Almeda Sperry

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]

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

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. 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. Garber, Marjorie (2013). Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life. New York: Routledge. p. 75. ISBN 978-0415926614.
  11. 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. Falk, Candace (2019). Love, Anarchy, & Emma Goldman: A Biography. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-1-9788-0647-4.
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