Thursday, September 25, 2008
No such thing as lesbians?
I find it interesting that the article's primary concentration was on sexuality, friendship, and sodomy amongst males. At no point was there any mention of female homosexuality/lesbianism, which makes me wonder how (in)significant women truly were during this time. Granted, women seemed to play more of a "seen but not heard" type of role, but surely there must have been at least some lesbian relationships going on? If so, why is there no mention of it whatsoever, at least in comparison? Was it really not happening, or did they overlook it and consider it less important since the female role was not as significant or powerful as the male's (eg, patriarch society where the male is infinitely more powerful than the female)? There is definitely much emphasis on gay male relationships based on class, which makes me wonder how much of the concern towards homosexuality was actually moral and how much of it was solely based on politics. Based on what we read in Edward II and even how Bray points it out in page 52, I really do not believe that the concern with homosexuality and sodomy was moral at all; rather, I think it was definitely all about class status and making sure that no one below you was granted a higher position than you. Afterall, that was indeed how Edward II ended up in deep shit... both figuratively and literally.
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