Were Washington, Lincoln, and Nixon gay (or at least bi)?

[isanbirder]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/11/were-lincoln-nixon-gay-history-book-divides-america

Larry Kramer's alternative view of history may please some, but will certainly anger others.

But does it really matter?

[Scott]

Thanks. I have read a fair amount about famous gays (or famous closet cases, I should say) throughout out history. Washington's name shows up and it seems he had little interest in women and he would use pretty much any excuse to stay away from Martha. He also had no children, which is slightly unusual for that time.

I know Lincoln had some suspicious relationships.

God, I hope Nixon wasn't gay. We don't need him tarnishing our reputation!! It would, however, explain why he seemed like such a very unhappy person--I mean not being gay would do that, but being in the closet might. Especially when surrounded by some of those nice looking Secret Service guys.

[uptheos]

I doubt if anyone cares if George Washington was gay, any more than they care that he was a British Citizen.

Isaanbirder asks "does it really matter?"

For those into the gay branch of archaeology it probably does

For someone like me it has no relevance.

Their will be many differing views.

[impulse]

Washington's name shows up and it seems he had little interest in women and he would use pretty much any excuse to stay away from Martha. He also had no children, which is slightly unusual for that time.

Funny, when I lived in Philadelphia as a kid, it seems every old building had a sign on it claiming "George Washington slept here".

And the folks snickered a lot that he wasn't called the "father of our country" for nothing...

Still, it's great we live in an age where we can read about the sexual orientation of amazing people throughout history.

[isanbirder]

Thanks. I have read a fair amount about famous gays (or famous closet cases, I should say) throughout out history. Washington's name shows up and it seems he had little interest in women and he would use pretty much any excuse to stay away from Martha. He also had no children, which is slightly unusual for that time.

I know Lincoln had some suspicious relationships.

God, I hope Nixon wasn't gay. We don't need him tarnishing our reputation!! It would, however, explain why he seemed like such a very unhappy person--I mean not being gay would do that, but being in the closet might. Especially when surrounded by some of those nice looking Secret Service guys.

A lot of people have wives like that, Scott.

A lot of famous people in European history were gay or bi, and one more or less would make little difference. Leonardo and Michelangelo for a start.... and of course (well, maybe) Shakespeare. What interests me is that openness about being gay seems to go in (I was going to say spurts, but that really wasn't what I meant) periods (help! you know what I mean).

Contemporaries of Shakespeare include Christopher Marlowe ("All those who don't like tobacco and boys are fools.") and James I, who pawed his darlings at state banquets while his queen got disgustingly drunk. They had six legitimate children, however. Another period is the great age of the British navy (Rodney, Nelson, Cochrane and all that); those little ships were often away from shore for months at a time, and sodomy, though a capital crime, was condoned so long as it was consensual and didn't interfere with discipline.