Was Abe Lincoln Gay?

I am not sure which Forum this belongs in so here it is

It could be one of the biggest cover ups in American History


Was the saviour of the Union Gay? There is quite a bit of evidence the ol' Honest Abe wasnt quite as honest as he seemed, at least in the area of his sex life. Although the evidence is spotty at best there is quite a bit of it.

Have the Republican Party hid this secret for almost 150 years?

At a gay and lesbian conference in 1999 Kramer read from his unfinished book "The American People," quoting that diary: "He often kisses me when I tease him, often to shut me up . . . he would grab me up by his long arms and hug and hug," Speed purportedly wrote. "Yes, our Abe is like a schoolgirl." But Kramer won't submit his source material to scrutiny until the book's publication, so who knows if it'll wash. C.A. Tripp, a former Kinsey researcher and author of the milestone 1975 text The Homosexual Matrix, reportedly finished a book making similar claims shortly before his death in 2003, but there's no news on when we'll see it.

www.straightdope.com...

If the loving heart of the Great Emancipator found its natural amorous passions overwhelmingly directed toward those of his own sex, it would certainly be a stunning rebuke to the Republican Party�s scapegoating of same-sex love for electoral purposes. And a forthcoming book by the late Dr. C.A. Tripp � The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln, to be published in the new year by Free Press � makes a powerful case that Lincoln was a lover of men.

www.laweekly.com...


I dont know hao much of this is true but you got to admit he would have made one ugly drag queen

[edit on 19-11-2004 by Amuk]

Who cares if he was gay? Would it change peoples minds about him? Probable but nevertheless who really cares?

Well he was born in a log cabin right? And the "log Cabin Club" is a gay Repuplican org. Coincidence? I think not!

On a serious note: That was a sexually repressed era. Anti-Sodomy laws prevailed (Im pretty sure) and no doubt it would have been concealed to the nth degree. Aparently Mary Todd Lincoln was quite a shrew Ive read.

Originally posted by I See You
Who cares if he was gay? Would it change peoples minds about him? Probable but nevertheless who really cares?

No but it is an intersting historical find if true. The fact that an concerted effort to hide the truth was a sucsess for well over a century.

Ugly drag queen? How about just plain ugly period.....no offense to Lincoln but he was one ugly dude.

I've heard of this for some time now...we'll see if it's true or not.

By the way...off topic...did you know that Marlon Brando was bi? He even admitted to it before he died. Just a little tidbit. Before you ask....yes he acted upon it.

Amuk!!
You're killin' me.

Amuk, you come up with the weirdest stuff sometimes. Can't say that I have ever heard this before.

Originally posted by FredT
No but it is an intersting historical find if true. The fact that an concerted effort to hide the truth was a sucsess for well over a century.

Exactly

The part of them sharing a bed for four years is not in itself proof by any means because at that time it was not unusual for two or more to share a bed, but the Long time of the sharing and the diary entries are another story

Another tidbit on Abraham Lincoln. As everyone knows, Lincoln was a lawyer who shared the firm with another lawyer, by doing so, you often share the same things, including a bed. The story goes, when the lawyer found a bride and got married he left the firm, Lincoln had a profound dislike for the lawyer's bride, and became depressed once the lawyer left. I'm not sure if I worded this right, but basically, was this another hint that Lincoln was gay?

Originally posted by Jonna
Amuk, you come up with the weirdest stuff sometimes.

You would be suprised at what you can find on the net when you dont have ANYTHING else to do. But I have been cleared to go back to work monday

And Yes I knew Brando was Bi, their was a picture of him doing a Monica on another guy in, I believe, Penthouse

At least Lincoln, if he was homosexual, had the common sense not to try to marry a man or to suggest that such was proper.

Our innate appetites are not sufficient reason to abandon the norms of society. Most men find teenage girls to be very physically attractive, but most of us manage to bridle our proclivities and channel our desires in more acceptable and responsible outlets or do jail time.



[edit on 04/11/19 by GradyPhilpott]

"I once went to bed with a man to see what it was like."
--Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, British prime minister

"Jesus Christ had the same and cannot be blamed. Christ had his John and I have my sweet George."
--James I, 1566-1625, King of England who commissioned the famous Bible translation, answering the Privy Council's complaint of his "unseemly displays of public affection" for George Villiers

"Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed."
--Marlon Brando, 1924- , American actor, in 1976

"I'm sorry I never had a homosexual relationship, because I know there must be many joys and pleasures and degrees of closeness in those relationships."
--Gene Roddenberry, 1921-1991, American creator of "Star Trek"

"A very good-looking boy followed me for a quarter of an hour, and in the end he came up to me outside the Opera... I went back with him to his home and he kissed me with a frenzy even on the staircase... I was wildly passionate... We made love like tigers until dawn."
--Rudolph Valentino, 1895-1926, American silent-screen idol born in Italy

"Perhaps most actors are latent homosexuals and we cover it with drink. I was once a homosexual, but it didn't work."
--Richard Burton, 1925-1984, British actor

"I should like to know why nearly every man that approaches greatness tends to homosexuality, whether he admits it or not."
--D.H. Lawrence, 1885-1930, English novelist

"Through the nightly loving of boys, a man, on arising, begins to see the true nature of beauty."
--Plato, circa 428-348 B.C., Greek philosopher

"Even sodomy can be sane and wholesome, granted there is an exchange of genuine feeling."
--D.H. Lawrence, 1885-1930, English novelist

"We confess to a strong personal prejudice in favor of the boy-girl variety of sex, but our belief is in a free, rational and humane society demands a tolerance of those whose sexual inclinations are different from our own... Society benefits as much from the difference in men as from their similarities, and we should create a culture that not only accepts these differences, but respects and actually nurtures them."
--Hugh Hefner, 1926- , Playboy magazine publisher, expounding on the "Playboy Philosophy" in the early 1950s

Winston Churchill suprised me. Well are far as that goes old honest Abe suprised me too

I am suprised this thread didnt draw more response, after all it was a shameless bid for points

It mentioned two other presidents that was thought to be Gay Washington and Buchanan.

Like I said I dont know how true any of this is but it does lend to some interesting reading

Amuk, a shameless bid for points

I am constantly amazed that we consider such things as prominent gay men (and women, for that matter) a shock.
There have been periods in the history of mankind when those who we gay or bi-sexual were open about it. Just as there have been periods when everything sexual was taboo.
I think we in this country are closer to the extreme where everything sexual is taboo. I guess it surprises me. But, then why should we care? Your sexaul orientation should not make a difference in how good a person you are.
And, I do not want an answer, but I want you to look into your hearts: How many of you have had "those" thoughts or engaged in "those" activities once in your life?

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
And, I do not want an answer, but I want you to look into your hearts: How many of you have had "those" thoughts or engaged in "those" activities once in your life?

You know I have NEVER in my life even considered it

I am the type that if I did I would admit it and the thought has NEVER crossed my mind. I did not post this as a dig at Linclon but as a history piece that was worth examining.

I still think he would have made one UGLY drag queen

Wouldnt this make Abe Bi-sexual if it was true? Since he was married to Mary Todd and had four children, Robert, Edward, William and Thomas.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe

I think we in this country are closer to the extreme where everything sexual is taboo. I guess it surprises me. But, then why should we care?

You can't have lived very long, because American society is sex-drenched. I remember the sexual revolution and the mores it targeted. I certainly don't recommend returning to the sexual repression of the pre-WWII era and into the sixties, but we certainly could use some restraint when it comes to exposing the young to such.

In no small measure, the opposition of the Muslims to America stems from our flagrantly sexualized popular culture. We could easily clean up our presentation without stepping on anyone's rights.

[edit on 04/11/19 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Wouldnt this make Abe Bi-sexual if it was true? Since he was married to Mary Todd and had four children, Robert, Edward, William and Thomas.

I don't think he would necessarily have to be BI. Open homosexuality simply wasn't openly accepted back then. Better to keep up appearances - marry and have children while keeping your partner in the background. Look at Gov. McGreevey.

B.

Yes he was! My friend Darryl (known as Euro slag) went out with him for six weeks but reckons he's a crap shag though.

Until I was 11 when I was going off to play or whatever, I'd kiss my mum or dad goodye, on the lips. Then a friend of mine saw me kiss my dad goodbye one day, perfectly normal for me, and said it was weird. So when someone says that Abe Lincoln acted like a schoolgirl, and gave a kiss, the context of that kiss and wording of 'schoolgirl' is probably much more innocent back then than is imagined in our sex-obsessed world of today. Cultures change over time. The South is more republican and the North is more democrat, for example. If Bush ran around kissing other men on the lips in public NOW it'd be considered queer, but in many societies a man greeting another man with a kiss is not considered queer and inside that culture it's normal and expected. But Americans are gay-obsessed and sex-obsessed in weird ways.