Talk:Lorena Hickok

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Eleanor Hickok Discussion

[edit] Relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt

An unnamed contributor changed my description from

"...anAmerican journalist and confidant of Eleanor Roosevelt with whom she had a romantic relationship starting in 1928"

"...an American journalist and confidant of Eleanor Roosevelt with whom she probably had a romantic relationship starting in 1928" (emphasis added)

I have reverted it. This is as well established an historic fact as any, and the only reason anyone would put it in question is the unreasonably high standard with which we judge homosexual relationships as opposed to heterosexual relationships.

Roosevelt's relationship with Lorena Hickok is testified to in countless documentation, including over 2000 letters written by Roosevelt to "Hick" that include such sentiments as "I wish I could like down beside you and take you in my arms. I can't kiss you so I kiss your picture good night and good morning," as well as letters from Hickok to Roosevelt, including "I love the feeling of that soft spot just northeast of the corner of your mouth against my lips."

In these letters the two women discuss a future in which they would share a home and blend their lives into one.

Blanche Wiesen Cook, Eleanor Roosevelt's biographer, said in an interview with PBS "Well, the fact is, we can never know what people do in the privacy of their own rooms. The door is closed. The blinds are drawn. We don't know. I leave it up to the reader. But there's no doubt in my mind that they loved each other, and this was an ardent, loving relationship between two adult women" Jliberty 13:12, Feb 7, 2005 (UTC)

 It is very strange to me that these two women were lesbians. Maybe not Ms. Hickock but Mrs.  
 Roosevelt due to the simple fact that this was not suggested during the time of their        
 intense relationship. Mrs. Roosevelt also would not put her career plans on hold for the 
 woman she "loved." If Eleanor Roosevelt truly loved this woman, she would have done 
 everything in her powers to make this lady happy and to be with her. That's how a 
 relationship 
 works, I know for a fact a heterosexual relationship does, and probably so does a homosexual
 relationship. Love is a game of give and take and many, many compromises. 04:38, May 31, 
 2005 (UTC)

Your queasiness and assumptions about "how relationships work" are not criteria for editing articles. The relationship is well documented, and you may want to read a bit about the measures taken by queer lovers in that era to avoid discovery and persecution. Jliberty 10:36, May 31, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] External sources

Hickok & Roosevelt A Love Story

Interview with Blanche Wiessen Cook

Blanche Weisen Cook: A Tribute to Lorena Hickok (audio)

Empty without You: The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok

It doesn't surprise me that they were in a romantic relationship. Eleanor was a free woman to herself and needed someone and more than a friendship , a lover. I have read all the books written about both woman. Being a lesbian myself in the early 1990's , in my area I had to keep it to myself. Often woman get married before they realize their true feelings. It must have been so hard trying to work around your emotions with the entire world watching. For Lorena to stand behind her and push her own feelings aside... is more than any man would have done for her. Janet Smith janet0124314@yahoo.com