Meet some queer folk from history. Some you may know, some you may not.
Every month Tobias Gurl will be highlighting five fascinating (mostly) men profiled on The Queer-A-Day-Project. The other ~25 can be found in the Table of Contents alongside luminaries from prior months.
There is a tremendous pressure when summarizing history to either exclude the unflattering pages or sensationalize them into something unrecognizable. One of my challenges has been in walking the line between extremes in a way that lets me narrate my people’s story both concisely and honestly. If June was the season for pride, July was the time of skeletons in the closet.
Though it does not say so in his QAD entry, Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, the first paleobiologist, committed suicide after murdering his partner following a failed attempt to become king of Albania. As destructive as his narcissism was, it gave him the conviction to pursue what were then eccentric hypotheses but are now considered fact, such as the close genetic link between modern birds and dinosaurs.
Immediately following Nopcsa was a Historiography Saturday on Irma Grese, one of the most notorious Nazi SS officers to hold a concentration camp post. Grese’s historical record is a hazy mix of white supremacist sites and limited eyewitness testimony, but she was rumored at the time of her execution to be a bisexual sadist who violently tortured prisoners. Even if the more lurid accounts are false, it is indisputable that there were queer members of the Nazi party (look up the Night of the Long Knives for more details, or wait for a future post on Ernst Röhm) – a challenging reality given the systematic slaughter of homosexuals during the Third Reich.
The more mundane story of Justin Fashanu, an English footballer who came out in 1990, is also a difficult one to assess from a moral standpoint. To support himself financially he fabricated allegations of affairs with celebrities and politicians, which he sold to the press, and committed suicide following an accusation of nonconsensual sex with a minor. However, on top of being a brilliant player, his coming out was a pioneering step that made him the victim of a punishing campaign of homophobia that included his own coach.
For its final tragedy, QAD gave Roy Cohn, an infamous Cold War attorney, another moment in the spotlight. Unlike Grese, the less savory tales surrounding Cohn are well-substantiated fact, not rumor, including his role in the McCarthy Communist purges and disbarment for gross unprofessional misconduct. While he went to hid grave insisting on his heterosexuality and denying that he had AIDS (he swore it was liver cancer), circumstantial evidence points to him being homosexual.
And yet, sometimes we earn happy endings. I would like to conclude July’s Roundup with one of the most serene biographies to date: Ānanda, attendant to the Buddha, whose very name meant “bliss”. The tireless Guardian of the Dharma was the one to insist that women be permitted to form a monastic order, and reached enlightenment soon after his master’s passing. In one of his former lives he had an affair with a naga (snake man) that he ended with regret because the sex was interfering with his spiritual progression.
Tune in next month for more queer history highlights, or just follow the blog for regular updates.
Unfortunately, I won’t see in my life time, people being recognized for their accomplishments because they are great human beings, that there be no label attached to them. Being gay straight or anything else shouldn’t define them in any way shape or form. They are simply accomplished human beings.