18th Century Sexualities: Homosexuality Part1 (1/2)

by Mutsuko Takahashi

Response to Trumbach’s “The Transformation of Sodomy from the Renaissance

to the Modern World and Its General Sexual Consequences”: Part 1

In this blog entry, I examine eighteenth-century sexuality from the perspective of homosexuality based on Randolph Trumbach's article, entitled, "The Transformation of Sodomy from the Renaissance to the Modern World and Its General Sexual Consequences".

Viewpoints

Trumbach's Historical Findings:

• After 1700, there was a sudden change in sexuality in Europe.

• The change occurred rapidly in one generation after 1700.

• The change occurred among all social classes.

• In three countries, (England, France, and the Netherlands) the change occurred simultaneously.

• The changes that took place in these three countries were transmitted to more distant China and Japan before spreading to neighboring countries in Europe.

• Homosexuality was practiced by both men and women, but legal documents exist only for men.

Background

Trumbach states that people’s sexual interests and function in Europe after 1700 were completely different from sexuality before 1700. Moreover, this obvious shift had rapidly been occurring in one generation after 1700 coincidentally among every social class straddled three countries in England, France, and the Netherlands. This blog entry tries to explore the causes according to Trumbach’s important notice that the change occurred simultaneously in certain areas covering all social classes.

In considering the reason for the said change, the acquisition of freedom of speech brought by the expiration of the Licensing of the Press Act in 1695 can be raised as a possible reason. We will see that the ideology of the time is reflected in artistic works introduced in Trumbach’s article.

※ Note: Although the first use of the word, “homosexual” is in 1891 according to OED, the term will be used in this paper for the purpose of convenience.

Observing the situation before 1700

According to Trumbach, homosexuality had been widely rampant among both men and women before 1700. All men presumably desired both women and adolescent boys while women also desired both men and women.

Trumbach is a historian, so his credibility regarding historical facts is high, but just in case, I argue based on some evidence to support the chaotic sexual orientation of the time. I would like to cite Nicolas Venette’s book, entitled, The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal’d as a reference for evidence. (The book is available in an online archive.)

You can also view 18th-century historical documents and books for free at Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO). ECCO requires a login, but researchers are accessible to the site through their institutions.

To justify the chaotic sexual orientation of the time, Venette’s study of hermaphrodites can be applicable. It is because an adolescent boy is considered a type of hermaphrodite that doesn’t belong to the male category, and a homosexual woman is also categorized as another type of hermaphrodite. Since there are three types of sex, intercourse with the third sex cannot theoretically be claimed as homosexuality.

Venette’s study can be applied to the times before 1700, for he lived from 1633 to 1698; however, to support the situation earlier than his life, we can trace it back to the times of Andreas Vesalius in the 16th century.

Here is an anatomical image of reproductive organs in Andreas Vesalius.

The anatomical image of reproductive organs by Vesalius

The inverted image of the reproductive organs can suggest the unity of the two sexes. Since there is no big difference between the reproductive organs of the two sexes, intercourse with the opposite sex can already involve the homosexual aspect. Given that all cases embrace homosexuality, an act of performing sexual intercourse with any sex will be justifiable.

As an example reflecting an ideology before 1700, the painting of Figure 1: Francesc Ribalta in Trumbach’s article can be raised. Whether seen through the lens of Venette’s theory or Vesalius’ anatomy of the reproductive organ, the embracement of adult men wouldn’t be controversial; any adult man would be a passive existence when Christ bestows embracement on him.

The advent of the sudden change after 1700: in England

Trumbach informs us of the advent of the sudden change after 1700 in northwestern Europe: England, France, and the Netherlands. According to him, a man desiring the same sex is a deviation from the normal pattern. This section will cover the observation of the change in England.

What delivered such a sudden change will presumably be the expiration of the Licensing of the Press Act in 1695. To support this hypothesis, I will focus on a short period when abolition and renewal were repeated before the formal expiration in 1695.

Let's take a look at the court records of the time for violations of the printing laws and regulations. Court records are viewable at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court).

As is shown in the Old Bailey’s criminal records, the temporal changes were remarkably injurious to the public order for the printing. 【Search words: seditious libel】 Callanan refers to the temporal expiration and the renewal years in his paper; therefore, comparing the history shown by him and with the years of the criminal history in Old Bailey, we will discover that those temporal changes obviously affected on the public. On the other hand, however, the public has come to expose to the freedom of speech because of this change.

The sodomitical image shown in Figure 3: The Women-Hater's Lamentation in Trumbach’s article indicates the felonious aspect of sodomy. Because the year of publication is 1707, it accords with the times of the drastic change after 1700. With the expiration of the Licensing of the Press Act, we can deduce that a sense of guilt had been inculcated in the public through various media. Trumbach mentions that the lesbian minority did not have the same impact as the male sodomite minority due to the lack of legal sources. Hence, we will see what holds the key is an information network.

Since sodomy was subject to criminal penalty in England at the time, it appeared in legal sources if it was violated. On the other hand, a lesbian could be a sin from a religious point of view but was not a subject of legal crime; therefore, this fact can explain the reason for the information shortage of lesbian minorities. As another possible reason, lesbianism could have been intentionally conserved, for it can potentially involve heterosexual elements by attracting a man’s sexual interest.

Considering a sudden change after 1700 in neighbors of England: France and the Netherlands

What is behind distributing information will be a medium, such as arts, literary works, and other media for communication.

According to Trumbach, during the first generation after 1700, the change had occurred only in England, France, and the Netherlands. The change had not been reached in southern and eastern areas yet. However, the new sexual regime had already reached China and Japan in the eighteenth century, before arrived in Southern and Eastern Europe.

By this historical fact, we can deduce that an information network that affected this change was mainly diffused through a pipeline of seaborne trade rather than that of overland trade. With the expiration of the Licensing of the Press Act in England in 1695, the impact of freedom of speech was immediately spread to neighboring countries in France and the Netherlands.

Not only publications delivered by linguistic messages, but also nonlinguistic messages produced by artistic works must have been widely spread beyond the barrier of literacy and language. All kinds of publications and artistic works, from linguistic messages to nonlinguistic ones, had been translated, interpreted, and traveled all the way through marine transportation routes, and rapidly reached Asia.

Trumbach states that Christian doctrine couldn’t regulate men’s desire for sodomy before 1700. On the other hand, he informs that the English in the early eighteenth century was claiming that it was Christianity that taught the ancients the sinfulness of sodomy.

Although Trumbach does not make clear statements in this regard, we can observe that he takes a skeptical stance toward the issue of whether Christianity could have controlled sodomy after the eighteenth century. It is because, immediately after mentioning the English people’s statement, he states that sodomites were everywhere whether Roman Catholic or Muslim.

English people’s claim that Christianity regulated the sodomy of the ancients appears to be untenable; for, in the case of Japan, Christianity had already reached Japan in 1549 by Francisco de Xavier. He did missionary work in Japan and India.

Nevertheless, as Trumbach states, sodomy had existed in China, Japan, India, and Islamic societies as of the eighteenth century. This fact can refute the English people’s claim. As is shown in the lesbian case which could be a sin but is not a crime, we can deduce what regulates sodomy was not religious restrictions but was criminal punishment.

The latter part of this topic is found at the below link:

A Study of Eighteenth-Century Sexualities: Homosexuality Part2 (2/2) - Mutsuko Takahashi BLOG