Originally posted on Instagram 6th February 2022

A Brief History of Queer Women

Queer women appear in the historical record far less than queer men, partly because of history’s general focus on men, and partly because laws towards female homosexuality have been different to male homosexuality laws.

In several cultures and countries, lesbianism has never been illegal. Indeed, lesbianism is barely acknowledged in religious texts, and historically, lesbians have been silenced.

There is a rumour that, in the UK, a bill banning sexual relations between women was rejected by Queen Victoria because she refused to believe ladies would do such things. This is untrue.

Of course, ‘queer’ inherently includes more than just lesbians, and it is here where history gets even murkier.

Women who were known to be in relationships with other women are often perceived as lesbians, whereas they may have identified otherwise. Further, it is difficult to attach modern labels to historical figures, as terminology and public perspectives are ever shifting.

Many leaders in the LGBTQ+ movement have been women – Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were trans, Brenda Howard (the ‘Mother of Pride’) was bisexual, and the Daughters of Bilitis was a pioneering queer organisation.

If this little book should see the light after its 100 years of entombment, I would like its readers to know that the author was a lover of her own sex and devoted the best years of her life in striving for the political equality and social and moral elevation of women.

Laura de Force Gordon, 1879, in a time capsule unearthed in 1979

See also:

• Blog post: Anne Lister & Ann Walker
• Blog post: Virginia Woolf & Vita Sackville-West
• Bitesize History: Rebecca Primus & Addie Brown
• Reading and Movie Recs