Frame and Preparation
Welches Interesse…
Conceptual Frames and Background
- Feminist movement in Germany
- Gender roles/women’s roles in society
- History of femininity and masculinity
- History of sexuality
- Lesbianism/female homosexuality
- Politics of gender and sexuality
- Marriage
- “Battle of the sexes”
Introduction
Anna Rüling (1880 – 1953) was a German lesbian-feminist journalist, who was one of the first openly lesbian activists in Germany and gave what is considered to be the first political speech about lesbianism in 1904, which is the subject of this module. Born into a middle-class family in Hamburg, she moved to Berlin in her twenties and worked and published for various homosexual organizations such as Magnus Hirschfeld’s famous Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee, the first organization of its kind in the world. During World War I, she became a nationalist and espoused right-wing political views, though she never joined the Nazi Party. She continued to work as a journalist until her death in 1953.
Preparation
Since this speech speaks directly to the women’s movement and to major debates in German feminism in around 1900, students should have a basic understanding of the main figures, debates, and battles in this movement during this time in order to better contextualize Rüling’s intervention. A familiarity with some of the major theories of (female) homosexuality during this period, such as those propagated by Richard von Kraft-Ebbing or Magnus Hirschfeld, will also help elucidate Rüling’s language, notions about sexuality and femininity, and motives.
Text and Discussion
Find a copy of the speech here.
Discussion Questions
- Rüling’s speech was the only about specifically lesbian concerns at a conference for sexology and sexual freedom. Who is her intended audience, and what does she hope to achieve with this speech?
- What is her major argument? What connections do the homosexual and feminist movements have or should have?
- What roles do or should lesbians play in these two movements? What is their place?
- How does Rüling define a female homosexual? What ideas of female homosexuality does she hold?
- How are gender roles and sexuality conflated in this speech?
- What differentiates the nature and condition of female homosexuals from those of male homosexuals?
- How does Rüling’s speech fit into the context of the feminist and homosexual movements around 1900?
- What similarities or differences do you see between her discussion about lesbianism and feminism and analogous debates in postwar American feminism?