspapers reported her husband’s violence and Catherine’s plea that she would forgive him if he promised not to do it again.
Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/five-shill...
Five Shillings for Safety: Catherine Doran and Domestic Violence in 1830s Dublin
What one woman’s testimony reveals about survival, silence, and the price of justice in nineteenth-century Ireland
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Catherine Doran, 1833.
I first encountered her case through historians O’Dowd and Luddy. Newspapers reported her husband’s violence and Catherine’s plea that she would forgive him if he promised not to do it again.
Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/five-shill...
I first encountered her case through historians O’Dowd and Luddy. Newspapers reported her husband’s violence and Catherine’s plea that she would forgive him if he promised not to do it again.
Full essay: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/five-shill...
Just updated The Forgotten, my living memorial to lives marked by hidden abuse.
Added: the six queens of Henry VIII. Behind the rhyme we all know are six stories of coercive control, survival, and erasure.
Link: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
Added: the six queens of Henry VIII. Behind the rhyme we all know are six stories of coercive control, survival, and erasure.
Link: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
The Forgotten: A Living Memorial
Honouring the lives and stories of those silenced by hidden abuse, and remembering the truths society tried to erase.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Just updated The Forgotten, my living memorial to lives marked by hidden abuse.
Added: the six queens of Henry VIII. Behind the rhyme we all know are six stories of coercive control, survival, and erasure.
Link: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
Added: the six queens of Henry VIII. Behind the rhyme we all know are six stories of coercive control, survival, and erasure.
Link: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
Abuse doesn’t just show up in bruises. It hides in mugs, in salt bans, even in nursery rhymes.
This week’s recap essay: Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Truths → Link below
A mix of history, absurd rules, and survival.
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/ordinary-t...
This week’s recap essay: Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Truths → Link below
A mix of history, absurd rules, and survival.
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/ordinary-t...
Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Truths
How cupboards, mugs, salt, and even nursery rhymes reveal the hidden patterns of abuse - and how reclaiming them helps us tell the story ourselves.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Abuse doesn’t just show up in bruises. It hides in mugs, in salt bans, even in nursery rhymes.
This week’s recap essay: Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Truths → Link below
A mix of history, absurd rules, and survival.
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/ordinary-t...
This week’s recap essay: Ordinary Things, Extraordinary Truths → Link below
A mix of history, absurd rules, and survival.
beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/ordinary-t...
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Watterson
bluesky truly the heir to twitter in that my mentions are full of men who like to explain things to female historians
October 14, 2024 at 2:36 PM
bluesky truly the heir to twitter in that my mentions are full of men who like to explain things to female historians
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Watterson
Blue plaque for gay couple who 'defied convention' in Barnsley. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Blue plaque for Barnsley gay couple who 'defied convention'
Maurice Dobson and Fred Halliday met during World War Two and opened a store in Darfield, Barnsley.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Blue plaque for gay couple who 'defied convention' in Barnsley. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
🚂 The Historical Hot Mess Express has left the station.
Episode 1 of The Forgotten is live: Dublin, 1808.
A man split his wife’s ear open with a hammer. Newspapers called her a 'poor forgiving wretch'.
Every name, every story, matters.
🎧 Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ktxPjpEjfWb
Episode 1 of The Forgotten is live: Dublin, 1808.
A man split his wife’s ear open with a hammer. Newspapers called her a 'poor forgiving wretch'.
Every name, every story, matters.
🎧 Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ktxPjpEjfWb
Poor Forgiving Wretch: The Ordinary Brutality of 1808 by Becca Does Things
In July 1808, the Dublin Evening Post reported a short, startling case:'A ruffian, named Patrick Curran, who split his wife’s ear, and cut her with a hammer, was sentenced to be imprisoned three month...
spotifycreators-web.app.link
August 30, 2025 at 5:41 PM
🚂 The Historical Hot Mess Express has left the station.
Episode 1 of The Forgotten is live: Dublin, 1808.
A man split his wife’s ear open with a hammer. Newspapers called her a 'poor forgiving wretch'.
Every name, every story, matters.
🎧 Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ktxPjpEjfWb
Episode 1 of The Forgotten is live: Dublin, 1808.
A man split his wife’s ear open with a hammer. Newspapers called her a 'poor forgiving wretch'.
Every name, every story, matters.
🎧 Listen here: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ktxPjpEjfWb
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Watterson
Aside from all the other objections, the emotion/rationality binary is a crock.
August 30, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Aside from all the other objections, the emotion/rationality binary is a crock.
No salt in pasta water. Spices only in glass jars. Absurd rules weren’t quirks, they were control.
New essay on Substack: The Great Seasoning Ban → beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/absurd-rul...
New essay on Substack: The Great Seasoning Ban → beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/absurd-rul...
Absurd Rules: The Great Seasoning Ban
He outlawed salt… but called my Christmas dinners the best food he’d ever eaten.
beccadoesthings.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
No salt in pasta water. Spices only in glass jars. Absurd rules weren’t quirks, they were control.
New essay on Substack: The Great Seasoning Ban → beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/absurd-rul...
New essay on Substack: The Great Seasoning Ban → beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/absurd-rul...
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Watterson
I can't believe this idea that's been in my head for ten years is finally a thing in the world. @uchicagopress.bsky.social #histmed #EAHMH25 #sts #histsci
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
August 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I can't believe this idea that's been in my head for ten years is finally a thing in the world. @uchicagopress.bsky.social #histmed #EAHMH25 #sts #histsci
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
We all know the rhyme: Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. But it’s not just history. It’s a record of coercive control.
Henry VIII weaponised marriage and politics in ways that look chillingly familiar today.
👉 Essay on Substack: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/henry-viii...
Henry VIII weaponised marriage and politics in ways that look chillingly familiar today.
👉 Essay on Substack: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/henry-viii...
Henry VIII: The OG Coercive Controller
How England’s most infamous king weaponised marriage, law and power in patterns we now call coercive control
beccadoesthings.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 3:06 PM
We all know the rhyme: Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. But it’s not just history. It’s a record of coercive control.
Henry VIII weaponised marriage and politics in ways that look chillingly familiar today.
👉 Essay on Substack: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/henry-viii...
Henry VIII weaponised marriage and politics in ways that look chillingly familiar today.
👉 Essay on Substack: beccadoesthings.substack.com/p/henry-viii...
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Watterson
Check out our brand new special issue “Socialist Health: of Shortages and Solidarity” at the Brill book stand of #eahmh25 ! also fully OA at brill.com/view/journal... #histmed
August 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Check out our brand new special issue “Socialist Health: of Shortages and Solidarity” at the Brill book stand of #eahmh25 ! also fully OA at brill.com/view/journal... #histmed
🚨 Podcast launch 🚨
Ep. 1 of Abuse, Loosely Based on True Events is out now: The Cupboard Story.
It’s about my first memory of abuse, and why it doesn’t get to define me.
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/7GYw...
✍️ Read: open.substack.com/pub/beccadoe...
Ep. 1 of Abuse, Loosely Based on True Events is out now: The Cupboard Story.
It’s about my first memory of abuse, and why it doesn’t get to define me.
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/7GYw...
✍️ Read: open.substack.com/pub/beccadoe...
The Cupboard Story: Abuse, Loosely Based on True Events
open.spotify.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:12 PM
🚨 Podcast launch 🚨
Ep. 1 of Abuse, Loosely Based on True Events is out now: The Cupboard Story.
It’s about my first memory of abuse, and why it doesn’t get to define me.
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/7GYw...
✍️ Read: open.substack.com/pub/beccadoe...
Ep. 1 of Abuse, Loosely Based on True Events is out now: The Cupboard Story.
It’s about my first memory of abuse, and why it doesn’t get to define me.
🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/7GYw...
✍️ Read: open.substack.com/pub/beccadoe...
My ex banned mugs. Yes, mugs. 'One in, one out'.
I left, I kept the mugs, and now I own 37. ☕✨
#mugban #survivorhumour #healing #controltactics #everydayjoy
I wrote about it here:
I left, I kept the mugs, and now I own 37. ☕✨
#mugban #survivorhumour #healing #controltactics #everydayjoy
I wrote about it here:
My Ex Tried to Ban Mugs
I left him, kept the mugs, and now I own thirty-seven.
open.substack.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:59 PM
My ex banned mugs. Yes, mugs. 'One in, one out'.
I left, I kept the mugs, and now I own 37. ☕✨
#mugban #survivorhumour #healing #controltactics #everydayjoy
I wrote about it here:
I left, I kept the mugs, and now I own 37. ☕✨
#mugban #survivorhumour #healing #controltactics #everydayjoy
I wrote about it here:
In 1808, Dublin newspapers reported Patrick Curran, who split his wife’s ear with a hammer.
They called him a 'ruffian'. But they repeated her words: 'he had often done so before but she forgave him'.
Forgiveness wasn’t freedom. It was coercive control.
📰 Full story on Substack →
They called him a 'ruffian'. But they repeated her words: 'he had often done so before but she forgave him'.
Forgiveness wasn’t freedom. It was coercive control.
📰 Full story on Substack →
‘She Now Forgave Him’: Forgiveness, Coercive Control, and the Case of Patrick Curran, 1808
When a woman forgave her abuser in court - and the press amplified her words - it revealed how coercive control shaped the lives of ordinary Irish women.
open.substack.com
August 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
In 1808, Dublin newspapers reported Patrick Curran, who split his wife’s ear with a hammer.
They called him a 'ruffian'. But they repeated her words: 'he had often done so before but she forgave him'.
Forgiveness wasn’t freedom. It was coercive control.
📰 Full story on Substack →
They called him a 'ruffian'. But they repeated her words: 'he had often done so before but she forgave him'.
Forgiveness wasn’t freedom. It was coercive control.
📰 Full story on Substack →
🚀 Launch week is here! Becca Does Things is live.
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
Becca Does Things
Becca Does Things is where history meets survival. I tell stories of abuse in the past, reflect on my own experiences, and celebrate joy as resistance.
beccadoesthings.carrd.co
August 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
🚀 Launch week is here! Becca Does Things is live.
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
History of domestic abuse 📜
My survivor story 💜
Joy as resistance ✨
🎙️ Podcast trailer → open.spotify.com/show/14d7lS8...
📰 Substack launch post → substack.com/@beccadoesth...
🌐 All links → beccadoesthings.carrd.co
#History #Podcast #Survivor
Please share this call for participants NI folks :)
July 2, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Please share this call for participants NI folks :)
What a joy!
Grainne & Becca delivering the first (of hopefully many) workshops on community-based participatory research methods to PhD researchers from law, arts, humanities, heritage, life sciences and more! The change is happening! CHOICE IS LEADING A MOVEMENT.
June 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
What a joy!