26. A Royal Troublemaker in King Kristina of Sweden

What better way to start off the cold, wintery season than with a new episode of History Is Gay and a trip to, as Rene Descartes said, the land of rocks and ice and bears? For this episode, Leigh is joined by fantabulous guest host V Silverman to explore the fascinating history of King Kristina of Sweden. A probably nonbinary, most likely asexual, definitely biromantic monarch of 17th century Sweden, Kristina was known for their aesthetic tastes, insatiable hunger for knowledge, and absolutely atrocious spending habits. Follow our hosts as they track Kristina’s claiming of power, conversion to Catholicism, cavorting around Europe, and countercultural influence, with a few pit stops and power-grabs along the way.

Hey look, a guest host!

Meet V!

V is awesome. Friend of the pod, they are the fantastic artist behind our Geographic Queers gear designs, and joins us for the most delightfully genderqueer episode chock full of they/thems. V is also the co-host of the fantastic podcast Fuzzy Logic, an educational-ish, comedy-ish podcast where the hosts know very little about a whole lot. Listen, learn, and LOL! You can find more things from V at their website, or check them out on twitter @nikeagxy!

A Closer Look at King Kristina of Sweden

A rare portrait of a young Kristina, by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, at 14 years old and uncharacteristically in a wig and feminine clothing.

A portrait of Kristina, by Sébastien Bourdon

Christina of Sweden by Sébastien Bourdon, 1653. This was Kristina’s favorite painting and hung in their bedroom to the end of their life.

The maidenly Belle, and Kristina’s intimate lady-in-waiting, Ebba Sparre.

Kristina and the Saumais playing a prank on poor Ebba Sparre, making her unwittingly read from a raunchy novel aloud. The GUFFAWS!

Axel Oxy-boy!

Kristina (on the left side of the right table), in an argument with Rene Descartes, in a romanticized painting by Nils Forsberg (1842-1934), after Pierre-Louis Dumesnil the Younger (1698-1781)

A portrait of Kristina in their later years, circa 1685.

And lastly, Kristina again in their elder years, rocking that badass androgynous style.

A Selection of Kristina’s Maxims:

• “We should be more miserly with our time than with our money”

• “It is more difficult to do evil than to do good”

• “Custom makes us insensible to almost everything”

• “We should never believe anything we have not dared to doubt”

• “A prince must think of himself a slave crowned by the people”

• “Happiness does not lie in the opinions of others”

• “Life is too short for love”

• “It requires more courage to marry than to go to war”

• “Patience is the virtue of those that lack either courage or force”
  

If you want to learn more about Kristina of Sweden, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

• Christina, Queen of Sweden. Maxims of a Queen, Christina of Sweden (1626-89).

• Queen Christina of Sweden, Lesbian Troublemaker

• Encyclopedia Britannica: Christina Queen of Sweden

• A Journal of the Swedish Embassy in the Years 1653 and 1654, Vol. II by Whitlocke

• GLBTQ Archive: Sweden

Books and Print Articles:

• Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric by Veronica Buckley

• Queer, There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

• Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman

• Who’s Who in Gay & Lesbian History ed. Robert Aldrich & Garry Wotherspoon

• “Two Portraits of a Queen: Calderón and the Enigmatic Christina of Sweden” by Deborah Compte, Hispanic Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1

• “Christina of Sweden's Patronage of Bernini: The Mirror of Truth Revealed by Time” by Lilian H. Zirpolo, Woman’s Art Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1

• Beneath the surface: the portraiture and visual rhetoric of Sweden's Queen Christina” by Nathan Alan Popp, University of Iowa

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

25. Chrysanthemums and Golden Bums: Male Love in Pre-Modern Japan

That’s right, Leigh and Gretchen are back with another delightful look at the history of homosexuality in East Asian history! Episode 3 explored homosexuality in Ancient China but this time, they’re heading over to Japan to take a closer look at Buddhism, samurai tradition, and the economy shaped homosexuality in the Tokugawa shogunate. But it’s not all context, you’ll laugh along with us at some of the monks’ exploits, swoon over romantic queer poetry, and peer into the delights of the floating world.. The tales we read were not shy in expressing intimate details (and you know we’re not shy in reading them!), so strap in for an exciting look at the rich history of male and female homosexuality in Japan!

As with our episode on China, many of the woodblock prints featured below are highly erotic and most likely NSFW. We will put those at the very end, but it might be best to save these for your living room, not your office!

Timeline of Japanese Time Periods Discussed in This Episode

Heian Period (784-1185 CE)
Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE)
Muromachi Period (1333-1573 CE)
Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603 CE)
Edo Period aka The Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868 CE)

A Closer Look at Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan

“Man and youth,” Miyagawa Isshō. ca. 1750. Note that the style and color of the kimono on the left would have been appropriate for youths of all genders, but not adult males. The kimono and hairstyle thus declares the youth to be the wakashu partner, and his exposed feet denote a sexual demeanor.

Nishikawa Sukenobu. ca. 1716–1735. A wakashu (center) steals a kiss from a female sex worker (right) behind the back of his male patron (left).

NSFW Woodblock Prints from Tokugawa Japan

hishikawa moronobu, Shunga. Early 1680s. A man reclines with one wakashu and converses with another. This is Possibly the first nanshoku erotic print, as well as an early example of a hand-colored ukiyo-e print in the shunga (erotic) style

"Client Lubricating a Prostitute" (while another peers through), Kitagawa Utamaro. late 18th Century. The caption of this illustration reads, no joke, “Pardon me if I tear your ass…”

Miyagawa Choshun (1683-1753),from “A Rare and Important Nanshoku (Male-Male) Shunga Handscroll.” 18th Century. Note the Chrysanthemums on the chigo’s Kimono (Right/Bottom).

Miyagawa Choshun (1683-1753),from “A Rare and Important Nanshoku (Male-Male) Shunga Handscroll.” 18th Century. That feel when you’re about to write a letter but decide a threesome is better.

Suzuki Harunobu, from "Shunga", A series of 24 erotic prints. Mid- 18th century, c. 1750.

“Old Buddhist,” Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Late 18th/early 19th Century. Note again the bare feet (indicating a sexual demeanor); the brocade Kesa robe indicates the wealthy status of cleric.

“Shunga with Tengu mask,” artist unknown (but not forgotten!). 17th century. The famous tengu mask print!

Utagawa Kunisada. Ca. 1840. Note the use of the harikata or double sided dildo (better than a Tengu mask? Who Nose).

Katsushika Hokusai. Ca. 1814. More ladies with a harikata to prove it wasn’t just a one off thing!

And because we mentioned it….leigh showing gretchen a hilarious illustration back when we were first starting this podcast. this screenshot is titled “that’s a pretty big dildo”.

If you want to learn more about homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

• Homosexuality in Japan

• Kagema

• “Homosexuality in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition” by Dharmachari Janavira in Western Buddhist Review, Vol. 3

• History of Same-Sex Samurai Love in Edo Japan

• Male Homosexuality and Popular Culture in Modern Japan

Books and Print Articles:

• “Captalism and Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century Japan” by Gary J. Leupp, in Historical Reflections, Vol. 33, No. 1, Eighteenth-Century Homosexuality in Global Perspective (Spring 2007)

• “The Invention of a Literary Tradition of Male Love: Kitamura Kigin’s Iwatsutsuji” by Paul Gordon Schalow, in Monumental Nipponica, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Spring, 1993)

• “Sex, androgyny, prostitution, and the development of onnagata roles in Kabuki theatre” by Sara K. Birk, in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers (2006)

• “The Changing Nature of Sexuality: The Three Codes Framing Homosexuality in Modern Japan” by Furukawa Makoto and Angus Lockyer, in U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal. English Supplement, No. 7 (1994)

• “The Gender of Wakashu and the Grammar of Desire” by Joshua S. Mostow, Chapter 4 in Gender and Power in the Japanese Visual Field

• Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan by Gary P. Leupp

• Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600–1950 by Gregory Pflugfelder

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

24. Transcestor Artists, A Look At Art Beyond the Binaries

Leigh and Gretchen are back from hiatus with an extra special episode! Recorded live at the Dallas Museum of Art on June 21st as part of the museum’s Pride events, your friendly neighborhood queer history nerds sat down to chat about gender diversity in art. Love mythology? Think that heteronormativity shouldn’t apply to deities? You’re in luck! Take a brief tour through gender diversity in Mesopotamian, Hindu, and Norse mythology—and it’s just scratching the surface! Leigh and Gretchen round off their conversation with a look at two modern artists who questioned and transcended gender norms in their lives and art: Anton Prinner and Frida Kahlo. So pull up a chair and hang out with a couple of gayvenclaws to, retroactively, celebrate pride and art beyond the binary!

A Closer Look at Trancestor Artists: Watch Our DMA Slide Show

Transcestors: A Look at Art Beyond the Binary

Gretchen and Leigh Find Gay Things at the DMA!

So Excite!

Holy cow…

So official!

Etruscans

Their underworld was gay.

Because they’re Hapi

Clap along if you feel like a god with two genders.

Our favorite communist, bisexual, anti-colonialist, Picasso hating artist, Frida!

That’s it for History is Gay live from the DMA!

If you want to learn more about the differently gendered deities in mythology, Anton Prinner, or Frida Kahlo, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Mythology

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_themes_in_mythology

• Inanna/Ishtar

  • https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/inanna-ishtar

  • http://www.willsworld.org/priests.html

  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1062957.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fdefault-2%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3A6f7cb9f7e6ddc0c10825ee0633344c67

• Hindu Deities

  • https://lusmerlin.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/ten-intersex-gods-and-goddesses/

• Hapi

  • Wikipedia: Hapi

  • LGBTime Machine: Ancient Rome

  • Ancient Egypt Online: Hapi

  • Hapi - The God of the Nile

• Loki

  • Wikipedia: Loki

  • Norse Mythology for Smart People: Loki

  • Prose Edda

  • North, R; (2001) 'Loki's Gender: Or why Skaði Laughed'. In: Olsen, LAJR, (ed.) Monsters and the Monstrous in Medieval Northwest Europe. (pp. 141-151). Peeters Publishers and Booksellers: Louvain/Leuven.

Anton Prinner

• http://biralat.hu/index.php?searchenginerUrl=muveszek/prinner_anton_.909.html&language=en

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Prinner

• https://next.liberation.fr/culture/2007/05/07/anton-prinner-entre-mystere-et-esoterisme_92262

• https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/06/06/anton-prinner-is-the-genderqueer-picasso-we-need-in-the-21st-century/

Frida Kahlo

• Imagining Her Selves by Gannit Ankori

• Religious Imagination and the Body: A Feminist Perspective by Paula Cooey

•  Biography of Frida Kahlo---Frida Kahlo Foundation

• Frida Kahlo: Role Model for Artists, People with Disabilities and Bisexual Women

• The Androgynous Frida

• Exploring Frida: The Sexuality, Gender, and Politics of Frida Kahlo

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

23. Bury the Hays Code

It’s that time of year again, time for the second annual live episode of History is Gay, live-recorded at TGIFemslash, the convention that birthed our little podcast! Join Leigh, Gretchen, and special guest host Morgan as they discuss the origins of queer censorship in the 20th century. They dive into the Hays Code, lesbian pulp fiction, and briefly discuss Patricia Highsmith, author of The Price of Salt---the lesbian pulp fiction novel from the 1952 that became the 2015 blockbuster Carol. So if you’ve always wondered where some of the worst of today’s tropes for queer women came from, you won’t want to miss this episode. And don’t worry, this story has a happy ending!

A Closer Look at the Hays Code

Production Code Administration (PCA) seal of approval.

Joseph Breen, one of the founders and head of the PCA from 1934-1954.

A Closer Look at Lesbian Pulp Fiction

The Third Way by Sheldon Lord (1962).

Odd Girl out by Ann Bannon (1957), first in the Beebo Brinker Chronicles.

Twilight Girl by Della Martin (1961).

Whisper their love by Valerie Taylor (1957).

A Closer Look at Patricia Highsmith

Highsmith at 21 (1942).

Highsmith and her cat Ripley (date Unknown).

Highsmith Publicity shot from 1962.

Highsmith on “After Dark” (June 1988).

The Price of Salt by Claire Morgan, aka Patricia Highsmith (1952).

If you want to learn more about the Hays Code, lesbian pulp fiction, and Patricia Highsmith, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

• Autostraddle’s Ultimate Infographic Guide to Dead Lesbian Characters on TV

• All 202 Dead Lesbian and Bisexual Characters On TV, And How They Died

• Patricia Highsmith’s best and most memorable quotes

• A Lover, Not a Liker

• In Defense of Patricia Highsmith

• Forbidden Love: The passions behind Patricia Highsmith’s “The Price of Salt.”

• Carol: the women behind Patricia Highsmith's lesbian novel

• Patricia Highsmith, Hiding in Plain Sight

• In 'Carol,' 2 Women Leap Into An Unlikely Love Affair

• The History of Hollywood Censorship and the Ratings System

• Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On

• Pre-Code: Hollywood before the censors

• From Sissies to Secrecy: The Evolution of the Hays Code Queer

• You Probably Want to Read Some Lesbian Pulp Fiction

Books and Print Articles:

• The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar

• The Cambridge Companion to American Novelists: Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar

• Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson

• Media & Culture by Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos

• Lesbian Pulp Fiction edited by Katherine V. Forrest

• "When Girls Will Be Boys: ‘Bad’ Endings and Subversive Middles in Nineteenth-Century Tomboy Narratives and Twentieth-Century Lesbian Pulp Novels” by Mary Elliott, in Legacy, Vol. 15 No. 1

• “Bury Your Gays: History, Usage, and Context” by Haley Hulan in McNair Scholars Journal Vol. 21

• “‘Was It Right To Love Her Brother’s Wife So Passionately?’: Lesbian Pulp Novels and U.S. Lesbian Identity, 1950-1965” by Yvonne Keller in American Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 2

• “Invert History: The Ambivalence of Lesbian Pulp Fiction” by Christopher Nealon in New Literary History, Vol. 31, No. 4

• “Deviant Classics: Pulps and the Making of Lesbian Print Culture” by Stephanie Foote in Signs, Vol. 31, No. 1

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

22. Bae-yard Rustin: The Man Behind the March

February means love and Black history, so join Gretchen and Leigh as they celebrate both by diving into into the life and work of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin! Due to his being gay, Rustin’s role as advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and in organizing the 1963 March on Washtington was actively erased for several decades. Fortunately, he’s been gaining more recognition in recent years and both queer history and civil rights history is actively recovering his memory and legacy. Whether it be for his pacifism, being gay, protesting all over the world, or riding a bus, Rustin was arrested over 25 times. He was a man who stood up for injustice wherever he saw it, even in prison! So join us as we talk about one of the most impactful but least well-known activists of the civil rights movement.  

A Closer Look at Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin’s Grandmother Julia Rustin.

School photo with Bayard Rustin (center), Photo Courtesy of the Chester County, Pennsylvania, Historical Society.

Bayard Rustin’s mug shot from his 1944 arrest for resisting the draft.

Rustin in the late 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Estate of Bayard Rustin.

Rustin protesting in Washington in the late 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Estate of Bayard Rustin.

Bayard Rustin and Cleveland Robinson with a sign advertising the march on washington, 1963.

Rustin and A. Philip Randolph on the cover of life magazine, from the march on Washington, 1963.

Program from the 1963 march on washington.

Rustin at the headquarters for the Citywide Committee for Integration in New York City, 1964.

Rustin speaking at the ralley for school integration at City hall in New York, 1964.

Rustin and Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965.

Bayard Rustin with walter Neagle, his partner from 1977 to Rustin’s death in 1987.

rustin at Trafalgar’s Square, 1983.

If you want to learn more about Bayard Rustin, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

• Bayard Rustin's Civil Rights Legacy Began with Grandmother Julia Rustin

• Not-so-secret life of gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin

• Who Designed the March on Washington?

• Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

• AFLCIO - Bayard Rustin

• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute - Bayard Rustin

• Why MLK's Right-Hand Man, Bayard Rustin, Was Nearly Written Out of History

• Bayard Rustin’s Legacy Is Complicated, And That’s Okay

• Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

Books and Print Articles:

• Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement by James Haskins

• Bayard Rustin: Troubles I’ve Seen, A Biography by Jervis Anderson

• Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

• Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin, ed. By Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise

• “Remembering Bayard Rustin” by John D’Emilio, in the OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 20, No. 2, History is Sexuality (March 2006)

• “Humanrights Hero: Remembering Bayard Rustin” by Walter Neagle, in Human Rights, Vol. 40, No. , The Fierce Urgency of Now: 50 YEARS LATER

• “Bayard Rustin’s Brief Encounters with Higher Education”, in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, No. 16

Videos, Interviews, and Other Audio-visual Media:

• Making Gay History Podcast: Bayard Rustin

• Walter Naegle Talks About His Relationship With Bayard Rustin and Equality

• Bayard & Me

• Michelle Meow Interviews Walter Naegle Part 1 and Part 2

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

21. The Real Housewife of Rome

What better way to celebrate the New Year than with a new episode of History is Gay? This time, Gretchen and Leigh dive into the brief, controversial, and totally extra reign of Emperor Elagabalus of Rome. Or rather, Empress Elagabalus! Whether it be marrying multiple wives and one husband, revolutionizing the Roman religion, installing women as senators, throwing parties with sex workers, or enjoying the attention of well-endowed men, Elagabalus was as unconventional as they come. And chances are, she may very well have been a trans woman. So grab your jeweled slippers and tiara and enjoy the real housewife of Rome, Elagabalus.

A Closer Look at Elagabalus

 

Portrait of young elagabalus.

Roman Denarius featuring the bust of elagabalus (left) and the sun god Sol (Right) with upraised hand and whip. 221 CE. For a full database of Elagabalus coins, click here.

Roman Denarius featuring the bust of Aquilia Severa (Elagabalus’ second and fourth wife). ca 219-222 CE. For a full database of Aquilia Severa coins, click here.

Roman aureus featuring the bust of elagabalus (right) and a chariot driven by four horses (right) containing the stone of emesa—representing Elagabal—topped by an eagle—a symbol of protection in Syrian iconography and of roman imperial authority in roman iconography. 222 CE.

Roman Antoninianus featuring the bust of Julia Maesa (Elagabalus’ Grandmother). 218-219 CE. For more Julia Maesa Coins, Click here.

Sculpture of Julia Soaemias (Elagabalus’ Mother).

Paintings Dedicated to Elagabalus

Heliogabalus, high priest of the sun by Simeon Solomon. 1866.

The Roses of elagabalus, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. 1888.

According to the Augustan History (uses he/him pronouns):

"In a banqueting-room with a reversible ceiling he once buried his guests in violets and other flowers, so that some were actually smothered to death, being unable to crawl out to the top.”

Elagabalus' entrance into Rome, with the baetyl representing elagabal behind him, as illustrated by Auguste Leroux for the novel L'Agonie by Jean Lombard (1902 edition). 1902.

If you want to learn more about Elagabalus, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

• Elagabalus at Outhistory.com

• The Life of Elagabalus Part 1

• The Life of Elagabalus Part 2

• Cassius Dio: Roman History Epitome of Book 79

• Cassius Dio Roman History Epitome of Book 80

• Heliogabalus (A Buffoonery in Three Acts)

• The Feminine Kinaidos

• Homosexuality in Ancient Greece Section 1

• Timarchus the Woman

• A Comparison of Ancient Roman and Greek Norms Regarding Sexuality and Gender

• Elagabal

• Heliogabalus’ Religion Part 1

• Heliogabalus’ Religion Part 2

Books and Print Articles:

• Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

• The Amazing Emperor Heliogabalus by John Stuart Hay

• The Emperor Elagabalus: Fact or Fiction? by Leonardo de Arrizabalaga y Prado

• The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor By Martijn Icks

• Greek and Roman Sexualities: A Sourcebook by Jennifer Larson.

• “Marlowe, the 'Mad Priest of the Sun', and Heliogabalus” by Tom Rutter, in Early Theatre Vol. 13, No. 1 (2010).

• “Censoring Eliogabalo in Seventeenth-Century Venice” by Mauro Calcagno, in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 36, No. 3, Opera and Society: Part I (Winter, 2006).

• “Active/Passive, Acts/Passions: Greek and Roman Sexualities” by Ruth Mazo Karras, in The American Historical Review Vol. 105, No. 4 (Oct., 2000).

• “History as Carnival, or Method and Madness in the Vita Heliogabali by Gottfried Mader, in Classical Antiquity Vol. 24, No. 1 (April 2005).

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!