LGBTQ Activists in Suffragette Organizations
The suffragette movement was an organization of women's groups that fought for the right of women to vote. It was present in many forms throughout democratic countries around the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The lesbian presence in the suffrage movement is quite remarkable. Both Finland's Selma Lagerlof and American Jane Addams were recipients of the Nobel Prize. Individuals such as Ireland's Frances Power Cobbe, Britain's Emmeline Pankhurst, and Americans Dr. S. Josephine Baker, Susan Brownell Anthony and Sophonisba Breckinridge, among others, are icons in the history of the movement.
Many of these individuals are notable for achieving firsts for women, such as the first woman to be awarded a PhD or the first woman to represent the United States in an international conference. These individuals were also leaders in the many organizations created through the suffrage movement, such as the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU, 1903) or the National Women's Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
We have identified the following individuals as notable participants and activists within the suffrage movement.
Great Britain
Finland
Ireland
- Louie Bennett
- Helen Chenevix
- Frances Power Cobbe
- Madeleine ffrench-Mullen
- Kathleen Lynn
- Violet Martin
- Helena Molony
- Edith Anna Somerville
United States
- Jane Addams
- Susan Brownell Anthony
- Dr. S. Josephine Baker
- Sophonisba Breckinridge
- Molly Dewson
- Nina Otero-Warren
- Anna Howard Shaw
