Wendy The Druid

Wendy The Druid

LGBTQIA+

Queer History 104: Martha May Eliot & Ethel Collins Dunham

Two brilliant women who revolutionized medicine while sharing one bed and one beautiful life

Wendy The Druid πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸŒˆ's avatar
Wendy The Druid πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸŒˆ
May 09, 2025
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Let me tell you about a love story so powerful it saved millions of children's lives. Martha May Eliot and Ethel Collins Dunham weren't just pioneering scientists in a time when women were told to shut up and make babiesβ€”they were soulmates who supported each other through nearly six decades of groundbreaking work, homophobia, and institutional sexism. Their love letters tell a story of passion so deep it changed the fucking course of medical history.

Ethel Collins Dunham - Wikipedia

When I think about these two women finding each other in the early 1900sβ€”holding hands under tables at medical conferences, stealing kisses between hospital rounds, and building a home together despite the judgment of their peersβ€”I'm not just impressed. I'm goddamn moved to tears. This is the kind of queer history that reminds us we've always been here, always been brilliant, always been changing the world even when the world tried to erase us.

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