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Historical Homos

Sebastian Hendra
Historical Homos
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  • Was Marie Antoinette A Lesbian? (feat. Eleanor Herman)
    She was young, she was hot, and she was hated. But did she eat pu$$y?Marie Antoinette was many things: a teen bride, a fashion icon, and according to Sofia Coppola, a big fan of The Strokes (I knew I liked this bitch!)She's famous nowadays for losing her head, but did she also give it? And to whom / with what degree of relish?In this week’s episode, Bash is joined by bestselling author and royal dirt-digger Eleanor Herman (Sex with Kings, Off With Her Head) to untangle the messy myth and misogyny surrounding France’s last queen.From bedroom rumors to an actual revolution, we trace how Marie’s alleged lesbian love affairs and slutty reputation helped take down the French monarchy.But how much of a labial libertine was dear old Marie?Did she really let they/them eat cake, or did she prefer to have hers eaten? And why did the revolutionaries care so much about who she was (or wasn’t) shtupping?Get ready to cover:👑 Marie’s teenage trauma: a 14-year-old Austrian girl dropped into horny French court politics👑 Her disastrous marriage to Louis XVI, France’s least sexy locksmith👑 Count Axel von Fersen: the hot Swede who became her baby daddy and was the only man in France who loved her👑 The lesbian propaganda: 18th-century porn pamphlets and political smear campaigns that took Marie down👑 Marie’s tragic downfall—and why she still makes us feel some kind of way about money, sex, fashion, and powerPlus: masquerade balls (aka cruising for cis-hets), Versailles orgies with her stepbrother, and the story of how Marie Antoinette's lesbian reputation became a 19th century pickup line for aspiring sapphics.You can find out more about women in power by reading Eleanor Herman's books at her website.Please also follow Historical Homos on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you should ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you care about gay people at all.Episode CreditsWritten and hosted by Bash. Guest: Eleanor HermanEdited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.
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  • Gay Marriage Was The Gayest Love Story Ever Told (feat. Jeremy Atherton Lin)
    Once upon a time—aka the 90s, when I bravely decided to be born—gay marriage was the only thing we queers could talk about. But why? Why were we so hell-bent on getting married? And how did the fight for marriage equality impact real people on the ground?In this episode, Bash is joined by writer and memoirist Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told, to explore the long, messy, and horny history of gay marriage in America—from deportation threats in the 1950s to a rainbow-lit White House under Obama.Along the way, we ask:💍 Who decides what a marriage is? Who gets to say who/what you are?🏳️‍🌈 What happens when a bi(coastal) relationship collides with the full force of the U.S. immigration system?🐴 Is a man marrying a man the same as a man marrying a horse? (The question, historically, was asked.)Also featuring:– Clive Boutilier, the Canadian gay man deported for being a “psychopath” (1950s medical slang for "gay")– A 1996 government letter from the Department of Justice that literally said to two gays: “A legal marriage cannot exist between two faggots.”– Bill Clinton wriggling out from under the S&M grip of DOMA– And one very filthy reading from our beloved guest...Not to mention this very real quote:🗣️ “Ordinarily a homo is psycho, but many are not.” — actual Supreme Court justice, 1967You can follow Historical Homos on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you should ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you care about gay people at all.Episode CreditsWritten and hosted by Bash. Guest: Jeremy Atherton LinEdited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.
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  • Tchaikovsky Comes Out To Mother Russia (feat. Simon Morrison)
    Imagine a world where you're Russian, gay, and happy about it.No this is not propaganda from the ultra-secret "Pinko" department of the Kremlin (they def have one of those).This is the very real story of the magnificent Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the world's greatest composers and a big old homosexual.He wrote the 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker, and the world’s gayest violin concerto (because it's "exuberant"). He also did Swan Lake, by the way, so perhaps most importantly, we wouldn't have Natalie Portman calling herself a WHORE on a mirror in red lipstick without him.This week, Bash is joined by Princeton professor of music history Simon Morrison — author of Tchaikovsky’s Empire — to explore what it meant to be gay (and fabulous) in 19th-century Russia. Together, they dismantle the myth of the tortured, closeted genius and paint a much queerer, more joyful picture of Tchaikovsky’s life.💅 Topics include:Why Tchaikovsky thrived as a gay man (in certain elite Russian circles, of course)His disastrous lavender marriage to Antonina MilyukovaThe kinky rumors, the tragic myths, and the straight up gay lies about his deathHis read on Wagner (who made him yawn) and the dish on the famous Violin Concerto, dedicated to his hottie violinist crush, Iosif KotekAlong the way, we ask the hard questions: Where were the best gay bars in St. Petersburg? Is Eugene Onegin queer-coded? And why does being gay make us better artists?Stick around at the end for a special conversation with Oliver Zeffman, founder of Classical Pride, about this year’s line-up of queer classical music events in London and LA.You can follow Historical Homos on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you should ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you care about gay people at all.Written and hosted by Bash. Guest: Professor Simon Morrison. Edited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.
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  • A Queer History of Food (feat. Rachel Cleves)
    What's so gay about food? (Besides the fact that you use your mouth for it.)The answer, OF COURSE, lies in 18th century France.In fact, food's sexy origins go even further back, all the way to the ancients: from Eve's naughty apple to Ancient Roman oysters (they made their orgasms more intense!).But it was the invention of the restaurant in 18th century Paris that made food sexy, dangerous, and ultimately, gay.By the 20th century, figures like Oscar Wilde and the Bloomsbury Set had made sure it was officially queer to eat out. Their associations of food with aesthetics and art ran counter to Anglo-American fears of public pleasure.Eventually, it became more normal for people other than the French to talk about food, and even to try making their daily fare at home more edible. Thus began the modern association of caring about good food with homosexuality.We end this episode discussing the lasting impact of those associations on our modern relationship with food.Join us for this open buffet on food's queer history, featuring Professor Rachel Cleves, author of Lustful Appetites: A History of Good Food and Wicked Sex.Together we uncover:The origins of the restaurant (aka Whore Dinner)18th century Viagra brothVirginia Woolf's gay best friend who made English food more French (thank GOD)The Lavender Scare's impact on American foodHow capitalism made food less gay for straight menYou can follow Historical Homos on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you should ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you care about gay people at all.Written and hosted by Bash. Guest speaker: Rachel Cleves. Edited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.
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  • Toxic Boyfriends of Greek Mythology: Part II (feat. Liv Albert)
    Why do bottoms always die in Greek mythology?If you're a fan of Greek myth, you know the gods love to act like humans: they love, they fuck, they fight...they throw dinner parties.But they also love to kill us. When gods show up on Earth, it typically means someone's about to get pregnant or dead, real quick. (Or both.)And the pattern holds for the gay Greek myths. (With admittedly fewer pregnancies carried to term.)Zeus and Apollo never seem able to keep their mortal boyfriends alive, while demigods like Herakles and Achilles also find it tricky to maintain their lovers' pulses.Why is this? What's going on psychologically, historically, narratively, and yes, erotically, when the ancients were sang of so much LITERAL twink death in their myths?Join Bash and Liv Albert, renowned Greek myth expert and host of the Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! podcast this week as they discuss:Herakles and Hylas being afraid of women (and the bottomless depths of ancient Greek misogyny)Apollo, the god of being a total DICK all the time, and Hyacinth, a beautiful youth slain in a totally avoidable "frisbee tragedy"Achilles and Patroclus, the famed comrades-at-arms, who die for one another in most toxic fashionYou can follow Historical Homos for more on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you should ⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ too, if you care about gay people at all.Written and hosted by Bash. Guest host: Liv Albert. Edited by Alex Toskas. Produced by Dani Henion.
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About Historical Homos

Welcome to the world's only No-Fucks-Given Guide to LGBTQ+ History. Join Bash and his brilliant guests each week as they unearth the gayest stories never told. Sign up on our website, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Written and hosted by Sebastian "Bash" Hendra Produced by Dani Henion Edited by Alex Toskas
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