Queer Suffrage - Wendy L. Rouse

Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Suffrage Movement

In this book, Wendy Rouse explores explores the important role of queerness and queer suffragists in the fight for the vote. The traditional narrative of women’s suffrage history sanitized the lives of queer suffragists contributing to the historical erasure of the queer history of the movement. Yet, it was often their very queerness that helped propel the movement forward. This book highlights the personal and professional alliances that queer suffragists built and the innovative strategies they developed to protect and preserve their most intimate relationships— relationships that were ultimately crucial to the success of the women’s suffrage movement.

Available now from NYU Press

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NYU Press

Praise for the Book

Finalist for the Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction, 2023

Honorable Mention, Richardson Keller-Sierra Prize, Western Association of Women Historians, 2023

“Rouse, a historian, highlights the often unrecognized queer history of the women’s suffrage movement and argues that queer suffragists challenged traditional notions of family, space and death both subtly and radically.” ~The New York Times

“A stunning achievement, Public Faces, Secret Lives provides a long overdue history of queer suffragists and their integral role in the movement.” ~Emily Skidmore, author of True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

“Not only a powerful revision of the largely heteronormative framings of the suffrage movement, Public Faces, Secret Lives is also testament to the queer community’s power to reimagine and revolutionize social movements today.” ~Leila J. Rupp, author of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award winner, Understanding and Teaching U.S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History

“Asking new questions of old stories – that is what Wendy Rouse has superbly done by turning a queer eye on the women’s suffrage movement. Hiding in plain sight, or sometimes hidden by historical erasure, queer women were central figures in the movement, providing models of activism and non-heteronormative behavior for those who follow in their footsteps.” ~Susan Ware, author of Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote

“Public Faces, Secret Lives brings to life the work and names of the queer champions of the women’s suffrage movement, restoring their rightful place in history and feminism, intersectional as it should be. Author Wendy L. Rouse highlights the radical, innovative action queer suffragists took to challenge traditions around family, love and death — and shows us how they had a lasting, crucial impact on the success of the suffrage movement.” ~Buzzfeed

“A long-overdue account of the queer women within the suffrage movement who were never given the credit they deserved for their contributions. Rouse successfully conveys how queer suffragists positively impacted the suffrage movement and the future of feminism by challenging traditional views surrounding gender, domesticity, love, and death.” ~Bust