Abe Lincoln - GAY?

[+ friendofsheila]

Just buzzed my way through a lot of THE INTIMATE WORLD OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN by C.A. Tripp, published this year. Makes a semi-decent case for Mr. Lincoln having had potentially homosexual relationships with more than one man. He also manages to ignore some facts that take away from his arguments, but then so have those who think it is ridiculous that Lincoln could have been homosexual. (The author comes from the perspective of someone knowing sex research, so he has at least opened a lot of things that others have just plain ignored or not interpreted until now.)

 

Never disputed is that Lincoln had "an insane love [of] telling dirty and smutty stories," like recounting Ehan Allen's visit to England: When his hosts teased [Allen] by hanging a picture of General Washington in the Back House [read: outhouse], far from being offended, he said he fully understood, because there 'is Nothing that Will Make an Englishman Shit so quick as the Sight of Genl Washington.'"

[twinkboylover28]

Didn't you get the memo? The entire world is gay.

[BobbyThompson]

I think if one imposes today's heterosexual male-to-male expectations upon previous mores, every gentleman of the nineteenth century would appear gay. I bet that there was not a prevailing need amongst heterosexual men of that time to assert their heterosexuality, as may be common today, nor a fear of being perceived as gay. Probably causes lots of ambiguity when looked at today.

 

If anyone saw The Daily Show a few weeks back, there was another author of a Lincoln biography, though I can't remember the book, who said that it was quite common for men of that time to share the same bed, etc., and that behavior like this isn't enough to label a man's sexuality.

 

Actually, he did wear a funny hat. Yeah, he was probably gay.

[seattlebottom]

About 10 years or so ago, I read that Mr. Lincoln liked to pin his male secretary to a desk and kiss him all over his face and neck. The information was apparently gathered from letters that the secretary wrote to friends.

[Guest Merlin]

Seattlebottom, the author would have included the bit about kissing his secretary if he could, but he did not. Undoubtedly concluded that it was untrue. The author has searched for any tiny little bit of evidence which might support his position. In the end, I think the case is unproven and unlikely.

[seattlebottom]

>Seattlebottom, the author would have included the bit about

>kissing his secretary if he could, but he did not. Undoubtedly

>concluded that it was untrue. The author has searched for any

>tiny little bit of evidence which might support his position.

>In the end, I think the case is unproven and unlikely.

 

I figured it was something like that since I only saw the story that one time.:-)

[+ friendofsheila]

>If anyone saw The Daily Show a few weeks back, there was

>another author of a Lincoln biography, though I can't remember

>the book, who said that it was quite common for men of that

>time to share the same bed, etc., and that behavior like this

>isn't enough to label a man's sexuality.

>

This was addressed more than once in the book, by 2 different people as follows:

 

--Yes it was common, and many examples are cited and acknowledged. What is distinguishing is that is was for FOUR YEARS. It was common for it to happen on a temporary basis; what is unanswered is why they continued for so long.

 

--Also, if there ARE in fact other men who did sleep together for that long as a matter of normal social course, go find them. No one has.

 

If nothing else, the book was great for bringing up stuff like this that are worth finding out, even if they can't give us definitive conclusions.