I support the right of all Americans, gay or straight, to have marriage rights now!
I support the right of all Americans, gay or straight, to have
marriage rights now!
History of Same-Sex Unions Explored
Tuesday, 5 June 2001
Source: Houston Voice
On the arid windswept plateau near Saqqara, the oldest royal funerary
complex in Egypt and home to Djoser's step pyramid (the prototype of
the stone behemoths that would define pharaonic Egypt for all time), an
Egyptian archeologist literally stumbled onto a forgotten passageway
cut into the rock of a causeway. The passage led down into an Old
Kingdom mastaba on whose walls in technicolor splendor were painted
reliefs of two men embracing.
For anyone used to the hieratic images and somewhat unchanging
iconography of ancient Egyptian art, these pictures were shocking. It
was as if you showed a nude centerfold to your 87-year-old grandmother.
Nothing like this had ever been seen before, certainly nothing like it
had ever been reported. Here was rather irrefutable evidence of what
could only be construed as gay life in ancient Egypt.
It was the tomb of Ni-ankh-khnum and Khnum-hotep, palace functionaries
and royal confidants, and the underground crypt was designed to be
shared by both of them. Children are present in the banquet scenes, but
no wives, although there seems to be a seated female image chiseled off
the wall.
The two men press their faces together, nose to nose, one's arm around
the other's back in intimate embrace usually depicted as between man
and wife. There are seven such scenes of them up close and personal.
Even their names have been written together to read "joined in life,
joined in death."
To top it off, both men were "chief overseers to the King's
manicurists." What more proof is needed! It couldn't have been more
fortuitous if they had been pharaoh's hairdressers.
In the quiet dusty propriety of Egyptian antiquity, this Saqqara tomb
from 2400 BC has been quaintly designated the "Tomb of the Brothers,"
although no interior inscription even hints at a family relationship.
Greg Reeder, who has done extensive research into the homosexuality of
the ancient world-a field in dire need of extensive study-believes that
Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were lovers and portrayed themselves as such
to be together for eternity. Why else would they be nuzzling and
touching, acts which are only shown as the exclusive province of a
married couple?
It's fascinating and unlike anything yet discovered beneath the sands
of Egypt. In their beautiful, colored-splashed tomb, these guys have
been together for more than 4,000 years. Their lapidary embraces give
new meaning to long-term relationship.
The ancient world was inundated with sex, filled with an amoral,
non-judgmental attitude that decidedly blessed and favored the male. In
Greece, homosexual sex was part of growing up, an initiation rite for
the sons of the elite where the older gentleman admirer initiated the
youngster into all realms of adult life: sex just happened to be one of
the lessons to be taught the teen.
Sex, male or female variety, was no-big-thing. Yet, there were numerous
occasions of long-term bonding between peers, not just man and boy, but
between man and man.
Aristotle in his "Politics," recalls Philolaus and his Dioclese. This
is a classic case of brains and beauty. Philolaus was a respected
Theban legislator who fell for the hunky Olympian athlete. They met,
fell in love, and remained together all their lives. Their joint tomb
was one of the busiest tourist attractions in ancient Athens.
What would set Generals Colin Powell's and Norman Schwarzkopf's eyes to
cross would be the old Attic attitude that co-mingled masculinity,
same-sex attraction, and military valor into one dreaded, very
successful fighting machine.
There were whole battalions of lovers in the city-state armies,
fighting side by side, such as Gorgidas' "Sacred Band of Thebes,"
composed of 150 male couples. Phaedrus describes their passion in
Plato's "Symposium:" "for a man in love would surely choose to have all
the rest of the host rather than the one he loves see him forsaking his
station or flinging away his arms… the influence of love inspires him
with a courage that makes him equal to the bravest born."
The Greeks had a passion for such hero couples: Achilles and Patrocles,
Pelopidas and Iolaus, Epaminondas and Asopichus, and celebrated these
two-somes in epic verse where their deeds and love would be extolled
into the centuries. Love between same-sex equals was noble, fair,
perfect.
When the known world was swallowed up by rapacious Rome, the "Greek
practice" followed, although in the hothouse Mediterranean world it
didn't need any push or a special name. Gay sex, although in the
minority even in hedonistic Rome, was never sanctioned, punished nor
ostracized. No laws proscribed it, no one condemned it. Often,
especially in the romance literature of the Empire, it was extolled as
"above the love of women."
"The Satyricon" of Petronius has a same-sex couple as its protagonists
who finally triumph over failed love affairs and amorous advances from
both sexes, tumbling into each others' arms at tale's conclusion;
Iamblichus in his "Babyloniaca" includes a rare lesbian couple,
Berenice and Mesopotamia, who actually get married when they're
reunited after a long absence; in Lucian's dialogue, "Affairs of the
Heart," gay love is equally weighed in value to straight love.
Julius Caesar, though probably not in a marriage, per se, nevertheless
had a torrid youthful affair with Nicomedes, King of Bithynia. Caesar's
soldiers called their leader the Queen of Bithynia-not to his face,
though.
Nero, psychotic and campy-the worst combination-castrated his inamorata
Sporus to turn him suitably girlish and then proceeded to marry him in
a spectacular public marriage ceremony. He dressed the boy as a empress
and elevated him to the highest ranks. The joke going around Rome at
the time, according to Suetonius, was that Rome would've been a much
better place if Nero's father had only married a girl like that. When
Nero was assassinated, loyal Sporus was at his side.
The emperor Hadrian, a rough-trade general if ever there was, had an
abnormal fixation on his Grecian honey, the beauteous Antinous, who had
caught the lonely Emperor's eye a few years earlier. They were
inseparable. When his beloved suddenly drowned in the Nile, Hadrian,
despondent and overcome with grief, had his "favorite" deified.
The empire was awash with new cities bearing his name. Statues of him
were everywhere; his face on every coin; athletic games held in his
memory. The chroniclers all say that Hadrian never got over the death
of his partner, that he wept every night. Their love affair, even as
early as 130 A.D., had assumed a high romantic gloss. The couple was,
and continues to be, the most famous real-life pair of male lovers from
antiquity.
Most of what we can decipher about ancient lives come skewed from the
paternalistic point of view. Only in Egypt were women the equal of men,
about which Herodotus grumbled in his "History," the world's first tour
book. In the powerhouse empires of Greece and Rome, though, the
women-even noble born-were viewed as property and married off for
dynastic reasons, never for love, an extremely modern concept. They
weren't important enough to be talked or written about. The exceptions
were the extreme: Hatshepsut, Cleopatra, Poppaea, Sappho, but everyone
else fit into a man's world.
Perhaps, the most intriguing discovery has been the rediscovery by
eminent medieval scholar John Boswell of liturgical ceremonies from
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches that sanctioned-and
sanctified-same-sex partnerships in the early medieval world.
Strikingly similar to heterosexual marriage ceremonies, these rites,
which include prayers, sermons and blessings, consecrate gay love with
bountiful inclusiveness.
Numerous versions of such commitment ceremonies, pre-12th century, have
been found throughout Europe and eastern Asia. Given the moniker,
"prayer for making brothers," taken from the Roman example, Boswell
contends that these rites, known to scholars as the "Adelphopoiia"
liturgy, celebrate gay marriage.
Author of "Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality" and now
"Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe," Boswell with his usual
exhaustive thoroughness plows right into these ancient texts and reads
them with amazing freshness. Obviously, some scholars are less than
thrilled with his insights that show such tolerance and acceptance of
gay unions in a ceremony that was performed for hundreds of years, and
was still recited in parts of eastern Europe well into the early 20th
century.
But what else can one make of this 13th century text from the monastery
of Sinai?
"Lord our god and ruler, who makest humankind after thine own image and
didst bestow upon us the power of life eternal, do Thou vouchsafe unto
these thy servants grace to love one other and to abide unhated and not
a cause of scandal all the days of their lives… that they be granted
love in the spirit and [that they] honor each other, that the Lord
grant them blameless life and pleasing conduct, that they be saved from
all danger…"
These words don't sound especially cold and contractual, as some
critics of Boswell content. The liturgy follows the heterosexual
marriage model almost verbatim and uses the same trappings: candles,
hands upon the Gospel, holding right hands, binding hands (or covering
their heads) with the priest's stole-i.e., tying the knot-an
introductory litany, the Lord's Prayer, Communion, a kiss, and
sometimes circling the altar.
Even the ritual of a wedding feast was practiced by gay couples, as an
illuminated manuscript clearly shows Byzantine Emperor Basil I partying
with his male lover at their "brotherhood ceremony." According to the
modern conception of marriage, as Boswell points out so clearly, this
same-sex union was a voluntary, permanent, emotional union acknowledged
and recognized by the community. It's a personal relation, undertaken
for personal reason, but with society's blessing and the imprimatur of
ecclesiastical force.
By 1300, because of seismic social changes brought about through the
Crusades and its accompanying mass xenophobia and Christian
intolerance, homosexuality was fairly stigmatized throughout Europe.
It had taken the Church almost 1,000 years to drive it underground.
This time, the pagans went into the catacombs. But the same-sex union
ceremony persisted. In 1908, sexologist P. Nacke witnessed a ceremony
in Albania. Yet, by the time anthropologists and scholars came round to
studying these crinkled manuscripts, they only saw what they wanted to
see: "artificial kinship" or "collateral adoption." Please, they said,
no sex.
Gay marriage will never be the same thanks to John Boswell's
pioneering, exemplary work. With his steamroller archeology he
unearthed our fascinating history that had lain willingly forgotten or
untranslated. Sadly, he died of AIDS in 1994, but his exceptional work
in gay historical studies has brought us all out of the closet. We
await the next intrepid discoverer.
__________________________________________________
Aloha ahiahi kakou.
More information is available on one of two active Hate Crimes bills now
making their way through the Hawai`i State Legislature. (HB 390 HD 1 is
still awaiting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is a
single referal bill and only has provisions for enhanced sentencing.)
SB 951 SD 1 HD 1 was passed on Tuesday with Amendments by the House
Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs. The vote was:
7 Ayes (Reps. Hamakawa, B. Oshiro, Ahu Isa, Chang, Kanoho, Morita,
Thielen)
4 Ayes with reservations (Reps Souki, Auwae, Gomes, Marumoto)
1 No: (Rep Whalen)
2 Excused: (Reps Case, Yoshinaga)
Again, this voting patern suggests the reason that a Hate Crmie Las has
not been enacted in Hawai`i, even though legislation has been proposed
for almost every years since 1994: Rep Souki has been overly cautious
or even outrightly opposed to such legislation, and he held the powerful
position as Speaker of the House. He is the only Democrat not to vote
with the majority (Ayes) on this issue in this committee. Two Democrats
were excused. Republicans were split, with Thielen drawing high praise
from local activists for her hard-hitting grilling of testifiers opposed
to the bill.
The text of SB 951 SD 1 HD 1 is not available to me at this time, and it
unknown as to the extent or nature of the admendments, however, it has
been said that the lastest amendments are designed to align this bill
with existing federal law.
SB 951 SD 1 HD 1 is now headed for the House Finance Committee. A date
has not been set for hearing yet, and we will probably be given only 48
hours notice as required by law. It is important, therefore, to prepare
testimony ahead of time geared to the Finance Committee's concerns. I
will post a guideline again tomorrow for Hawaiian activists. If SB 951
SD 1 HD 1 passes out of the House Finance Committee, it will then go to
a joint Committee of Representatives and Senators to work out the
differences of the final drafts as it emerged from each chamber and come
to an agreement on the final draft to be presented to each chamber for
approval. The bill then heads to Governor Cayetano's office for final
approval and enactment.
A hui hou,
Maritn
Human Rights Campaign
WorkAlert
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News and developments concerning the struggle for workplace equality for
GLBT Americans
March 2001
Vol. 4, No.3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work Factoids
Fifty-eight percent of gay New York City-area residents are out to their
colleagues at work,
- according to a survey conducted for New York magazine's "Gay Life
Now" issue, Feb. 26.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This month's headlines:
San Francisco To Add Sex-Change Benefits to Health Insurance Plan for City
Employees
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040301.asp
Two California Jurisdictions Give Nod to Benefits Requirements for
Contractors
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040302.asp
More States Consider Employment Protections and Benefits for Gay Workers
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040303.asp
Ernst & Young: Final Big Five Accounting Firm To Announce Domestic Partner
Benefits
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040304.asp
Wrigley Advertises in Gay Magazine
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040305.asp
Winn-Dixie Seeks To Dismiss Suit Over Firing of Transgendered Employee
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040306.asp
Gay MBA Students To Hold Annual Conference
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040307.asp
Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Local School District's Policy on Domestic
Partners
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040308.asp
Houston Mayor Delays Benefits Plan
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040309.asp
Scottsdale To Consider Domestic Partner Benefits, Protections for City
Workers
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040310.asp
Other employers that recently announced domestic partner benefits ...
http://www.hrc.org/pubs/workalert/0403/040311.asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
Quotable
"Early on, this was not an issue, because gays and lesbians were invisible
in the workplace. Any business focused on the bottom line needs to just get
over this if they are going to succeed."
* George Weir, vice president of Harris Bankcorp's private banking
unit, regarding the firm's participation at a gay and
lesbian job fair. (From Crain's Chicago Business, Feb. 19.)
"We don't create an ad to advocate or endorse or even comment on any kind of
lifestyle. ... Whether [our ad] ultimately causes social change is for
others to decide. For us, it's simply a business decision."
- Steve Burgay, vice president of John Hancock Financial Services,
explaining his company's recent TV advertisement depicting a lesbian
couple traveling with their adopted child. (From The Boston Globe, Feb. 4.)
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