Urania (journal)

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Background

Many of the editors of the journal were connected through the Aëthnic Union, a short-lived radical feminist group formed in 1911. [3]

History

Urania's intention was to challenge gender stereotypes and advance the abolishment of the gender binary. [4] each issue was headed with the statement: "There are no 'men' or 'women' in Urania." [5] "Sex is an accident" was a term frequently used in the journal. [6]

It was privately published by D. R. Mitra, Manoranjan Press, Bombay. [7]

The journal remained private for its 24-year history; a distributors' note at the end of each edition stated "Urania is not published, nor offered to the public, but [...] can be had by friends." [8] Urania's editors deliberately fostered an informal network of supporters and sympathisers, encouraging readers to send in their names to a register. [9] The journal claimed to have a circulation of around 250 [10] and was distributed free of charge. [11] University college libraries in Oxford, Cambridge, and America stocked Urania, although some Oxford women’s colleges banned the publication. [11]

Content

Amongst other content, the journal published articles about feminist movements around the world [12] and compiled information about successful gender-reassignment surgeries. [13]

Legacy

The Women's Library at the London School of Economics digitised the run of Urania from 1919 to 1940 and published it online in 2023. [14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ O’Connor, Sarah; Shepard, Christopher C., eds. (2009). Women, Social and Cultural Change in Twentieth Century Ireland: Dissenting Voices?. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-4438-0693-0.
  2. ↑ Steele, Karen (2018). "Ireland and Sapphic Journalism between the Wars: A Case Study of Urania". In Clay, Catherine; DiCenzo, Maria; Green, Barbara; Hackney, Fiona (eds.). Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1918–1939: The Interwar Period. The Edinburgh History of Women's Periodical Culture in Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 388. doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474412537.001.0001. ISBN   978-1-4744-1254-4.
  3. ↑ Tiernan, Sonja (2011). "Challenging Presumptions of Heterosexuality: Eva Gore-Booth, A Biographical Case Study". Historical Reflections. 37 (2): 58–71. doi:10.3167/hrrh.2011.370205. JSTOR   41403720.
  4. ↑ Carey, Niamh. "The Politics of Urania". Glasgow Women's Library. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. ↑ Hamer, Emily (2016). Britannia's Glory: A History of Twentieth Century Lesbians. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 69. ISBN   978-1-4742-9280-1.
  6. ↑ "Talking Back". Historic England. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  7. ↑ Smith, Judith Ann (2008). Genealogies of desire: "Uranianism", mysticism and science in Britain, 1889-1940 (Thesis). University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0066742.
  8. ↑ Succi, Giorgia (2017-03-14). "Urania: How to be a bad XXs feminist and a queer angel in the 20s". Glasgow Women's Library. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  9. ↑ Oram, Alison (2001-06-01). "Feminism, Androgyny and Love between Women in Urania, 1916-1940". Media History. 7 (1): 57–70. doi:10.1080/1368800120048245. ISSN   1368-8804. PMID   21046841. S2CID   36188888.
  10. ↑ Clay, Catherine, ed. (2018). Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1918-1939: The Interwar Period. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 389. ISBN   978-1-4744-1254-4.
  11. 1 2 White, Jenny (2021-05-18). "Jenny White reflects on the legacy of Urania". LSE Review of Books. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  12. ↑ Steer, Emily (2016-09-12). "5 Questions with Olivia Plender". ELEPHANT.art. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  13. ↑ Tiernan, Sonja; McAuliffe, Mary, eds. (2009). Sapphists and Sexologists; Histories of Sexualities. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 65. ISBN   978-1-4438-0838-5.
  14. ↑ "Urania - LSE Digital Library". lse-atom.arkivum.net. Retrieved 2023-11-13.

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