How old is the oldest chat-up line between men? Who was the first ‘lesbian’? Were ancient Greek men who had sex together necessarily ‘gay’? And what did Shakespeare think about cross-dressing?
A Little Gay History draws on objects ranging from ancient Egyptian papyri and the erotic scenes on the Roman Warren Cup to images by modern artists including David Hockney and Bhupen Khakhar to consider questions such as these. The book explores the issues behind forty artefacts from ancient times to the present, and from cultures across the world, to ask a question that concerns us all: how easily can we recognize love in history?
A Little Gay History Desire and Diversity across the World
R. B. Parkinson Concise and beautifully illustrated, A Little Gay History
provides an intriguing and valuable insight into the range, diversity and complexity of same-sex experiences within their cultural and historical contexts.
A Little Gay History springs from the groundbreaking British Museum web trail ‘Same-sex desire and gender identity’ in collaboration with Untold London, launched as part of LGBT History Month 2010. This thematic look at objects in the collection will be expanded and updated, and a new online trail focusing on objects on display will be launched with the book, so that visitors can use it to explore the Museum.
A podcast on the theme of A Little Gay History is available from the British Museum website, featuring Museum curators, Maggi Hambling and Simon Russell Beale, discussing a number of objects in the Museum’s collection: http://www.britishmuseum.org/channel/object_stories/audio_a_little_gay_history.aspx
Awarded the 2014 Stonewall Honour Book for Non-Fiction
by the American Library Association
R. B. Parkinson is internationally known as a specialist in Ancient Egyptian poetry. He is a curator of ancient Egyptian culture at the British Museum, and his books for the British Museum Press include Voices from Ancient Egypt, The Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun and (for children) The Pocket Guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
The author will be speaking at several events for LGBT History month:
Mon 10, Sussex College Cambridge from 4pm
Mon 24th February, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham from 6pm
Tues 25th March, Oxford Literary Festival from 4pm SPECIAL OFFER – 20% OFF
Offer valid from 1 February until 1 March 2014.britishmuseum.org/shopsales@britishmuseum.co.ukTo redeem, enter code LGBThistory on checkout.
