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Alright folks settle in, here's my thread about stumbling upon LGBTQ content in the archive for @PhUsct's 1000 followers.
**Holly's about to get surgery, if you would like to help me help him (groceries, dogwalking, etc.) pls venmo Missy-DeVelvis**
**Holly's about to get surgery, if you would like to help me help him (groceries, dogwalking, etc.) pls venmo Missy-DeVelvis**
It starts with a very, very well-known collection for us CWE folks--the Allston Family Papers (former SC gov R.F.W Allston) at the @SChistoricalsoc. Those poor archivists had to deal with me, every day, for four weeks last summer.
*Help w/ @PhUsct surgery @Missy-DeVelvis venmo*
*Help w/ @PhUsct surgery @Missy-DeVelvis venmo*
As I spent each day reading cross-hatched cursive in silence, I got a little loopy. So I showed all my discoveries, rants, etc., to whatever poor soul was working the desk. Often it was Brandon Reid, who is creating an LGBTQ+ finding aid for SCHS/CofC archives
Back to the Allston's. Adeles senior and junior, along with Jane, were a huge part of my diss. The whole family wrote frequently in 1860-1 to Charlie Allston, who was away at school. This was VERY good for me as I got a play-by-play of how secession invaded everyday life.
One day Ben, (old enough to practically be his dad) wrote to his brother Charlie at school with some cautions about...rooming with other boys. It was March 9, 1861.
**Help me help Holly Venmo: missy-develvis**
**Help me help Holly Venmo: missy-develvis**
Here goes. "You tell me that you have a bed with young [name]. Where is your own bed, have you not one? I would ask...to allow you to use your own mattress, even if you had to put it upon the floor...be very careful Charly, boys in sleeping together"....
"sometimes teach each other very bad habits, habits which in long after years will give you much trouble and pain, if they do not even worse than this. Sometimes men become insane, and are obliged to be sent to a mad house, from the practices learnt in boyhood"
"You are just now the age when you may suffer, from contracting such a habit, and you cannot be too careful."
So uh, what habit exactly would put you in a "mad house" if you don't have your own mattress? I think @_jonathansjones knows...
So uh, what habit exactly would put you in a "mad house" if you don't have your own mattress? I think @_jonathansjones knows...
"I refer to THE HANDLING of your PRIVATE member. Let nothing tempt you to do so yourself or to allow others to do so for you"
I did all caps, Ben underlined these words. Imagine me, in a silent archive, suddenly reading about masturbation.
*venmo @ missy-develvis for Holly!*
I did all caps, Ben underlined these words. Imagine me, in a silent archive, suddenly reading about masturbation.
*venmo @ missy-develvis for Holly!*
Ben continues w/ what you might expect. "it is a wicked and very pernicious habit; & produces all kinds of evils."
And then, as if nothing happened, continues on about the Charleston Light Dragoons company.
And then, as if nothing happened, continues on about the Charleston Light Dragoons company.
I jump out of my seat and powerwalk to the desk, where Brandon was serendipitously working. I showed him the letter, he marked it for the LGBTQ collection he was working on.
Bother archivists with your cool stuff! You never know how it could turn out!
Bother archivists with your cool stuff! You never know how it could turn out!
Do we know if Charlie ever engaged in these acts? Well, he was a pre-teen/teenaged boy so we can guess. But my question is more geared toward Ben. Why did Ben find this such an urgent matter? What did he encounter at his own school?
As more talented #LGBTQ and #queerhistory scholars can tell you, our definition of gay can hardly be flung back into the past w/o nuance. But this letter reveals 1) ties between sexuality and "madness" & 2) the believed *roots* of this madness--early sexuality experiments
According to Ben Allston, if this sexual act, with oneself or others, continued, it could last a lifetime. It's almost the language of addiction.
It's, IMO, a startling example of something stated so plainly that was usually obscured in code.
It's, IMO, a startling example of something stated so plainly that was usually obscured in code.
Anyway, that's how I came across the phrase "handling your member" when trying to learn more about secession.
Congrats to @PhUsct for hitting 1000! Help me throw groceries/flowers/money at him post-surgery venmo Missy-DeVelvis or DM me!
Congrats to @PhUsct for hitting 1000! Help me throw groceries/flowers/money at him post-surgery venmo Missy-DeVelvis or DM me!
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