Sewing circles
Encyclopedia
A group of people, especially women, who meet regularly for the purpose of sewing, often for charitable causes.
Sewing circles is a phrase used (by Marlene Dietrich
, for instance ) to describe the underground, closeted
lesbian
and bisexual film actresses and their relationships in Hollywood, United States
, particularly during Hollywood's golden age from the 1910s to the 1950s.
Numerous actresses of that age lived double lives, often becoming involved in lavender marriage
s to hide their true sexuality. Many actresses, despite their attraction to and love for women, eventually succumbed to societal pressures and married men. Others, who are legends today, remained in sexual and romantic relationships with women all their lives, including Jean Acker
, Judith Anderson
, Katharine Cornell
, Lynn Fontanne
, Eva Le Gallienne
, Patsy Kelly
, Pepi Lederer
, and Alla Nazimova
. Many others, who were equally famous, were simply bisexual, such as Louise Brooks
, Tallulah Bankhead
, Joan Crawford
, Dolores del Rio
, Marlene Dietrich
, Peggy Fears
, Greta Garbo
, Janet Gaynor
, Katharine Hepburn
, Lena Horne
, Beatrice Lillie
, Hattie McDaniel
, Barbara Stanwyck
, and Laurette Taylor
.
The phrase has since been used to describe actresses of that period. The underground lesbian and bisexual women's culture surge during those decades prompted a social backlash, including what would become known as The Hays Code, which called for "no immorality or impropriety on screen, only chaste kisses and heterosexual actors". The Code's ideology made it clear: bisexual and lesbian women were considered immoral, and thus the Code continued the shunning of bisexual and lesbian women.
Sewing circles is a phrase used (by Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, for instance ) to describe the underground, closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and bisexual film actresses and their relationships in Hollywood, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly during Hollywood's golden age from the 1910s to the 1950s.
Numerous actresses of that age lived double lives, often becoming involved in lavender marriage
Lavender marriage
Lavender marriage is a type of male-female marriage of convenience in which the couple are not both heterosexual and conceal the homosexual or bisexual orientation of one or both spouses...
s to hide their true sexuality. Many actresses, despite their attraction to and love for women, eventually succumbed to societal pressures and married men. Others, who are legends today, remained in sexual and romantic relationships with women all their lives, including Jean Acker
Jean Acker
Jean Acker was an American film actress with a career dating from the silent film era through the 1950s. She was perhaps best known as the estranged wife of silent film star Rudolph Valentino.-Early life and career:...
, Judith Anderson
Judith Anderson
Dame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian-born American-based actress of stage, film and television. She won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.-Early life:...
, Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
, Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
, Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
, Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
, Pepi Lederer
Pepi Lederer
Pepi Lederer was an American actress and writer. She was the niece of actress Marion Davies.-Early life & career:Josephine Rose Lederer was born in Chicago in 1910 and later formally adopted the name...
, and Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
. Many others, who were equally famous, were simply bisexual, such as Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
, Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Dolores del Rio
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Peggy Fears
Peggy Fears
Peggy Fears was an American actress, who appeared in Broadway musical comedies during the 1920s and 1930s before becoming a Broadway producer.-Theater:Leaving New Orleans at the age of 16, she attended the Semple School...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
, Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
, Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, and Laurette Taylor
Laurette Taylor
Laurette Taylor was an American stage and silent film actress.-Personal life:Laurette Taylor was born in New York City of Irish extraction as Loretta Helen Cooney.-Personal life:...
.
The phrase has since been used to describe actresses of that period. The underground lesbian and bisexual women's culture surge during those decades prompted a social backlash, including what would become known as The Hays Code, which called for "no immorality or impropriety on screen, only chaste kisses and heterosexual actors". The Code's ideology made it clear: bisexual and lesbian women were considered immoral, and thus the Code continued the shunning of bisexual and lesbian women.