A bimonthly magazine of history, culture, and politics.

Robert Mapplethorpe, untitled (invitation to Light Gallery opening), 1973 (Whitney Museum of Art). This photo was used as the insignia for the exhibit.

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By Stephen Hemrick on September 17, 2015

Stephen Hemrick

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Previous ArticleArt and Instant Gratification

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Features From Current Issue

Essays

Sodomy at the Court of Louis XIV

By Laurence Senelick: Louis XIV did indeed have a younger brother named Philippe, but the king was never at risk of being supplanted. Philippe I, Duc d’Orléans, known as Monsieur, is one of history’s most notorious effeminates, whose affections and fortune were lavished on male favorites, from courtiers to opera dancers.

Essays

Bottom-Shamed by Mark Twain

By William Benemann: ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN holds the distinction of being the American novel that has been censured for the longest period of time, for the greatest number of reasons, by the widest range of political, religious, and literary factions.

Essays

Rise and Fall of the ‘Pansy Craze’

By Margaret Vandenburg: Staging back-alley drag balls was one thing; performing for Astors and Vanderbilts was quite another. What’s more, slummers didn’t just indulge in voyeuristic pleasures; they sampled the seafood, so to speak—a metaphor on full display in periodicals like Broadway Brevities, one of several mainstream publications covering the Pansy Craze.

Essays

A Novel from a Darkening Time

Butterfly Man makes it clear that Levenson must have been entirely familiar with the gay demimonde that it depicts.
Blog
1. January 2, 2025 The Battle for Intro. 2: The New York City Gay Rights Bill, 1971 – 1986
2. December 12, 2024 Queering Loneliness: A Review of Luca Guadagnino’s Queer
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