Five famous women that history outed as lesbians12th August 2014
by E.J. Rosetta
Eleanor RooseveltEveryone loves a rumour, especially surrounding the sexuality of “straight” celebrities (*cough, Kristen Stewart, cough*) and although it’s no longer taboo to be gay or bisexual, this has not always been the case.History is littered with speculation over certain famous figures and their sexuality. In order to be gay, even 30 years ago, involved an incredibly brave and life altering declaration. It still does, as we all know, but nowadays we’re all required to be dignified and polite to each other by law.
But you have to feel for our predecessors, in their sexless marriages with their clandestine meetings. You have to pity them, deeply. Can you imagine not being able to live authentically, out in the open?
Past generations have been suppressed for years by their peers and powers, not permitted to come out and be honest about how they wanted to live. They were very simply not allowed to feel the way they did, can you imagine how heartbreaking that must have been? We have to be grateful for the changes society has made so far, even if we have a long way to go.
No, being gay isn’t a choice, but the choice to live openly is one I am glad we now enjoy.
Looking back through the sands of time, it’s hard to name many openly gay women… They just don’t seem to exist. But the truth is they must have done. Lesbianism isn’t something that has just been invented over the past 50 years. Attitudes towards it have changed, but not the very essence. Truth is, women have been gay/bisexual for years. The only difference is that are the first generation that are allowed to live openly (almost). We get to be authentic… lucky us!
But the same cannot be said for those that have come before us. And here are a few of my favourite strong women of history who have inspired speculation surrounding their sexuality. Some are widely recognised as gay, others only rumoured. Whispers have swept through the internet after these icons have passed on, deliberating over facts and quotes, trying to find an answer. But the truth is we’ll never know, in some cases. But as it’s fun to hypothesise, here’s my list of rumoured lesbians throughout time.
1. Eleanor RooseveltThe infamous American first lady, although married, was known to have been permitted a clandestine “Boston Marriage” by her straying husband – essentially a permitted affair – and chose reporter Lorena “Hick” Hickock
After her death, the speculation surrounding the decades-long relationship between these two unearthed a series of letters between them. Although most were destroyed by the Roosevelt family, the ones that were uncovered revealed a tender and indisputably romantic relationship between the two women. There are whole books available of the published collections. It’s undeniable.
One reads “I want to put my arms around you & kiss you at the corner of your mouth” and another “I can’t kiss you, so I kiss your picture good night and good morning” and it is said that only Hick’s sister, Ruby, knew the true content of their first years correspondence. Following Hick’s death, Ruby decided to throw the letters on the fire after reading them, declaring “this is nobody’s business”. And I say good for her. My twin sister and I have a “Clear browser history on death” agreement, and I imagine this to be the same sort of gesture.
Eleanor Roosevelt, a strong feminist, was the first First Lady to actively engage in political issues and was known to have a close group of openly lesbian friends. On Inauguration Day, Roosevelt wore a sapphire ring, given to her by Hick. In a 1933 letter, Eleanor writes “I want to put my arms around you. I ache to hold you close… Your ring is a great comfort to me. I look at it and think she does love me, or I wouldn’t be wearing it.”. Which sort of puts to bed any speculation that end, doesn’t it?
Before Eleanor, the history books record a certain famous Austrian princess whose bisexuality is also fervently rumoured…
Marie Antoinette2. Marie AntoinetteArguably the most famous French female Royal, “Madame Deficit” endured a life of infamy.
People loved to hate her, blaming her from everything from the French Revolution to ruling through the King. She is famously misquoted “Let them eat cake!” when, actually, she said nothing of the sort. Still, history proves people love to hate women born into power, and her reputation doesn’t disappoint.
In those days, lesbianism was known as “The German Vice”, and the Austrian princess, as she became increasingly unpopular, was slandered by the opposition. They accused her aggressively of bisexuality and promiscuity, naming her close friends The Princess of Lamballe and The Duchess of Polignac as her lovers.
Throughout France, the population was convinced of the rumour by the publication of pamphlets picturing her in compromising positions with other women. Back then they didn’t have celebrity magazines, so Royal Gossip was circulated in leaflets, usually with a political agenda, and Marie Antoinette was a regular feature. And it’s understandable how much of France believed the rumours. The Queen had fervently remained a virgin for the first seven years of her marriage and never addressed publicly the accusations. As is the case now, if you didn’t deny it, people generally assume it’s true.
Now although we’ll never know the answer, it’s a sad thought. As Queen of a country, you’d be watched at every turn, and even in modern times, a member of the Royal Family probably simply wouldn’t be allowed to be gay. I can’t imagine how it must feel to not be able to be your true self, just because of who you were born. Luckily, me and my twin sister being gay is a favourite social topic of my mothers… she finds it fashionable and boasts at dinner parties about it. How very modern and interesting it makes her. She’s thrilled! And for that, I count myself very, very blessed.
But some parents aren’t so keen, and I imagine the mother of the Queen of France (a Royal herself) wouldn’t have found it quite so thrilling. But moving swiftly onwards, here’s a name that most have heard bounced around the lesbian rumour mill…
Virginia Woolf3. Virginia WoolfMs Woolf was every angst-ridden teenage girl’s hero when I was growing up. If you owned a pair of black cords, a Cranberries CD and any novel by Woolf, you were in. Well, not “in” actually. But I probably liked you.
Virginia Woolf met fellow writer Vita Sackville-West in the early 1922, and the women began a romantic affair that lasted for a number of years. Now I realise you can prove pretty much anything with the internet nowadays, and also disprove it, but Virginia Woolf’s bisexuality is almost impossible to argue with. Vita and her husband were both bisexual, and had an open marriage, and once Virginia’s own husband gave his blessing to the affair, the two woman began a relationship. This remained secret, but not because they were ashamed. Virginia’s publisher, Bloomsbury, held a strong opinion against lesbianism, and so their secrecy can be attributed to Virginia’s passion for her career and her writing. But although they kept their tryst on a strictly “need to know” basis, history has proven the affair without doubt.
In a letter from Virginia to Vita (Current day celebrity couple name…Virgita?) she described coming out to her sister Nessa - “I told Nessa the story of our passion in a chemists shop the other day. ‘But do you really like going to bed with women’ she said – taking her change. ‘And how’d you do it?’ and so she bought her pills to take abroad, talking as loud as a parrot.” And in another letter between the two, this excerpt - “Look here Vita — throw over your man, and we’ll go to Hampton Court and dine on the river together and walk in the garden in the moonlight and come home late and have a bottle of wine and get tipsy, and I’ll tell you all the things I have in my head, millions, myriads — They won’t stir by day, only by dark on the river. Think of that. Throw over your man, I say, and come.”
In fact, a quick Google search will pull up indisputable proof. But as there has never been a documented confession from the literary icon, it remains a romantic rumour along with the rest.
Speaking of romantic rumours, here’s one of the most controversial examples of potentially lesbian behaviour by a famous icon…
Marilyn Monroe4. Marilyn MonroeOK, please don’t shout at me/sue me. As possibly the most famous sex icon in history, it’s inevitable that someone would suggest that Ms Monroe experienced both sides of the proverbial coin. With whole pockets of the internet dedicated to this debate, and handfuls of people set on proving it, Marilyn makes my list on a strictly speculative basis. It’s also a good excuse to look at pictures of her on Google.
Marilyn Monroe (pictured with Jane Russell) has been rumoured to have had sexual encounters with many of history’s more famous actresses, including Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwick, Marlene Dietrich and many more. Betty Grable reported that Monroe would pursue her, and is quoted as finding her attention “sometimes scary”. The same story is told by Judy Garland, who apparently claimed Marilyn had propositioned her on many occsions. Which answers the question “If you could be any woman in history, who would you be?”. My answer would definitely be any woman that Marilyn Monroe hit on. And I’d be very easily persuaded.
For those of you that haven’t had the time to obsessively stalk Marilyn Monroe on the internet, she was well known for her crippling insecurities and the most convincing piece of information I have seen to prove her bisexuality would be a book written by actress Jane Lawrence – “My Little Secret” – which alleges her sexual relationship with Marilyn Monroe. Of course, it can be argued that these are all lies to sell books, but they’re pretty descriptive and enjoyable lies. Here’s my favourite excerpt…
Lawrence claims that one evening, Ms Monroe suddenly kissed her on her thigh, with a ‘mischievous twinkle in her eye’. “…The next few minutes became hazy, surreal and dream-like. My pulse leaped as Marilyn kissed my thigh again… she then leaned in and kissed me full on the lips, very softly and very slowly. I was nearly hyperventilating. We moved through the living room into the bedroom,” the story continues. “Marilyn used her tongue, lavishly flicking and licking, an entirely new sensation for me. With the girls I had enjoyed sex with, there was often a shyness and hesitancy, not the hunger and confidence Marilyn displayed.”
I’ll give you a minute to re-read that... OK, moving on. There is also testimony from Jean Negulesco, director of the Monroe film How To Marry A Millionaire. ‘She told me once she had never had an orgasm with a man in her entire life,’ he said. Notably adding “with a man”. Then there’s Natasha Lytess, her acting coach. Marilyn was famously very close with Lytess, and the rumour of their affair was enthusiastically circulated once she moved into Lytess’s apartment in 1950.
Anyway, there are hundreds of stories like this, which are possibly fictional but I, personally, am hoping they’re true. And if you need any more proof, go look it up yourself. What am I, an article writer or something? Last on the list, the least credible and my personal favourite possible lesbian from history.
Florence Nightingale5. Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale grew up at Embley Park, a manor house in Romsey, Hampshire which was later converted in to a school. The school which I attended.
So you can imagine the amount of time I spent learning about Ms Nightingale’s life, family and her incredible devotion to nursing and selfless care for others. However, alongside the ghost stories (it’s a boarding school) that we used to tell each other about her past patients haunting the halls, there was also a strong belief that Florence Nightingale lived and died a secret lesbian.
Now, let me be very clear – Florence Nightingale was deeply religious and took a vow of celibacy which lasted her whole life. I am not suggesting that this woman engaged in lesbian activity (my favourite kind of activity)… only that there is evidence that, had she not committed herself to God, she may have preferred the company of women. And who can blame her? Plus, remember, you don’t have to have sex to be gay… but it probably helps.
As the story goes, Florence was very close to her aunt, with Florence describing their relationship as “Like two lovers”. OK, so let’s ignore the obvious incest vibe, for arguments sake. We all know that back then, it was common to marry a cousin and so I guess they looked at things a little differently. Although her aunt married, she returned to Embley Park when Florence became an invalid later in life to nurse her, leaving her own husband and children behind.
Earlier in life, Florence also wrote of her cousin - “I have never loved but one person with with passion in my life, and that was her…” And then there’s her own memoir, in which she wrote - “I have lived and slept in the same beds with English Countesses and Prussian farm women. No woman has excited passions among women more than I have”.
Which sort of paints her as the alpha-lesbian of her time.
The truth, however, can never be certain. In her Victorian era, it would have been unheard of for her to live her life as a gay woman, and so I suppose it is believed this is why she chose a life of celibacy, refusing four marriage proposals. I think it’s tragic almost, that one of the most remarkable and progressive women of history was denied the happiness and freedom of living openly. If ever I decided anything growing up at Embley Park, in the home of the “Lady of the Lamp”, it was to count myself lucky that I get to be who I am. Openly. Especially since her accomplishments were vast and incredibly noble, whereas the most I’ve achieved so far to help mankind is promising to stop posting daily pictures of my cat on Facebook.
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Finally, the stigma around lesbianism/bisexuality is fading into history, as this generation fights tooth and (neatly trimmed) nail to banish homophobia for good. We may be the last generation in history to have to suffer through it, as “Gay/Lesbian” becomes as important to equal rights as being black, or a woman. As in, it’s not even relevant who/what you are, how you feel or choose to live your life. All human beings are equal.
Future generations are predicted to not even blink an eye when confronted with the question of ones sexuality. It will become just another fact about a person, a part of the building blocks that makes them uniquely and deliciously them. Homophobia will be a story of history, like “Did you know that our ancestors once made black people sit at the back of buses?”. Our story will be “Can you believe it, at one time you weren’t allowed to get married if you were the same sex?! How bizarre!”.
So as we wave goodbye to prejudice and the closed minds that have now (almost) been silenced, it’s worth taking a minute to offer a respectful nod to the gay women that have come before us. To those who weren’t allowed to be gay, to those who continued to do so regardless, and to those who fought so that lesbians today can live openly. With as many cats as we want.
Source"
PinkNews.