Urania (journal)
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 Front page of the May–August 1936 edition | |
| Discipline | Feminism |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Eva Gore-Booth, Esther Roper, Irene Clyde, Dorothy Cornish and Jessey Wade |
| Publication details | |
| History | 1916–1940 |
| Publisher | Private |
| Frequency | Bimonthly, triannually |
| Standard abbreviations | |
| ISO 4 | Urania |
Urania was a privately circulated feminist gender studies journal, published between 1916 and 1940. Editors included Eva Gore-Booth, Esther Roper, Irene Clyde, Dorothy Cornish, and Jessey Wade.[1] It was published bimonthly from 1916 to 1920, then triannually due to high costs.[2]
Many of the editors of the journal were connected through the Aëthnic Union, a short-lived radical feminist group formed in 1911.[3]
History
Urania's intention was to challenge gender stereotypes and advance the abolishment of the gender binary.[4] each issue was headed with the statement: "There are no 'men' or 'women' in Urania."[5] "Sex is an accident" was a term frequently used in the journal.[6]
It was privately published by D. R. Mitra, Manoranjan Press, Bombay.[7]
The journal remained private throughout its 24-year history; a distributors' note at the end of each issue stated that "Urania is not published, nor offered to the public, but [...] can be had by friends."[8] Urania's editors deliberately built an informal network of supporters and sympathisers, encouraging readers to submit their names to a register.[9] The journal claimed a circulation of around 250[10] and was distributed free of charge.[11] University college libraries in Oxford, Cambridge and the United States stocked Urania, although some Oxford women's colleges banned the publication.[11]
Content
Amongst other content, the journal published articles about feminist movements around the world[12] and compiled information about successful gender-reassignment surgeries.[13]
Legacy
The Women's Library at the London School of Economics digitised the run of Urania from 1919 to 1940 and published it online in 2023.[14]