Ten More Weird And Cool Facts From LGBT History

There are some folks who think Gay is something new; something that just sprang up in the last half century or so. But I’m here to say that we’re here, we’re queer, and we’ve been here, and queer, all along.

So, here are ten more weird and cool facts about The LGBT folks:

1. In the Klementi tribe of Albania, first observed in the 1400s, if a virgin swore before 12 witnesses that she would not marry, she was then recognized as male, carried weapons and herded flocks.

2. The French called homosexuality the ‘Italian vice’ in the 16th and 17th centuries, the ‘English vice’ in the 18th century, the ‘Oriental vice’ in the 19th century, and the ‘German vice’ starting from 1870 and into the 20th century; maybe it’s not a vice at all in France?.

3. Most people know the origins of the word ‘gay’, but the word ‘lesbian’ was first used from around 1590 to mean a tool – a stick made of lead … from the isle of Lesbos … used by stonemasons. It was flexible so it could be used to measure or mold objects to irregular shapes. A ‘lesbian rule’ was also used to mean being flexible with the law.

4. Julie D’Aubigny was a 17th century bisexual French opera singer and fencing master who fought and won at least 10 life-or-death duels, performed nightly shows on the biggest opera stage in the world and once took the Holy Orders just so she could sneak into a convent and have sex with a nun.

5. An 18th century English term for sex between women was the ‘Game of Flats’. So what’s this ‘Game of Thrones’?

6. A molly house was an 18th century English term for a room or bar where gay men would meet. Patrons of the molly house would enact mock weddings and children being born.

7. Trans man Albert Cashier fought for the Union in the American Civil War. At one point, he was captured by the Confederates but managed to escape by overpowering a prison guard.

8. A Boston marriage, in the 19th century, referred to two women living together financially independent of a man.

9. The word ‘homosexual’ … coined in 1869 … is older than the word ‘heterosexual’ … coined in 1892. Take that breeders! I kid!

10. Edward White Benson, [photo at the top], the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, was thought to have been repressing his homosexuality. His wife, brother-in-law and five of his six children were also gay.

Stay tuned … there’s more.

Gay Star News