Queer suffragists were central to the women’s suffrage movement in the United States from its earliest days. However, in a movement that placed great importance on public image in service of the goal of achieving the vote, queer suffragists who pushed the boundaries of “respectability” were sometimes ostracized, and others hid their queerness, or had it erased by others.
Joining me to help us learn about queer suffragists is historian Dr. Wendy Rouse, Associate Professor in History at San Jose State University. Dr. Rouse is the author of a new book from New York University Press, Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women's Suffrage Movement.
 Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. Image Credit: “Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947) and Mary Garrett Hay (1857–1928) casting ballots, presumably during the midterm elections, November 5, 1918.” Carrie Chapman Catt Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (128.00.00)

Additional Sources:

“When lesbians led the women’s suffrage movement,” by Anya Jabour, The Conversation, January 24, 2020.

“How Queer Women Powered the Suffrage Movement,” by Maya Salam, The New York Times, August 14, 2020.

“Carrie & Mollie & Anna & Lucy: Queering the Women’s Suffrage Movement,” by Susan War, American Experience, PBS, October 23, 2020.

“The Very Queer History of the Suffrage Movement,” by Wendy Rouse, National Park Service.

“The Queer Suffragists Who Fought for Women’s Right to Vote: New research shows that women’s right to vote, now a century old, was won by a distinctly LGBTQ+ group of activists,” by Sarah D. Collins, Them, August 14, 2020.

“When American Suffragists Tried to ‘Wear the Pants,” by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, The Atlantic, June 12, 2019.

“The Unconventional Life of Mary Walker, the Only Woman to Have Received the U.S. Medal of Honor: Dress reformer, women’s rights activist, and all-around pioneer,” by Anika Burgess, Atlas Obscura, September 27, 2017.

“Annie Rensselaer Tinker (1884-1924) Of East Setauket And NYC: Philanthropist, Suffragist, WWI Volunteer In Europe,” by Catherine Tinker, Long Island History Journal, 2017.


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