Before Stonewall

Chad Denton

5.0 (2)
Society & Culture

"Before Stonewall" is a monthly podcast about the great LGBT figures in world history who managed to shock the straights even before the modern gay rights movement.

02/06/2020

Before Stonewall, Episode 6: The Strange Love Life Of Basil the Macedonian

Basil I is a fascinating figure who went from a peasant migrant sleeping on the streets of Constantinople to one of the most successful emperors in the history of the Byzantine Empire. His beginnings, though, are rather raunchy by the uptight standards of the Byzantines. It's a story of gay love, sex, murder, and even possibly a same-sex marriage or two! Check out this episode where we will not only discuss the shady details of Basil's pre-imperial career, but delve into the sources and the question of how we think we know what we think we know. Sources: Boswell, John. "Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe", rev. ed. (New York: Vintage Books, 1994). Rapp, Claudia. "Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium: Monks, Laymen, and Christian Ritual" (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016). Tougher, Shaun. "Michael III and Basil the Macedonian: Just Good Friends?" in "Desire and Denial in Byzantium: Papers from the 31st Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies", ed. Liz James (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999), 149-158. Links Mentioned: Chad Denton, "Bi, Claudius?", The Outline: https://theoutline.com/post/6294/yes-there-were-homosexuals-in-ancient-rome?utm_source=contributor_pages Jesi Egan, "Abusing Foucault: How Conservatives and Liberals Misunderstand 'Social Construct' Sexuality", Slate: https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/03/sexuality-as-social-construct-foucault-is-misunderstood-by-conservatives-and-liberals.html

19 min
01/01/2020

Before Stonewall, Episode 10: Kamapua'a the Pansexual Pig God

Mostly the Hawai'ian pig demi-god Kamapua'a is known for his love-hate relationship with the volcano goddess Pele. However, Kamapua'a was also pretty into guys.

8 min
08/18/2019

Episode 9: Marie Equi

Marie Equi was an out lesbian who lived openly with another woman and adopted a child, a high school drop-out who got a medical degree, a political activist who fought for workers' rights and abortion rights and put everything on the line to protest against the United States entering a popular war...and she did it all in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. SOURCE: Michael Helquist. "Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions." (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2015).

14 min
06/21/2019

Episode 8: The Passion of the Cut Sleeve

A small, romantic gesture between an emperor and his lover became an allegory for love between men that lasted for many centuries in China. Unfortunately, the full story wasn't quite that romantic.

8 min
06/01/2019

Episode 7: Love Letters and the Portuguese Inquisition

Two Brazilian historians once found love letters written by a Portuguese man to another man in the archives of the Portuguese Inquisition. Given where the letters were found, you might guess that the story is an unhappy one, but maybe not in the way that you think.

6 min
05/31/2019

Episode 5: The Myth of the Beloved Disciple

If the idea that Jesus and one of the Apostles were lovers sounds like some appalling thing an off-Broadway playwright or a punk rock singer would come up with, well, the idea is actually older than that, and may have even been invoked by King James I, the very man who sponsored the King James Bible! Watch to hear the very odd but woefully incomplete story of the myth of the Beloved Disciple.

16 min
05/31/2019

Episode 6: The Prophet Muhammad's Queer Friend, Hit

We wrap up talking about queer figures in the early histories of the "Big Three" monotheistic religions with the obscure figure of Hit. His story later became a justification for homophobia, but the earliest and most authentic versions of the story are arguably more...sitcom-y.

8 min
05/17/2019

Episode 3: Gladys Bentley

For this episode, meet lesbian and cross-dressing Harlem Renaissance idol and blues singer Gladys Bentley. Music: Midnite Lites, "I Wanna Be Loved By You."

15 min
05/15/2019

Episode 2: The Chevalier d'Eon

For this episode, I tell the true story of a successful diplomat and spy in eighteenth century Europe who suddenly declared that she was a woman, setting her up against no one less than the king and queen of France.

19 min
04/18/2019

Episode 1: Emperor Galba

You may already know about the gender-bending, sexually deviant Roman emperors Caligula, Nero, and Elagabalus, but do you know about the ill-fated Emperor Galba, who was a gruff, old-school Roman who nonetheless liked "muscular men"?

12 min

10 Episodes

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

"Before Stonewall" is a monthly podcast about the great LGBT figures in world history who managed to shock the straights even before the modern gay rights movement.

Creator

Chad Denton
Years Active

2019 - 2020
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

Before Stonewall