LGBT Past & Present

Of course there were queer suffragists!

  • Women in multi-decade partnerships like Anna Howard Shaw & Lucy Anthony
  • Unpartnered suffragists whom we believe were lesbians, like Susan B. Anthony
  • Bisexual women like Maud Nathan
  • Proud genderqueers like Dr. Mary Edwards Walker
  • Women whose photos and choices and advocacy scream “I'm a dyke!” like Annie Tinker and Belle Squire and Dr. Mabel Seagrave.

In addition, we can hear echoes of suffrage strategy in the contemporary movement for LGBTQ equality. Choices about whether to focus on state referenda or push for federal law; what kinds of compromises are acceptable and who gets left behind; the pace of progress and how subjective it is. 

LGBT Past & Present