British Museum: A History Of The Gay World In 40 Objects

How old is the oldest chat-up line between men? Who was the first ‘lesbian’? Were ancient Greek men who had sex together necessarily ‘gay’? And what did Shakespeare think about cross-dressing?

A Little Gay History takes objects ranging from Ancient Egyptian papyri and the erotic scenes on the Roman Warren Cup to images by modern artists including David Hockney and Bhupen Khakhar to consider questions such as these. Explored are the issues behind forty artefacts from ancient times to the present, and from cultures across the world, to ask a question that concerns us all: how easily can we recognize love in history?

Concise and beautifully illustrated with objects from the British Museum’s far-ranging collection, A Little Gay History provides an intriguing and valuable insight into the range, diversity and complexity of same- sex experiences.

British Museum.

Photo shows statues of Emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous.
When Antinous died Hadrian cried like a gurl and proclaimed him a god.

PS Fagburn also liked this video by Leo Herrera very, very much, 50 Years Of Gay In 5 Minutes.
Made me cry, just like a gurl.