Same-sex identification before identities Flashcards
(33 cards)
How were sexual acts understood prior to the mid-1800s in most regions?
Sexual acts were not usually understood as a marker of a “type” of person in the way we understand sexual identities in the West today.
When did the understanding of different “types” of people emerge in Northwestern Europe?
Around 1700, though it was a precursor to, and different from, the sexual identities that later developed.
How were attitudes toward sodomy in colonial New England different from what has been assumed?
- Attitudes varied, with some viewing sodomy through a modern lens, though it didn’t reflect modern sensibility.
- Social worth was often determined by behaviour, not moral absolutes.
What did the concepts of “the rake” and “the fop” reflect in 18th-century gender and sexuality?
The rake’s virility and dominance over women contrasted with the fop’s effeminacy, marking him as sexually suspect and potentially a sodomite.
How were gender differences relevant to the emergence of sexual identity?
- Men had greater job opportunities and independence than women, so gay men had more freedom compared to lesbians, who had less economic independence and longer dependence on a spouse.
- delayed the formation of lesbian communities and identities.
What shift occurred in sexual identity labeling between the late 1800s and mid-1900s?
Terms like “gay” and “bisexual” started to group men together based on sex with other men, regardless of their gender expression or sexual practices.
How did the definition of “gay” evolve over time?
“Gay” was first used in the 1920s/30s, but only became widely used in the 1950s onward, focusing on the sex of sexual partners rather than gender expression.
What distinction existed between the social lives of Black lesbians and other lesbian communities in the U.S.?
Black lesbians in cities like Detroit often had social lives centered around house parties rather than bars, which contrasted with the broader lesbian community’s involvement in bar culture.
How did the persecution of 18th-century sodomites serve as a social tool?
It was used to create and maintain divisions among men, with Englishmen defining men out of full manhood status based on effeminacy and sexual inclinations.
What was the gay community like in 1920s NYC?
chauncey
- They had their own culture, language, customs, and systems of subculture codes (speech, dress, style).
- Different communities existed in various parts of the city, distinct from each other.
What is the “Myth of Isolation” in the context of the gay community?
chauncey
It is the belief that homophobia prevented the development of a gay subculture until the liberation movement.
What is the “Myth of Invisibility”?
chauncey
The belief that the gay community was underground and hard for other gay men to find.
What is the “Myth of Internalisation”?
chauncey
The idea that gay men internalized society’s view of them as immoral, leading them to not resist the policing of their lives.
What happened to gay culture in the 1930s?
chauncey
- There was more repression, and historical records were likely not kept due to fear it would threaten public order and normative gender and sexual arrangements.
- This made the gay world less visible on the streets.
How was social regulation in small towns and rural communities in early Canada managed?
The Regulation of Desire
Social regulation was based on community pressure, exclusion, religious prohibition, and, to a lesser extent, the law.
How were women controlled in early Canada through community pressure?
The Regulation of Desire
- Women were often excluded, chased out of towns, or denied access to trade areas.
- “Respectable” women were discouraged from walking the streets at night.
What was the charivari, and how did it regulate social behavior?
The Regulation of Desire
- form of community justice used to punish deviants like wife-beaters and adulterers.
- It was a ritual that could involve cross-dressing and had a potentially subversive side.
- way of enforcing gender and sexual norms before the centralized State and police forces had developed
How did the state respond to community rituals like the charivari?
The Regulation of Desire
The state opposed charivari as it was seen as unregulated and a form of popular justice that was inconsistent with the needs of a “civilized” capitalist state.
How did social and legal regulation differ across Canada?
The Regulation of Desire
In the West, sex between males in certain communities (like logging, mining, and railroad gangs) was socially tolerated, and charges were often not pressed.
What was the societal view of bachelors in early Canada?
The Regulation of Desire
Bachelors were seen as a “social problem” associated with drinking, card playing, and sexual license, threatening Christian family values.
What legal category was introduced in Canada in 1890 regarding same-sex sexual acts?
The Regulation of Desire
- “Gross indecency” was introduced in 1890 and became part of the criminal code in 1892, covering sexual acts between males not already covered by buggery
- punishment for gross indecency was up to five years in prison with provisions for whipping
What role did cross-dressing women play in early Canada’s sexual culture?
The Regulation of Desire
- cross-dressed to gain access to the economic and social privileges enjoyed by men, and perhaps also to establish intimate and erotic relationships with other women
- women were seen as odd for challenging gender roles but were not necessarily considered sexually suspect
What were the 2 types of womanhood that emerged from cross-dressing women?
The Regulation of Desire
- “timid, confiding, trusting woman” who “comes to realize that her mission in this world is a domestic one.”
- “the self-confident, self-asserting, self-reliant, fearless, masculine women” who prioritized independence and self-assertion.
What were the characteristics of male homosexual networks in early Canada?
The Regulation of Desire
- Early homosexual networks in Canada included male prostitution and relationships between middle-class men and working-class youths
