I think this chapter is the weakest in terms of framing the topic as "queer" since it's basically "suffragists in the US and Britain talked to each other and sometimes had the same types of interpersonal relationships with each other that they did with their fellow contrytwomen. Also: there was a lot of Pankhurst fangirling.
LHMP
Blog entry
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 315 – The House of the Women by Jeannelle M. Ferreira - transcript
(Originally aired 2025/05/31 - listen here)
The last chapter looked at couples, this one expands to "extended families" among American suffragists and the ways in which they can be seen as "queer".
In the mean time, I'm writing up notes for the next book, which investigates the prevalence of cross-gender presentation in the American West, and the process of erasing or "normalizing" those who participated.
If the content in this chapter feels very modern, maybe we need to reanalyze how "modern" the idea of chosen/found family is!
As a separate aside, I'm planning to crank up the content on the Lesbian Historic Motif Project's Patreon account, including special content about new projects that will be for paid patrons only.
Continuing the coverage of Public Faces, Secret Lives about queer presence in the US women's suffrage movement.
Back to my focus on US-related history for a bit. This current book is lovely and useful, as the author's goal was to track down and document all sorts of details of individual lives that speak to the thesis "The American women's suffrage movement was thoroughly queer."
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 314 – Benedetta Carlini, Lesbian Nun - transcript
(Originally aired 2025/05/17 - listen here)
Coming to you live from Kalamazoo where I'm attending the annual medieval history congress. I decided not to live-blog the sessions this year. (It's become more complicated as the policy has shifted to recommending getting active permission to love-blog papers.) But I may do a sum-up post from the train as I'm returning home.
I'm testing the limits of what you can post by teathering a laptop to a spotty phone connection, because that's what you get on Amtrak crossing the vastness of Colorado...
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast - Episode 313 - On the Shelf for May 2025 - Transcript
(Originally aired 2025/05/03 - listen here)
Welcome to On the Shelf for May 2025.
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