Cover of Unruly Desires: American Sailors and Homosexualities in the Age of Sail, courtesy of William Benemann.

In early nineteenth-century America, the rapid expansion of the maritime industry created an all-male environment where sexual activity was tolerated, and at times even ritualized. The United States Navy adopted rules of conduct based on those of the Royal Navy, but specifically deleted proscriptions against sodomy and buggery. Drawing on a wide variety of archival resources, including diaries, memoirs, business correspondence, court-martial reports, pornography and religious tracts, author William Benemann’s new book Unruly Desires: American Sailors and Homosexualities in the Age of Sail reconstructs this rare nineteenth-century queer space. Benemann will discuss his research and read selections from the book.

SPEAKERS

William Benemann is archivist emeritus for the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.  He is the author of A Year of Mud and Gold: San Francisco in Letters and Diaries, 1849-1850; Male-Male Intimacy in Early America; and Men in Eden: William Drummond Stewart and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

This event will take place online. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions on how to join the Zoom webinar as an attendee. The event will also be livestreamed, and then archived, on our YouTube page at https://bit.ly/2UyGVbG.

ADMISSION

Free | Suggested donation of $5.00

Register online here: https://bit.ly/2yD6YG4

The event is limited to 500 attendees.

JOIN THE GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Become a member of the GLBT Historical Society for free museum and program admission, discounts in the museum shop and other perks: www.glbthistory.org/memberships