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Mary Sophia Allen is known as a suffragette turned pioneer policewoman in the UK, but she swerved onto a detour unlike many of her compatriots from the fight for women’s right to vote. Concerned with communism, nudity, and a narrowed focus on a subset of victims of human trafficking, she became a fascist in spite of the ideology going against much of her her own existence as a lesbian and woman. Today, we’re going to be discussing how exactly happened.
Sources (Used/Consulted/Read Along the Way)
From Suffragette to Fascist: The Many Lives of Mary Sophia Allen by Nina Boyd
The Pioneer Policewoman by Mary S. Allen
A Woman at the Cross Roads by Mary S. Allen
Lady in Blue by Mary S. Allen
“In History: Suffragettes speak about direct action and their brutal treatment” by Lindsey Baker on BBC’s website
Feminine Fascism: Women in Britain’s Fascist Movement by Julie V. Gottlieb
“Hurrah for the Blackshirts!”: Fascists and Fascism in Britain Between the Wars by Martin Pugh
Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John by Sally Cline