biandlesbianliterature:

As historian Diane Atkinson shows in her new book Rise Up Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes, queer women had a prominent place in the movement. Atkinson tells me about one “long and enduring romantic relationship” between suffragettes Evelina Haverfield and the Pankhursts’ chauffeur, Vera ‘Jack’ Holme. “These two were quite openly a couple and, in fact, they had each other’s initials carved on their bed,” she says.

Atkinson’s book describes the lives of several more queer women in the campaign, including the “very open couple” Lettice Floyd and Annie Williams. These women were generally accepted within the movement, largely because the campaign had a common goal. ”They were all in same-sex relationships; they were all very actively involved; they were quite prominent; they weren’t hiding in any closet; they were out in doing it,” Atkinson explains. “It was a single-issue campaign, which made it a very diverse, broad church.”

The Queer, Disabled, and Women of Color Suffragettes History Forgot