Arria Ly

Arria Ly (real name Joséphine Gondon; March 24, 1881 – December 19, 1934) was a journalist, writer, lecturer and radical French feminist in the early twentieth century. Ly, who was known for her aggressive and impassioned rhetoric style, popularized radical feminist ideas, arguing for perpetual celibacy and putting forth a robust anti-marriage campaign. She gained notoriety nationally in France in the aftermath of the famous 1911 Ly-Massat affair. The two women regularly sent letters to one another, sharing ideas and providing advice. Her article was published alongside a letter written by journalist Louis Casalé which suggested that Ly's arguments for unconditional celibacy served as evidence of her lesbianism. Casalé's writing, originally published in the Toulouse Reporter, another radical-socialist newspaper, attributed the extreme nature of Ly's call for celibacy to her own corrupted personality. Casalé argued that Ly harbored a hatred for men because they were never interested in her and, in turn, became a lesbian. As that loss weighed on her, she informed several close confidants of her intention to kill herself. In preparation, she compiled all of her writings and ensured their preservation in an archive. Ly first attempted to kill herself on October 31, 1934 when she jumped into the freezing cold water of the Baltic Sea carrying her mother's ashes. However, her attempt failed when a passerby pulled her from the water. Ly's second and final attempt came immediately after she was discharged from the hospital. Carrying her mothers ashes, she jumped from a 16-story building in Stockholm and fell to her death.

Legacy

Ly's ideas are unique in their seamless intertwining of concerns related to the self, sex and politics. Although her conceptualization of perpetual virginity and her arguments against marriage were not well received in the context of France's population crisis, her radical stances and aggressive behavior in the Ly-Massat affair distinguished her from mainstream feminists and sparked broader debates which highlighted fears surrounding the growth of a population of unwed middle-class women in the France. Ly's ideas continued to echo through later waves of radical feminism, influencing activists such as Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millett, and Catharine MacKinnon.