Nelly Roussel

Who was Nelly Roussel?

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.