No Way, They Were Gay?

March 15, 2021
Grades 7-12 What's that you say? Abraham Lincoln was gay? No way! Uh, way! declares Wind, asserting Lincoln was, indeed, gay, as were 11 others he profiles: 3 men, 4 women, and 4 individuals who lived outside gender boundaries. Some of them are well-known--Shakespeare, Eleanor Roosevelt--others, not so: for example, M'E Mpho Nthunya and We'wha. How does Wind know all of them were gay when none of them is living? That can be difficult, since sometimes homophobic history has, Wind points out, erased evidence of some people's sexual identity. Happily, to correct that, he has searched out primary-source materials--letters in the cases of Lincoln, Gandhi, and Roosevelt; autobiographies (Catalina de Erauso and Sarah Churchill); anthropological field notes (We'wha)--and a clutch of secondary sources, usually books by those who weren't present, like, Wind acknowledges, this one. Nevertheless, his book is solidly written, well-documented and organized, and illustrated with period photos and portraits. On the whole, it's a modest, well-intentioned contribution to gay history. It's also going to inflame passions, so be prepared for controversy.

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May 3, 2021
Stating in an introduction that “history was crafted by the people who recorded it,” particularly those in power, Wind notes that much remains unknown about the lives of “men who loved men, women who loved women, and people who lived outside gender boundaries”—the topics covered in this book. Using primary sources to frame an alternative historical narrative, and asking readers to form their own conclusions, Wind sets out to fill some of those gaps, focusing primarily on the same-sex relationships or nonbinary identities of 12 well-known public figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, M’e Mpho Nthunya, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bayard Rustin, William Shakespeare, and We’wha. B&w photos and a mix of heavy fonts give the layout a dated look, but speech-bubble annotations easily convey contextual information throughout this accessible introduction to “hidden” queer history. Wind includes a helpful explanation of terms; source notes list primary and secondary sources. Ages 11–up.