Historical Homos

Welcome to PERIOD PIECE , our new monthly feature where Lucy is on her period and Bash makes her watch a historical film. Because education 👏 never 👏 stops. This week, we're reviewing an old favorite called "The Favourite" (God, I'm a poet). Starring Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman, and Emma Stone, this sultry romp follows an alleged love triangle that rocked 18th century England. It's the story of...

Where the F do gendered bathrooms come from? To literally no one’s surprise, public bathrooms only became available to people who are not cis men a couple hundred years ago. Because guess what? If you can't pee in public, you can't BE in public for very long. The lack of public restrooms for women in particular has been a central and often-overlooked foundation of the patriarchy, which demands tha...

Wilkommen, bienvenue! Actually just bienvenue. Because yes, we are once again plunging you into another insufferably French episode, where Bash and Lucy compete for the "Best Francophone" Award no one offered. This week, we examine the life, luxuries, and labial exploits of Françoise Raucourt , one of 18th century Paris' most iconic lesbian actresses. La Raucourt catapulted to fame at the age of 1...

China has loved the "passion of the cut sleeve" - an ancient euphemism for dude-on-dude dicking - since the literal Han Dynasty (the era not the restaurant). Beautiful stories abound in Chinese literature and history of queer love, from doting emperors to divine influencers in the spirit world. We are of course primarily concerned with the latter. Tu'Er Shen , or "Rabbit God," got his start as a l...

It's time to ruin that Columbussy! This week we are trampling on the reviled memory of Christopher Columbus, in honor of the Queer Indigenous Peoples of the Americas who are - say it with me - MUCH, MUCH COOLER. Bitchy Bash is joined by Illiterate Lucy to explore the five genders of Indigenous civilizations, the rise of the berdache and one "Nameless Hermaphrodite," and a brief glance at the ancie...

Ladies and gentler ladies, please welcome your new Historical Homos co-host: Lucy Hendra! Lucy is bravely and openly straight, a woman (technically), and has seen every episode of Vanderpump Rules ever written. (Yes, written. #WGAStrong) Now, why does that qualify her to be on this podcast? No one knows, and no one cares. Least of all our subject this week: Alexander the Great, Murdering, Bisexual...

Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were big stars in their own day, and hundred years later they've got BIOPICS on Netflix and HBO. This is what bisexuality can do for you! Join us as we dig into the lives, songs, and loves of these two remarkable Black women. Renowned for their musical talent and big personalities, Ma and Bessie became the first record stars of 1920s America. The Great Depression ruined...

Hatshepsut was one of the more successful pharaohs of New Kingdom Egypt, mostly because she was hell-bent on being known as a he . In an era when ruling was synonymous with penis-having, Hatsephsut created multiple propaganda campaigns to cast herself in the role of divine male ruler. And yet, despite the many breastless and bearded statues she commissioned, Hattie retained many feminine aspects o...

Bash and Donal are back together again! This week we're leaving behind ancient sugar daddies to look at some of the gayest moments in the Supreme Court's history. From antisodomy laws to gay marriage – and now state-sanctioned discrimination, oh my! – the Court has had a long and bizarre history of interfering with LGBTQ+ rights. But all is not lost. The motherf*cking Supremes work in mysterious,...

Joan of Arc has an impressive CV: French it girl, saint, military genius (kind of?), 15th century celebrity (chic!), burned at the stake (careful, c'est chaud!), and potentially...nonbinary? Bash returns to his altar boy days to unravel the never-not-compelling, extremely unbelievable story of Joan, the Maiden of Orléans. As always, we disagree with almost everything everyone's ever said, and find...

An ancient Greek army of...boyfriends?! You may have heard tell of it somewhere in your gay little zines and Tik Toks, but do you know the full story? Join Bash for a bonus episode as he dives *deep* into the Sacred Band of Thebes – if only, sigh – an ancient Greek military experiment that led one city-state to total domination over her apparently-not-gay-enough neighbors. That is, until their utt...

A review of the life and loves of Virginia Woolf through her sauciest letters. We dive deep into her affair with Vita Sackville-West, leading London lesbian of her day, and relive the parties thrown by the Bloomsbury Set, a group of young Modernists who continued the British tradition of plumbing the nation's bottomless depths of homosexuality. (Or should we say bottom-full?) Written by Bash. Host...

William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe: brilliant dramatists and...bisexuals? We unpack the rumors, the hearsay and the straight-up gay poems that suggest these titans of English literature were also really, really, ridiculously good-loo– ahem, sorry, gay*. Written by Bash. Hosted by Bash and Donal Brophy. Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto. Edited by Alex Toskas. For more, follow us at: ⁠⁠...

The unbelievably wild and weird life story of the Chevalier d'Éon: transgender spy, soldier, and sleuth of the French Enlightenment. Assigned male at birth, Charles eventually transitioned to become Charlotte, before discovering the humiliating constraints of life as an 18th century woman. Written by Bash. Hosted by Bash and Donal Brophy. Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto. Edited by Alex Toskas...

Buckle up for one of the most infamous – and lesser-known – gay couples in Greek mythology: Zeus and Ganymede, originators of the divine Daddy-Twink dichotomy. We'll discover what these myths tell us about ancient Greek homosexuality IRL, and how they provided much-needed PR for the complex reality between mortals' sheets. Hosted by Bash and Donal Brophy. Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto. For...

Welcome to Historical Homos, the world's only no-fucks-given guide to queer history. Come for the laughs. Stay for the boners. And maybe learn something. Or whatever. Coming June 9, 2023. Hosted by Bash and Donal Brophy. Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ★ Support this podc...

What happens when two aging homosexuals sit down to talk about the Great Queers of Yesteryear? Check out the trailer to find out! Pube-trimming, cocaine-snorting lesbians, transgender spies, dogs – the real question is what WON'T we talk about? Historical Homos is launching June 9, 2023 on podcast platforms everywhere. Hosted by Bash and Donal Brophy. Executive Produced by Zachary Quinto. Hosted o...