Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon

In this illuminating debut biography, journalist Catterall aims to reestablish the legacy of Amelia Bloomer (1818–1894) as “a vital link in the early women’s movement” rather than just “a dowdy fashion plate.” Born into a large family in rural New York, Bloomer (née Jenks) had little formal education. However, after she married Dexter Bloomer in 1840, he encouraged her to write for his New York pro-temperance newspaper. Involvement in temperance led Bloomer to suffragism; in 1849 she began publishing her own paper, The Lily, which quickly gained attention from prominent suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Bloomer soon became a much-requested speaker and began making appearances across the country. In 1851, when activist Libby Miller adopted trousers, Stanton and Bloomer began wearing the pants to speaking engagements, touting their comfort and health benefits (they were less restrictive than corsets and didn’t get bogged down in mud as skirts did). The garments promptly came to be known as “bloomers,” likely because Bloomer not only wore them but promoted them in The Lily. Her name would be forever tied to them, though as Catterall shows by detailing her subject’s speaking engagements and travel (which, in a fascinating aside, she notes was only made possible because of the newly built railroad system), Bloomer played a pivotal role in the spread of suffragist ideas. This is a worthwhile reconsideration of an overlooked figure. (Mar.)