Nelly Roussel
Encyclopedia
Nelly Roussel was a free thinker, anarchist, and feminist. Born in France
, Roussel became the first feminist spokeswoman for birth control in Europe. She was a Neo-Malthusian. Members of the Neo-Malthusian movement, led by Paul Robin, believed that birth control held the answer to preventing natural disaster, poverty, and suffering by artificially regulating the population. She delivered her messages on birth control, motherhood, women's place in the capitalist system, and women's rights within the home through public lectures, journalism, and theatre. She had support, but political resistance to her message revealed conservative perceptions about gender among the French. She was a political activist. In the years following World War I, Roussel died from tuberculosis
. She wanted to give women control over their own bodies and sexuality. Her radical position on women’s rights wasn't recognized for another seventy-five years. Roussel was a first-wave feminist. She spoke out about private and public issues.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Roussel became the first feminist spokeswoman for birth control in Europe. She was a Neo-Malthusian. Members of the Neo-Malthusian movement, led by Paul Robin, believed that birth control held the answer to preventing natural disaster, poverty, and suffering by artificially regulating the population. She delivered her messages on birth control, motherhood, women's place in the capitalist system, and women's rights within the home through public lectures, journalism, and theatre. She had support, but political resistance to her message revealed conservative perceptions about gender among the French. She was a political activist. In the years following World War I, Roussel died from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. She wanted to give women control over their own bodies and sexuality. Her radical position on women’s rights wasn't recognized for another seventy-five years. Roussel was a first-wave feminist. She spoke out about private and public issues.