Almeda Sperry

Almeda Sperry
Born
Almeda Sode

July 13, 1879
Pennsylvania
Died10 September 1957(1957-09-10) (aged 78)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPolitical activist
Known forWrote passionate love letters to fellow anarchist Emma Goldman

Almeda Sperry (1879–1957) was an American anarchist, political activist, and former prostitute.[1] She is known for the passionate love letters she wrote to fellow anarchist Emma Goldman.[2] The letters allude to past sexual encounters between the two women, although the extent to which Goldman may have reciprocated the romantic feelings expressed by Sperry is unknown.[3][4]

Personal life

Sperry was born Almeda Sode (or Sodi) in Pennsylvania to Alsatian parents Christian Sode (or Sodi) and Barbara Treitz[5][6] and married on November 26, 1902[7] to an Ohio machinist Fred Sperry. Together, the couple lived for most of the duration of their marriage in Pittsburgh.[8]

Her love letters to Emma Goldman dating from 1912 reveal much about her personal life: her sexuality, contempt for men, occupation as a prostitute, and financial standing. On her sexuality, she says "I fear I never will love any man. I've seen too much and I am no fool."[9] By the same token, she was emotionally devoted to her husband Fred. In the same letter, she spoke about her prostitution: "I have absolutely no reciprocation as far as passion is concerned for a man who pays me for sex." In her letters, however, she expressed respect for a man - one Alexander Berkman, who was also Goldman's close friend.[10]

Scholars debate whether Sperry and Goldman had a romantic relationship since the latter did not acknowledge it in her autobiography.[11][12][13] Sperry's letters, however, showed her romantic and sexual feelings toward Goldman.[11]

Sperry died September 10, 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[5]

Activism

Sperry first became an activist after hearing anarchist Emma Goldman give a speech on white slavery, at least by the year 1912.[10] She became active in union organizing and advocated to bring sex education to students in her school district.[14] She also wrote for several radical newspapers. Her written works showed insights on her position on the oppression of women, her lesbian longings, and her inclination to follow her passions.[14]

References

  1. ^ Brownmiller, Susan. "Red Emma—The private life of a (not quite) public woman." White Plains, New York: The Journal News, November 4, 1984, p. 95 (subscription required).
  2. ^ Card, Claudia. Lesbian Choices, p. 63. New York, New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
  3. ^ Katz, Jonathan Ned. "Almeda Sperry to Emma Goldman: 1912". OutHistory. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Marso, Lori J. "Considering Emma Goldman: Feminist Political Ambivalence and the Imaginative Archive. By Clare Hemmings. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2018," in Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 775-776. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906–1964 for Almeda Sperry
  6. ^ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3M9-S96 : accessed 19 April 2017), Almeda Sode in household of Christrian J. Sode, Baldwin Township, Precinct 4, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 341, sheet 4B, family 82, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,365.
  7. ^ "Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709–1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2D5-JZM : 6 December 2014), Fred D. Sherry and Almeda E. Sode, 26 Nov 1902; citing Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; FHL microfilm 878,603.
  8. ^ "Almeda Sperry". Gay History Wiki. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  9. ^ Katz, Jonathan Ned. "Almeda Sperry to Emma Goldman: 1912". OutHistory. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Garber, Marjorie (2013). Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life. New York: Routledge. p. 75. ISBN 978-0415926614.
  11. ^ a b Weiss, Penny A.; Kensinger, Loretta (November 1, 2010). Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman. University Park, PA: Penn State Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-271-02976-4.
  12. ^ Hungerford, Amy. "Women's History Month: 'Sex Talk' Speaks Volumes," in The Gazette. Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins, University, March 11, 1996 (retrieved online February 12, 2023).
  13. ^ Miller Jennifer. "Considering Emma Goldman: Feminist Political Ambivalence and the Imaginative Archive by Clare Hemmings (review)," in Journal for the Study of Radicalism, Vol. 14, No., 2, Fall 2020, pp. 192-194. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press.
  14. ^ a b Falk, Candace (2019). Love, Anarchy, & Emma Goldman: A Biography. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-1-9788-0647-4.