Seen from the point of view of the “sodomites,” the Conquest of Quebec was a mixture of good and bad. On the positive side, the Quebec Act of 1774 effectively legalized lesbian sex – England did not define female homosexuality as “sodomy.” It also brought in the principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” [...]
Archive for the ‘British North America’ Category
British North America — Conclusion
Posted in British North America, Dominion of Canada, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history, trans history on January 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Dr. James Miranda Barry
Posted in British North America, gay/bi men's history, history, trans history on December 2, 2007 | 3 Comments »
By the time Dr. James Miranda Barry reached Canada in 1858, he was already a legend in medical and military circles.
Barry had a reputation for being a genius as a surgeon. He had performed the first successful Caesarean section by a British doctor — only the sixth known successful Caesarean by a [...]
Just a Quick Note
Posted in British North America, trans history on November 17, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been on hiatus for a couple of months, partly because of being busy in real life, and partly because of difficulties in research.
However, I’ve finally managed to get a hold of some information on a Dr. James Miranda Barry that I’ve been after, and will hopefully have an article on this individual next Sunday [...]
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 »
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 [...]
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. [...]
