Sex & Power, Gender &Transgression: LGBT+ Diversity in the 15th and 16th Centuries
Sex and Power, Gender and Transgression: Lessons for Today from LGBT+ Diversity in the 15th and 16th Centuries Rebecca Stevenson (As presented at the Dorothy Dunnett Society Centenary Conference in Edinburgh, with some added notes in smaller font) April 12, 2023 Good afternoon, my name is Rebecca Stevenson. It is a pleasure to be here, speaking about Sexuality, Gender, Power, and Queerness in the 15th and 16th century World. Cut Sleeves and Bitten Peaches Is it possible to understand the inner worlds of people we’d call LGBT+ from 600 years ago? Or to understand how they defined themselves, how they accessed or lost social power? Or how social systems shaped the meaning of sexual and gender behavior? Stories and poetry are decoder rings for queer interiorities of the past. Writings from queer points of view allow for self-definition in context, and reveal eddies of social power and transgression. And stories illuminate the rainbow palate of diverse sexualities, identities, intimacie