Blue stocking

The OED informs us that from 1788, this expression is usually used contemptuously to describe intellectual but pedantic women and yet, somewhat ironically, the word was coined after a man who wore blue stockings. During the 1750s a group of prominent London society women, led by Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Vesey among others, decided to form a literary discussion group to which men of letters, writers, publishers etc would also be invited. This was quite a bold and radical development for the time when women were largely relegated to the nursery and other household duties. One of the men invited to attend these gatherings was the publisher Benjamin Stillingfleet who was not wealthy enough to wear the prescribed evening dress of black silk stockings. He arrived dressed in blue worsted stockings instead, which nevertheless appealed to the group because it symbolised the importance of mind and intellect over fashion. As a result, their discussion group became known as the Bluestocking Society. Our sympathies lie with these pioneering women because by 1788 the term “bluestocking” had become derogatory. This was no doubt the ungracious response of the male dominant society prevailing at that time.