When I set out to research queer women’s history in pre-Confederation Canada, I discovered — not surprisingly — that the silence was deafening. Still, one particular pitch of that white noise – the legacy of Sappho – illustrates how complete the denial around lesbianism was.
Before we can talk about that, however, we’re going to have [...]
Archive for September, 2007
Sappho in Canada in the 19th century
Posted in British North America, Dominion of Canada, history, lesbian/bi women's history on September 23, 2007 | 1 Comment »
The End to the Death Penalty for “Sodomy” in Canada
Posted in British North America, Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history, laws on September 9, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Looking over the political debates of the 19th century, it’s hard not to conclude that Canada’s laws specifying the death penalty for homosexuality died with a whimper instead of a bang.
As I mentioned in a previous article, no one has ever found a case in Canada that ended in execution for a consensual homosexual act. [...]
