Unruly desires : American sailors and homosexualities in the Age of Sail / William Benemann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Benemann, William, 1949- author.

Contributor:

Commins-Holman Family Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sailors--Sexual behavior--United States--History--19th century.

Sailors.

Male homosexuality--United States--History--19th century.

Male homosexuality.

Homosexuality--United States--History--19th century.

Homosexuality.

Sailors--Sexual behavior.

History.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 328 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

[San Francisco, California] : [publisher not identified], [2019]

Summary:

"In its voracious hunger to fill its decks and spars with the bodies of strong young sailors, nineteenth century maritime culture welcomed eccentrics, criminals, freaks and misfits. Sailors were to a large extent outcasts from society, but they were outcasts into a community of the marginalized, one that held very different values and expectations than the towns and villages from which the young men fled, a community that offered these men a tentative refuge. The United States Navy and the commercial maritime industry during the Age of Sail unwittingly created an environment where men who were attracted to other men -- later to be known as homosexual or gay -- could explore their sexuality at a distance from family and friends, with a freedom and openness they had never known on land." -- Amazon.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Commins-Holman Family Fund.

ISBN:

9781712230398

1712230395

OCLC:

1141769059