A Man With An Agenda

'Long Before Stonewall' may not be as comprehensive a history as I expected, but I found it full of insight on the subject of early American homosexuality and overturned many (well, all) of my assumptions on the subject.

Many of the essays were previously published as part of full-length books or in journals, but those written especially for the collection make an excellent effort to incorporate the other authors' research into their own, making it cohesive beyond the general subject. The variety of scholarship involved, too, helped keep the book level-minded, not focusing too much on one group of people or style of thought.

The essays are separated into four sections: 'Colonial Native Americas', 'Colonial British America', 'Romantic Bonds in the Early Republic', and 'Reformers in the New Nation'. These groupings help create a chronology of the adaption of attitudes towards homosexuality (or what we know refer to as homosexuality) going into the Victorian period.

The editor, Thomas A. Foster, acknowledges the unavoidable disproportionate attention towards those communities in Philadelphia and New England that left behind the most sources. There is so much that wasn't preserved in writing or the oral tradition, and so much that was purposely expunged.

I read this over such an extended period of time I cannot get into each essay, but there are highlights. The research into the court records of the Spanish and Puritans concerning sodomy by Tracy Brown and Richard Godbeer were particularly eye-opening. The fact that sodomy, which underwent many changes in definition, was a capital crime was known to me, what I didn't realize was what lengths were undergone to effectively prevent carrying out the sentence. The excerpts of court testimony brought out the humanity of the Puritans in a way nothing else has - especially since I'm now reading about the Salem witch trials. The Spanish didn't get off so lightly, but they get points for obsession. I also really enjoyed Caleb Crain's reading of three diaries of late 18th century Philadelphia gentleman and the complicated relationship they shared. He's put out a couple books that I will find.

LGBT studies is so sprawling, fragmentary and often conjectural that it is quite the feat to get anything together that approaches this level of thoroughness. From genteel erotic landscape poetry by proto-lesbians, to early treatment of hermaphrodites and problematic sexing, and abolitionist eroticizing of slaves, and the ever-popular homoerotic novel - this book touches on so many fields I'd have trouble finding someone who wouldn't find a part of this book pertinent to their interest. And once they're started, what's to stop them from reading the rest?