Did eleanor roosevelt have a gay affair
Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok
These photos come from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum. They all fall under public domain, as per the organization's website.
About the couple:
Eleanor Roosevelt's name may ring a familiar bell for history lovers. She was the First Lady of the Combined States and wife to President Franklin D. Roosevelt! Therefore, it may be surprising to learn of her long rumored romantic relationship with Lorena Hickok.
The women met when Hickok, a prominent news writer, was tasked to compose articles about the President and his wife. It is thought that the two soon caught feelings for each other, and Hickok left the newspaper because she feared she was compromising her journalistic integrity4. However, the women didn't separate after she left her job -- instead, she moved into the White House and started working as a staff member4.
For obvious reasons (Roosevelt's marriage and homophobia), their romantic relationship was never publically confirmed. However, the two women did participate a strong bond, as evidenced in their many, many letters3 -- two of which are featured
The Love Affair Between Eleanor Roosevelt and Journalist Lorena “Hick” Hickok
In this episode of Listen, Ladies, host Maryalice Aymong talks to author Susan Quinn to discuss her fascinating guide, Eleanor and Hick: The Like Affair That Shaped a First Lady. Quinn’s enormous research highlights Roosevelt’s connection with Lorena Hickok, whom she initially encountered when Hickok was working as a reporter. Their bond has been somewhat defeated to history, but Quinn brings their romance and friendship to life in our interview and in the book. Her write is also set to become a TV series.
Below is an excerpt from her interview. To listen to the whole episode, download Listen, Ladies in iTunes.
Listen, Ladies (LL): Eleanor Roosevelt is acknowledged as a woman profoundly ahead of her hour. She is someone who fundamentally changed the role of First Lady. She tirelessly advocated for human rights and against racism, as well as the most remote causes, appreciate helping people out of poverty and supporting the military. She ultimately became the chair of the United Nations, Human Rights Commission. Beyond her common role, Eleanor Roosevelt was a passionate person and friend, w
Was Eleanor Roosevelt a Lesbian?
In Bros, which may or may not be the first major homosexual rom-com, Billy Eichner’s character is active on another huge first, opening the first major LGBTQ history museum. As part of that job, he spends much of the film discussing whether various historical figures were gay, including Abraham Lincoln and the ancient Egyptian pairing of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum. (In both of those cases it depends who you seek, and what you mean by “gay.”) Those of us who haven’t been watching The First Lady on Showtime (which is a lot of us) may be surprised to hear Eleanor Roosevelt among these names. In evidence, at one signal, the movie refers to her outright as “lesbian first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.” She was? In order to receive some answers, Slate spoke to Susan Quinn, author of Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Heather Schwedel: I think it will be news to some people to hear the movie casually outline Eleanor Roosevelt as a lesbian.
Susan Quinn: I can reveal you a tiny bit about how I came to the conclusion that she did hold a love affair, a very essential love affair, wit
Eleanor Roosevelt’s partnership with Lorena Hickok has been a source of controversy since the days it was happening in real-time. Were they secret lovers? Merely close friends? The topic has been endlessly debated. White Houses assumes that they were lovers, which seems fair, and purports to tell the story of their connection. And it does, but not in the way one supposed and not as directly as one might possess expected.
White Houses is much more a fictionalized version of Hickok’s life. It tells the story of her abusive childhood and her mother’s death, continuing into her operate as a housekeeper before escaping her father once and for all to strike out on her own in the world. Bloom inserts an odd interlude where Hickok literally runs off with the circus. There, she has a bit of an affair with an intersex circus worker and feels intrigued by a girl with lobster hands. Bloom intends to suffuse the circus’ freak display with Hickok’s sexual awakening as a lesbian, but the whole affair (no pun intended) feels both glaringly unsubtle and alarmingly out of place.
Eventually, Hickok becomes one of the nation
Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickok's love affair addressed in novel White Houses
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt is remembered as an activist, diplomat and the wife of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt.
But she is seldom consideration of as a lover.
In a new novel, American author Amy Bloom explores the rumoured real-life connection between Eleanor Roosevelt and female journalist Lorena Hickok.
In media reports and history books, the two women have often been described as "close friends".
But Bloom, who has pored through the thousands of letters the women exchanged, says there is no mistrust they were in love.
"We have 3,000 letters between them which are heated and passionate and exactly the kind of letters you expect lovers who are still in the first blush of a romance to exchange with each other," she says.
The letters began in 1932 and continued for three decades. At some points in their relationship the women were sending each other two letters a day.
They have been publicly available since the 1970s.
In one, Roosevelt writes, "I ache to hold you close. Your ring is of great comfort. I look at it and think she does adore m