Tag: LGBTQ+

  • Homosexuality in the ‘Enlightenment’?

    Homosexuality in the ‘Enlightenment’?

    By Nailya Shamgunova Nailya is working on European conceptualisations of sexual diversity in South East Asia and Japan in the 17th century. France was the first European state to repeal its sodomy laws as far back as 1791. The event, which is now hailed by LGBTQ+ groups as a landmark, at first glance seems like a…

  • The Case of Betty John – gender ambiguity in a late eighteenth century small-claims court

    The Case of Betty John – gender ambiguity in a late eighteenth century small-claims court

    By Alex Wakelam – @A_Wakelam Alex is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of History. His thesis is entitled “Imprisonment for Debt and Women’s Financial Failure in the Long Eighteenth Century”. Before the eighteenth century, it was potentially possible to stand at the window of an English townhouse and gaze out across the milieu of different classes, ages, and ethnicities…