The Secret History of Queer Suffragists

You’ve probably heard of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, leaders of the women’s suffrage movement and history-class staples. But did you know that queerness played an essential role in winning a woman's right to vote?

To learn more about the history that mainstream suffragists tried to censor, I sat down with Professor Wendy Rouse, who teaches history at San Jose State University and just published the pioneering Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, to talk about the queer suffragists who fought for America's Nineteenth Amendment, which eliminated voting restrictions on the basis of sex, a hundred years ago.

Video Interview

Audio-Only Version

The Book

Don't forget to support Wendy's research by picking up a copy of her book, Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement!

Next Week's Reading

Readings for next week's lesson with Jenn M. Jackson are available here.