Bad Gays

Despite having an interest in history in general, I've never been a fan of reading biographies; I just don't care for the narrowed focus on one person. And while that hasn't changed after reading this book, it wasn't as boring as I feared it would be.

After a meandering and confusing introduction we travel sequentially through time from Ancient Rome through multiple time periods up until the early 2000's, following historical individuals who were known - or at least heavily suspected - to engage in same-sex activities. They all have a unifying theme of being less than exemplary people that the modern gay culture doesn't claim or otherwise like drawing attention to for one reason or another. At times that didn't feel fair to me because we're judging them with a modern-day lens for behaviors that were acceptable in their own time, but others were just flat out reprehensible, even by their own contemporaries.

While varied, there is a heavy eurocentric slant to the people chosen to highlight, and there is such an emphasis on intersectionality with anti-colonialism/anti-capitalist/pro-feminist/etc./etc. movements that I felt like the book was juggling too many issues in the air. I as a reader lost focus on what I'm supposed to be paying attention to in these moments. But it was informative if nothing else, and I especially enjoyed the chapters on James VI and I, Lawrence of Arabia, and J. Edgar Hoover and Roy Cohn.

So refreshing to read some history inclusive of people not exclusively from privileged white misogynist. So many decisive individuals written out of history because they buck the christofascist narrative. Told with humour and spice. This book is thoroughly recommended and should be required educational reading in all schools.