Was Lincoln Gay?

The New York Times discusses a new book by historian and sex researcher C.A. Tripp which lays out the oft-murmured theory that Abraham Lincoln was homosexual. (Or, as Michael O'Donoghue put it, "...was a HOMO!")



I don't know how convincing Tripp's arguments are, but the article does trot out several other historians to refute them. (Of course, these historians have just as powerful careerist/monetary urges for Tripp to be wrong, as Tripp has to be right.) Uncovering the sexuality of an historical figure is, of course, an exercise in pure speculation--what is more interesting is that we're asking the question at all.



Like the one about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, the question of Lincoln's sexuality is an attempt to push a current hot button, to change what we think of him now. Both sides are convinced of this, the one side wanting to "keep" Lincoln, the other wanting to "claim" Lincoln.



Fact is, historical figures belong to all of us. Claiming one, especially to prove the wisdom of a current policy or belief, is a rhetorical tactic--even if the speaker really, truly believes it. I don't care who he had sex with, how often and why--Abraham Lincoln belongs to all of us. So does Hitler, though we're less willing to claim him. That is the truest lesson of history.



I'm not saying historians shouldn't debate whether Lincoln was homosexual or not, but there is nothing more tied to a specific time and place than sexual customs, and applying our current definition to their remote time almost inevitably produces a false result. There's no harm in it, but it's nothing but comfort.



What all this really illuminates is our country's continuing fascination with such stuff, which I consider to be immature to the point of pathology. Whether Lincoln was gay, bi, or transgendered can't be proven, nor would it illuminate the man so very much, at least not in the way we want it to. Perhaps--and this is a longshot--if our greatest President were conclusively found to have been gay, American politics would get an infintesimal nudge away from gay-baiting. But I doubt it--queer-fear works for the right-wing, as it did for the Nazis. (Paging Ernst Rohm...Herr Rohm, you have a telephone call...)



BTW, Jon over at A Tiny Revolution informed me that Gary Webb's nears and dears are convinced there was no foul play involved. That's a small mercy. Jon says he's writing a post about the real tragedy of the event, which I will leave for you to discover.