Ellen’s PhD thesis examines how women who desired women experienced marriage, motherhood, and divorce in post-World War II Britain. Motherhood within marriage has been a long-standing imperative for women. Ellen’s thesis will illustrate the strength of this imperative: that even women who desire women – who might be described as lesbian or bisexual – have been compelled by economic and social reasons to marry men. These women, who pass as heterosexual wives, are mostly invisible in society and in the scholarship: married mothers are assumed to be heterosexual, and lesbians are assumed to not marry men. Ellen’s research expands the identity of “lesbian” and “mother” and challenges what Western society considers “normal” and “heterosexual”.
Divorce is central to Ellen’s research; during divorce and custody proceedings married women who desired women became visible. She examines the effect of the common law on persons who never saw the inside of a courtroom and how common law’s interpretation of statute law that was not specific to homosexuality had a significant impact on women who desired women. Even though lesbianism between adult women was never criminalized in England, the lives of women who desire women have been, and continue to be, constrained under law and by society. By locating women who desire women within the institution of marriage, Ellen’s thesis will encourage scholars in multiple disciplines to re-examine motherhood within marriage in consideration that mothers are not always heterosexual.
Prior to obtaining her MA in Gender, Society and Representation at UCL in 2020, she has had a diverse career spanning three decades and multiple industries, including information technology, horse racing, and hospitality. Writing and publishing has been the consistent thread throughout Ellen’s business career. She has been responsible for producing entire libraries of end-user manuals and marketing materials for software products, a monthly newsletter for an industry association as the editor in chief, and numerous articles for national magazines.
PhD
Supervisor: Dr Rebecca Jennings (Primary Supervisor) and Dr Florence Braithwaite-Sutcliffe (Secondary Supervisor)
Working title: Lesbians’ Experiences of Marriage, Motherhood, and Divorce in England and Wales (1945-1999)
Expected completion date: 2025
Conference Papers and Seminars
- Lesbians and the Law: Restricting Lesbian Motherhood Outside the Nuclear Family in England and Wales: 1970-1999 presented at the Queer and Trans History Now Symposium at Oxford University (June 2024)
- “It’s just a phase”: Agony Aunts’ Reinforcement of Compulsory Heterosexuality in Britain 1960-1980 presented at Gender and Sexuality in Modern British History and Beyond at University of Birmingham (July 2024)
- Grassroots Support for Married Lesbian Mothers in England, 1970-1990 presented online at the AHRC Research Network Workshop: Agency and Advocacy: Locating Women’s Grassroots Activism in England and Ireland, 1918 to the Present (May 2024)
- Grassroots Support for Married Lesbian Mothers in England, 1970-1990, presented at the 26th Lesbian Lives Conference at the University of Sussex (March 2024)
- ‘Married Women who Desire Women: Experiences of Marriage, Motherhood, and Divorce in Postwar Britain’ presented at the qUCL PGR Work-in-Progress Seminar (July 2023)
- ‘’Marriage and Motherhood of Women who Desire Women in Post-World War II England’ presented at the Gender and Feminist Research Network at UCL (February 2023)
- ‘’Marriage and Motherhood of Women who Desire Women in Post-World War II England’ presented at the LGBTQ+ History Network at UCL (February 2023)
- ‘Women Who Desired Women and How They Negotiated Marriage, Motherhood, and Divorce in Post-war England’ presented at Mind the Gap: Building Bridges Between LGBTQIA+ Research and Realities at London School of Economics (July 2022)
- Lesbian Custody Cases in Post-war Britain presented at the Britain at Home and Abroad Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research (November 2021)
Teaching
- CMII0049 CMII/SELCS MA/MSc Workshops on Academic Writing: Developed and delivered 4 2-hour workshops to help students to understand the expectations of academic writing at the PG level. (February-March 2024)
- CMII0071 Moving Images! (MA Film Studies core course): As a guest lecturer, developed and delivered a lecture, titled Lesbian Representation in Hollywood Cinema: 1961 – Present, to 135 students. (January 2024)
- HIST0007 Writing History (BA History core course): As PGTA seminar leader of three groups of 8 students each, designed seminars on how to research and write history essays, including topics such as appropriate referencing, how and when to paraphrase, building an argument, and constructing a thesis statement. First marker. (October – December 2023)
- Dissertation Workshops in SELCS: Developed content and led 4 workshops to prepare 45 students to write their introduction and abstracts for their dissertations. (May 2023)
- CMII0071 Moving Images! (MA Film Studies core course): As a guest lecturer, developed and delivered a lecture, titled Lesbian Representation in Hollywood Cinema: 1961 – Present, to 80 students over 3 sessions. (January 2023)
- CMII0048/CMII0051 Multidisciplinary Approaches to Gender Studies (MA Gender, Society and Representation core course): As PGTA seminar co-leader of two reading groups, engaged students in discussions of theoretical concepts from selected articles. (January - March 2023)
- HIST0007 Writing History (BA History core course): As PGTA seminar leader of two groups of 8 students each, designed exercises to teach how to write history essays, including topics such as appropriate referencing, how and when to paraphrase, building an argument, and constructing a thesis statement. (October - December 2022)
Administrative Experience
- As PGR Faculty Representative for Social and Historical Sciences (2023-2024) surveyed PGTAs in SHS and Arts & Humanities.
- As the PhD Co-convenor of the Gender and Feminist Research Network (2023-2024) (remunerated position), organized a Queer Oral History Round Table of four eminent historians of queer (December 2023).
- Department of History Student Representative (2023-2025).
- For the LGBTQ History Network, acted in several roles as the student liaison, co-leader, and education officer (2021-2025)
PhD Co-convenor, Gender and Feminism Research Network (paid) (2023-2024)
- Organized a round table on queer oral history with 4 eminent oral historians.
Faculty PGR Representative, Social and Historical Sciences (2023-2024)
- Surveyed PGTAs in two faculties, summarised the findings in a report, and presented recommendations to both Deans.
- Surveyed PGR students in two faculties on the impact on their research from the cyber incident at the British Library and presented findings to the Joint Faculties Research Degrees Committee.
- Active member in the Students Union Education Zone.
- Shortlisted for UCL Academic Rep of the Year.
Department of History Student Representative (2023-2025)
- Negotiated for a more transparent selection process for two departmental scholarships.
- Upgraded security, access, and locker facilities in the PGR study space.
- Negotiated expanded office space for PGTAs.
Student Liaison and Co-leader, LGBTQ History Network (2023-2025)
- Arranged events for undergraduate and master student
- Represented the network to faculty.
Education Officer, LGBTQ History Network (2022 - 2023)
- Arranged events to engage queer students in queer British history.
Community Engagement
- Organized and led a voluntary Queering History Reading Group for undergraduate and postgraduate students at UCL
- Presented Psychiatric Research on Children of Lesbian Mothers to the Financial Reporting Council (February 2024)
- Presented her current research Marriage, Motherhood, and Divorce for Women Who Desired Women in England (1947-1994) to the South London Gays club (July 2023) and Older and Out in Brighton (August 2023)
- Volunteer at Queer Britain, UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum, answering visitors’ questions and speaking to tour groups about the role of the early gay press in England (2022 – present)
- Donated her time, energy, and expertise to a national charitable organization (The Canadian Cancer Society) for which she was the co-chair of the community outreach program for LGBTQ+, First Nations, and immigrant populations (2011-2019)
Professional Affiliations
- Member of the Royal Historical Society
- Member of the Oral History Society, LGTQ+ Special Interest Group
- Member of the History Lab+