Behavior/Humans

The First Gay Activist Lived in the XVIIIth Century

The indictment of his book saved it

By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

26th of April 2007, 11:01 GMT

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Homosexuality is well known even from antiquity.

The Greeks and the Romans

left many writings, paintings, mosaics representing homosexual men and women. The very term "homosexual" comes from Ancient Greek, meaning "same sex" and "lesbian" comes from the island of Lesbos (Greece) where Moon Goddess' priestesses practiced lesbianism.

In ancient Sparta, homosexuality was seen as a virtue. Many religions are tolerant to homosexuality; Christianity is not. And this shaped the attitude of the European and Western civilization towards this phenomenon.

Recently, Dr Hal Gladfelder from the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures has discovered at the National Archive in Kew a previously unnoticed 258-year-old book that seems to be the oldest advocate for gay rights found so far.

The scroll is a handwritten indictment of the book's printer. "So the eighteenth century courts - who were trying to suppress this - unwittingly helped publicize it 258 years later", said Gladfelder. "Ancient and Modern Pederasty Investigated and Exemplified" was the 1749 work of Thomas Cannon.

It raised a huge scandal at its time and was suppressed soon after publication.

The book gathered stories and philosophical texts defending male homosexuality, even talking with cross-dressing (surprise, drag-queens of those times ...) and many were English versions of Greek and Latin homoerotic texts. "Unnatural desire is a contradiction in terms; downright nonsense. Desire is an amatory impulse of the inmost human parts", wrote Canon in the book's pages.

"This must be the first substantial treatment of homosexuality ever in English. The only other discussions of homosexuality were contained in violently moralistic and homophobic attacks or in trial reports for the crime of sodomy up to and beyond 1750", said Gladfelder. "I think what happened to Cannon paved the way for 200 years of homophobic repression. In-fact, it wasn't until 1967 that homosexuality became legal in the UK. And sodomy was a capital offense punishable by death until 1861."

"We do know he (Canon) had to leave the country for Europe to avoid indictment. Interestingly, his father was Dean of Lincoln Cathedral and his grandfather was Bishop of Norwich and Ely. He was also a sometime friend - and rival - of John Cleland, author of the erotic classic ' Fanny Hill or the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' in 1748."

"It's a fair assumption that Cannon was writing for a gay subculture at the time - which has largely remained hidden. His life has many parallels with Oscar Wilde, who was persecuted by the law, forced into exile, and effectively silenced for being an apologist and advocate of same-sex love. But in Cannon's case, the silencing was more successful: virtually all traces of his life and work disappeared for 250 years", Galdfelder added.

TAGS:

gay | book | persecution

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