Towards the end of the 19th century, women in the United States gained increasing access to higher education and to such professions as social work and teaching, achieving greater independence. For many women, this meant the opportunity to establish a life for themselves outside of heterosexual marriage. For some, it led to long-term partnerships with other women. Many women in this cohort were also involved in social reform efforts, working with immigrants, pushing for labor reform, or fighting for women's right to vote. Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr were part of this emerging group of women when they started their work at Hull House among immigrant communities in Chicago. Hull House was a "settlement house," a community center where middle-class women involved in social reform lived and provided social services for poorer neighborhoods.

For many years, historians were unwilling to consider the importance and potential sexual aspects of relationships among middle-class and elite women like Addams and Starr. For example, one of Addams' biographers wrote that "she gave her life, money, and talents to the interests of the poor" and remained largely untouched by the passionate currents that swirled around her. "Life eluded her forever." However, Addams' correspondence with Starr and with her second long-term partner Mary Rozet Smith, are full of expressions of vibrant love and real intimacy. In 1902, Addams wrote to Smith, "You must know, dear, how I long for you all the time." There is a reason in the habit of married folks keeping together." When they travelled together, Addams always wired ahead to arrange for a double bed, and, in 1904, they purchased a home together in Maine.

Sources: Faderman 1991 , Miller