lesbian history
On this day December 7: death of painter Romaine Brooks
On December 7, 1970, 96-year-old painter Romaine Brooks died in France. Mainly a portraitist, she achieved renown for subdued paintings of defiantly androgynous women often attired in traditionally male clothing. The artist donated many works to the Smithsonian American Art Museum where they remain in the permanent collection. The painter’s alcoholic father deserted the family …
Maud Allan & The Cult of the Clitoris: the trial of the century
A 1918 newspaper article headlined The Cult of the Clitoris destroyed the career of the most famous dancer on Earth. It implied that Maud Allan was both a lesbian and a dangerous femme fatale, undermining the British war effort by encouraging sexual deviance. Total tomfuckery. The suggestion Maud Allan influenced World War I was ludicrous. …
Two Women: Dr Lilian Cooper and Josephine Bedford
Phyllis Cilento has, in recent years, been lauded as Queensland’s great female medical pioneer, a title that rightfully belongs to another woman. However, the true story of Queensland’s ground-breaking female medical pioneer is a tale of not one, but two magnificent women, Lilian Cooper and Josephine Bedford. “This is the story of Lilian Violet Cooper, …