{"id":119932,"date":"2020-01-24T12:26:48","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T17:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/when-lesbians-led-the-womens-suffrage-movement\/"},"modified":"2020-01-24T12:26:48","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T17:26:48","slug":"when-lesbians-led-the-womens-suffrage-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/when-lesbians-led-the-womens-suffrage-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"When Lesbians Led the Women\u2019s Suffrage Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Lesbians Led the Women\u2019s Suffrage Movement<\/b>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

A suffrage parade. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Americans commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which granted voting rights to some – but not all – women<\/a>, it is important to acknowledge the lesbian<\/a> leaders of the suffrage movement.<\/p>\n

A leadership team of three women<\/a> with “lesbian-like” relationships<\/a> – Jane Addams, Sophonisba Breckinridge and Anna Howard Shaw – took control of the suffrage movement in 1911.<\/p>\n

My research<\/a> suggests that the personal lives of these suffrage leaders shaped their political agendas. Rather than emphasizing differences of gender, race, ethnicity and class, they advanced equal rights for all Americans.<\/p>\n

Emphasizing differences<\/h2>\n

Suffrage scholarship<\/a> has long acknowledged a shift “from justice to expediency” – from an emphasis on natural rights to an emphasis on gender distinctions – in the movement at the turn of the century. <\/p>\n

The 1848 Declaration of Sentiments<\/a>, a founding document of the suffrage struggle, proudly insisted that “all men<\/a> and women<\/a> are created equal.” <\/p>\n

However, by the early 20th century, many of the movement’s new adherents emphasized women<\/a>’s differences from men<\/a>. To gain support, they argued that female<\/a> voters would engage in “social housekeeping”<\/a> and “clean up” corrupt politics. <\/p>\n

Some suffragists, including women<\/a>’s rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton<\/a>, also increasingly emphasized racial, class and ethnic differences. After the Civil War, when the 15th Amendment<\/a> enfranchised black men<\/a> but ignored all women<\/a>, white suffrage leaders excluded African American women<\/a> from the movement. <\/p>\n

By the 1890s, some had begun to advocate “educated suffrage,”<\/a> code for literacy requirements that would extend voting rights to educated, white, middle-class women<\/a>, but prevent many African Americans, immigrants and working-class citizens from casting ballots.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Jane Addams.<\/span>
\n Library of Congress<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new leadership team<\/h2>\n

At the 1911 meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association<\/a> (NAWSA), the membership elected Jane Addams<\/a> as first vice president and Sophonisba Breckinridge<\/a> as second vice president. <\/p>\n

The new officers joined a leadership team headed by Anna Howard Shaw<\/a>, an ordained minister who served as NAWSA’s president from 1904 to 1915. <\/p>\n

<\/a>
Anna Shaw.<\/span>
\n Library of Congress<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the next year, women<\/a> who loved other women<\/a> held the top three positions in the nation’s largest feminist organization. <\/p>\n

None of these women<\/a> publicly claimed a lesbian<\/a> identity. Nonetheless, like other leaders in women’s rights, higher education and social reform<\/a>, all three women<\/a> had significant same-sex<\/a> relationships. <\/p>\n

Shaw<\/a> relied on her companion and secretary, Lucy E. Anthony – suffrage pioneer Susan B. Anthony’s niece – to assist her in guiding the woman<\/a> suffrage movement. <\/p>\n

Addams<\/a>, head of the Chicago settlement house Hull House<\/a>, enjoyed a long and loving relationship with philanthropist Mary Rozet Smith, who supported her both emotionally and financially. As Addams’ nephew explained<\/a>, Smith dedicated herself to “making life easier for Jane Addams. That was her career.” <\/p>\n

And, as my recent biography of Breckinridge<\/a> demonstrates, her intimate relationship with Edith Abbott, dean of the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration<\/a>, helped her pioneer the social work profession<\/a> and promote social welfare policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Promoting conventional femininity<\/h2>\n

Opponents of woman<\/a> suffrage used images of suffragists as unattractive man-haters<\/a> to discredit the movement. <\/p>\n

To counter such stereotypes, suffrage leaders promoted a public image of conventional femininity. Shaw, who previously sported short hair, grew her hair long and wore it in a conservative chignon. <\/p>\n

“I learned that no woman<\/a> in public life can afford to make herself conspicuous by any eccentricity of dress or appearance,” she noted<\/a>, because negative attention “injures the cause she represents.” <\/p>\n

Suffrage leaders also emphasized women<\/a>’s roles as wives and mothers. Addams and Breckinridge were founding members of the Woman’s City Club of Chicago<\/a>, which produced a popular pro-suffrage graphic<\/a> that illustrated the connections between domestic life and local government. NAWSA adopted the image as its own, featuring it on suffrage posters<\/a>. <\/p>\n

To avoid criticism and gain support, NAWSA’s leaders upheld conventional femininity. But this was not the whole story.<\/p>\n

Demanding equality for all<\/h2>\n

In a 1910 speech<\/a>, Breckinridge predicted that the time was coming “when man<\/a> and woman<\/a> would stand on the same industrial plane and their wages would be equalized by an equal social condition.”<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Sophonisba Breckinridge.<\/span>
\n Library of Congress<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breckinridge’s lesbian<\/a>-like lifestyle helps explain her stance on gender equality. As a single, self-supporting woman<\/a>, she understood that many women<\/a>, like herself, could not rely on men<\/a> for financial security. <\/p>\n

Thus, at the same time that she promoted equal voting rights, she also championed financial support for single mothers<\/a> and maximum hour and minimum wage legislation for women workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As members of the Immigrants’ Protective League<\/a> and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People<\/a>, both Breckinridge and Addams rejected exclusionary strategies. <\/p>\n

Addams protested proposed literacy tests<\/a> for immigrants. Breckinridge coauthored a report advocating education<\/a>, rather than employment, for working class youth.<\/p>\n

The new lesbian<\/a> leadership team also welcomed African American participation in the movement. <\/p>\n

W. E. B. Du Bois<\/a>, editor of the NAACP publication The Crisis<\/a>, had publicly criticized NAWSA’s racism<\/a>, warning that the movement’s mission was becoming “Votes for White Women Only.” He also published numerous editorials and articles<\/a> in support of woman suffrage<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Breckinridge advocated inviting Du Bois to speak<\/a> at the suffrage organization’s 1912 meeting. His participation<\/a> signaled NAWSA’s growing commitment to racial equality.<\/p>\n

In 1911, NAWSA had refused to allow a resolution<\/a> linking woman<\/a> suffrage with African American rights to be presented at its annual meeting. In 1912, however, NAWSA published<\/a> Du Bois’s speech, “Disfranchisement,”<\/a> which did just that, advocating a “Democracy of Sex and Color.”<\/a> <\/p>\n

This lesbian<\/a> leadership team lasted for only a year. But while it operated, these leaders made the suffrage movement more diverse and inclusive.<\/p>\n

[ Deep knowledge, daily.<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter<\/a>. ]<\/p>\n

Anya Jabour<\/a>, Regents Professor of History, The University of Montana<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post When Lesbians Led the Women’s Suffrage Movement<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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When Lesbians Led the Women’s Suffrage Movement<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n