Historical Homos

Latest Episodes:

The Symposium a.k.a. Let's Have An Ancient Greek Kiki (feat. Cosima Carnegie) Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

Get in b*tch, we're having an Ancient Greek kiki!

We're back, baby! Join us as we navigate the wine-dark and wine-soaked symposia of Ancient Greece, to discover what exactly was so gay about these all-male drinking parties. (Hint: a lot.)

We cover ancient party planning, gay glassware, reclining etiquette, drunken flirting, and all the subtle arts of homosexual entertaining you need to host a horny soirée 2,500 years ago.

My guest Cosima Carnegie is a champion of the Classics in life and on social media – follow her at @cosisodyssey for more hilarious Ancient Greek and mythological content.

Visuals mentioned in this episode:

Tomb of the Diver, Paestum

If you want more Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

Like what you hear? Please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

Written and hosted by Bash. Edited by Alex Toskas. Guest host: Cosima Carnegie.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Mademoiselle Raucourt, Priestess of Parisian Lesbos (Summer Repeat) Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

Historical Homos is celebrating its one year anniversary!

Like any Mother worth her salt, I forgot my child was turning 1 last month.

It's been one year of Historical Homos, and there have been so many milestones, amazing episodes, dramas, traumas, small wins, and long mental health breaks that it feels like my baby child should be shipping off to college TOMORROW.

That said – I am thrilled to share we added lots of new subscribers last month and I am even more thrilled to welcome them – you – to the Historical Homos cult. No one will make it out alive.

To celebrate our 1-year achievement, this week we are re-releasing one of my favorite episodes of the show so far about a riotous rugmunching lesbian of 18th century Paris.

Thank you to everyone who's written me in the past month with encouragement and compliments – please keep 'em coming! I live on Diet Coke and attention.

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com.

And follow us on Instagram andTikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash and Lucy Hendra, and edited by Alex Toskas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Gad Beck: The Gay Jew Who Lived (feat. Andrew Lear) Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash, and edited by Alex Toskas. Guest host: Andrew Lear.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Oh, Molly! Queer Culture in Georgian London (feat. AJ West) Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

"There are a particular gang of sodomitical wretches in this town..."

Did you ever wonder why British men are always just a little...you know...?

Well, in truth, it's because 300 years ago they invented being a "gentleman" (gay) who doesn't work (GAY) and just wants nicer things (GAY GAY GAY!).

But round about the same time the British invented being British – a.k.a. the early 18th century – London was also home to the aforementioned "gang" of gay men who challenged traditional notions of masculinity.

The "molly" represented a new type of gay man: he was typically working class, loved to impersonate women – wear their clothes, gossip, call each other names like "The Duchess of Chamomile" and "Old Fish Hannah" – and he had a playground of taverns, inns, and gin shop back rooms to frequent to meet his fellow "sodomitical wretches".

These were the molly houses, and they represented the heartland of a working-class, gay subculture that flourished in London in the early 1700s.

Sadly, we know so much about the mollies of 18th century London because they were brutally persecuted by The Society for the Reformation of Manners, who were about as fun at parties as they sound.

Mollies faced violence, imprisonment, and even death for living out and proud. But they still lived brave lives of queer joy, gathering weekly at the molly houses for decades so that they could boink each other, fall in love, and, yes, give birth to wooden babies.

Boys will be boys!

Join me and my guest on this odyssey through early modern queer culture in one of the most fascinating periods of human history. My guest, AJ West, is the author of a forthcoming novel set amongst the mollies of the 1720s, The Betrayal of Thomas True, which is going to be an absolutely genius historical fiction mystery.

Pre-order a copy here and listen to our episode to learn the backstory of one of history's most well-documented queer subcultures, which by the way is literally older than the nation of the United States.

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram andTikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash, and edited by Alex Toskas. Guest host: AJ West.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Where Do Gay Animals Come From? (feat. A Field Guide To Gay Animals) Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

"All male, all-whale orgies"...need I say more?

We're back with another extra special episode for Pride Month 2024! And this one is a DOOZY, my little Hormones.

First of all, let me just say..."You know you're gay right?"

That's my impression of me talking to every living animal on this good, green Earth.

Because it turns out animals have been gay for millennia (stop copying me, guys!), and human animals have known about it forever.

Not least my new best friends, Laine and Owen, who are the hosts of the about-to-be-mega-hit podcast, A Field Guide to Gay Animals.

Like many scholars who have come before them, Laine and Owen are fascinated by the queer natural world. Tune in to the episode to hear us discuss who the gayest animals are, where they come from, and which intrepid souls first outed them.

We talk cock-chafing beetles, big gay sheep with really big...horns, and of course THE Havelock Ellis (you know the one).

When you're done, go listen to Laine & Owen's premiere episode, which contains so many more incredible stories on this fascinating subject.

I kid you not, it made me rethink my homosexuality...top to bottom. (No seriously I'm thinking of topping...halp.)

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram andTikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash, and edited by Alex Toskas. Guest hosts: Laine Kaplan-Levenson and Owen Ever.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A Short History of Bottoms (feat. The Bottom's Digest) Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

"Gay didn't always exist, but 'bottom' kind of did!"

How did people douche back in the day? Did they have lube? And how'd they find other gays to get off with?

In a turn of events that will shock absolutely no one, history is FULL of queer men doing the deed.

We boinked, we douched, we lubed, we bathed, and we cruised – long before today's modern luxuries, like running water...or Gun Oil.

Join me and my fabulous guest, Alex Hall, creator of The Bottom's Digest, on this magical tour of history's bottoms, bottoming procedures, and bottom cultures.

Tune in for Mesopotamian shame, ancient Roman twerking, medieval Japanese lubes (there were many to choose from!), and of course, Renaissance cruising bars in 1400s Florence.

The history of bottoming is anything but straight.forward. Every land and every era has dealt with its bottoms in its own unique ways. And Bottom History © has so much to teach us about our own bottom culture today.

You can follow The Bottom's Digest on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for more of Alex's hilarious, amazing work.

And check out all the bottom-y treasures we mentioned in this episode:

Greek vase of man wiping with pessos (MFA Boston)

Ancient Roman tersorium aka sponge stick (Wikipedia)

Chugi aka Japanese "shit sticks" (Wikipedia)

Ancient enema syringe with bone nozzle (Science Museum)

Chigo no soshi aka "Book of Acolytes" (British Museum)

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram andTikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash, and edited by Alex Toskas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How To Be Gay In London...100 Years Ago (feat. Peter Parker) May 30, 2024

Show notes

"And what we have to get into our heads, although it is difficult, is that [the] glamour of love, odd as it may sound, is just as much present between two homosexuals as it is between a man and a woman."

- Lord Brabazon of Tara, House of Lords, December 1957

What was it like to be a (practicing) gay man in London after the Second World War? I thought you'd never ask...

The short answer: not great! But like everything in life, it wasn't all doom and gloom OR butterflies and rainbows. It was a dangerous time to be queer, but there was also a thriving subculture of artists, MPs, writers, drunks, criminals, Guardsmen, and working class queers – in short, a bit of everyone – who managed to live their gay lives in one way or another.

Our guest this week, Peter Parker, has collected their diaries, court cases, bitchy theatre reviews, puff pieces (or is it poof pieces?), and more in what is only the first volume of his incredible time capsule detailing queer life in London before the decriminalization of homosexuality (partial and tentative thought it was) in 1967.

When I read Peter's book, I laughed, sobbed, screamed, and gasped. I could not put it down for hours. It's a reminder that real history is not a story of politicians and battles. It's the stories of real people. People who loved, suffered, lived, and died in a world that, only 80 years ago, was vastly different than ours.

I hope you enjoy this chat with Peter as we uncover the dirty deets of life for gay men in London between 1945-1959: which parks to cruise in, who the best rent boys were, which gay soirées to meet John Gielgud and Michael Redgrave at, and of course, the real reason Noel Coward never revealed his BLATANT homosexuality to his adoring public.

Make sure you pick up a copy of the book, which is out today! It is a vivid and singular experience – we all owe Peter Parker our gay gratitude for this feat of loving research and magisterial curation.

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at www.historicalhomos.com and follow us on Instagram andTikTok.

If you like what you hear, please leave us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash, and edited by Alex Toskas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

PERIOD PIECE: Leonard Bernstein, "Maestro" Of My Loins May 16, 2024

Show notes

PERIOD PIECE is back!

Lucy returns, with her flow in tow, for another historical film that I mansplain to her because education 👏 never 👏 stops.

This month, we're digging into MAESTRO, Bradley Cooper's biopic about the glorious, complicated, and very gay star conductor of the 20th century: Leonard Bernstein.

Lenny was so much more than Gigi Hadid's boyfriend shows us. His life was full of fame and cocaine and fabulous people, yes, but he also struggled with his identity and image as a father, political activist, homosexual, husband, and atheist-leaning Jew.

Tune in to discover the truth about LB's scandalously gay affairs, equally scandalous political activism, and of course the toiletries kit where he kept his personal stash (uppers on the left, downers on the right).

At the grand finale, Lucy and I will share our Standing Ovulations in all standard categories: Horny, Tears, Violent, Do I Look Hot?, and Quippery & Bitchery.

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at: www.historicalhomos.com

And follow us on Instagram andTikTok. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

If you like what you hear, please give us an extremely high rating on Apple or Spotify (FIVE STAR ONLY).

This episode was written and researched by Bash, hosted by Bash & Lucy Hendra, and edited by Alex Toskas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Saint Sebastian: Rise of the Renaissance Twink (feat. R. Eric Thomas) May 02, 2024

Show notes

"Saint Sebastian is really just a Bored Office Twink." – R. Eric Thomas (April 2024)

Welcome to the wildly erotic, superheroic world of Saint Sebastian, who was initially martyred as a rugged Roman soldier before he blossomed into the lithe, Lana-Del-Rey-loving twink we cherish today.

Scientists now know it was the extremely gay Italian Renaissance that decided Saint Sebastian should ALWAYS be painted with skimpy loincloths and penetrative arrows, leaving 80% of any canvas to be devoted entirely to his exposèd flesh.

Along the way, Saint Seb – and the name Sebastian itself – has become a byword for "definitely gay maybe also kinky vibes" (a clunky phrase that needed a byword – thanks for that, Seb!). But how did this association with homosexuality develop?

Join our hysterically homosexual guest, R. Eric Thomas, as we uncover the truth about the OG Sebastian; his Middle Age superpowers that totally didn't stop the plague; making the career jump from Patron- to Pin-Up Saint; and finally, his reception amongst modern gays today.

Click on the paintings we discuss to follow along:

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at: www.historicalhomos.com

And follow us on Instagram andTikTok. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

If you like what you hear, please give us an extremely high rating on Apple or Spotify (FIVE STAR ONLY).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

King James & His George: Part Two (feat. Guy Branum) May 01, 2024

Show notes

"And it is well-known that the King of England f*cks the Duke of Buckingham." – Theophile de Viau (1628)

If you've been watching Mary & George on STARZ, then you must be desperate to know how much of it is true. And the answer, my curious queers, is: a lot!

George Villiers, the scheming twink who dominated King James I's court, was hot and 100% DTF. He won titles, land, and money for himself by sacrificing these gay virtues at the altar of the king's pleasure.

But who was George the man? Was his royal boyf really in love with him (or indeed George with James)? And were George's narcissistic antics responsible for driving the country into the ground, laying the path for King Charles I's beheading in 1649?

Join me and my fabulous, hilarious, and shockingly erudite guest, Guy Branum, to steep yourself in the deeply queer historical tea.

For more from Historical Homos, you can join our cult at: www.historicalhomos.com

And follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Do it. Yeahhhhhh just like that.

If you like what you hear, please give us an extremely high rating on Apple or Spotify - FIVE STAR ONLY.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★