Was Shakespeare gay?

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

Ya, I agree this is a fair conclusion, and I think it's naieve or obtuse to think Shakespeare wasn't aware of what he was doing.

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I think the Sonnets are dramatic. There's characters, a loose narrative...although they're of varying quality, I find them fascinating. I love how he plays around with gender and gender perceptions.

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Originally Posted by stlukesguild

I somewhat doubt the 10% number that is often cited. The numbers in recent studies range from 2-13% which suggests a less than accurate ability in collecting such data. Watching the development of students as a teacher and recognizing the homosexual tendencies in children as early as the 1st or 2nd grade I am more than certain that homosexuality is not something learned... not something that one can be conditioned into or out of. There is no chance that reading a book about a child who has two Mommies is going to lead some children to suddenly think, "Hey! I think I'll be gay!"

With regard to the percentage of homosexuality in the arts... I suspect that the arts have always afforded something of a safe haven for the very reason that artists of whatever ilk often seem to be more liberal and open in their views... often being something of outsiders. One doesn't become gay by becoming a painter or fashion designer... but rather painting and fashion design are perhaps less judgmental career choices for the homosexual than the military, the police, or football.

By the way... read Anthony Burgess novel, Nothing Like the Sun for a fascinating imagining of Shakespeare's biography... including his sexual leanings.

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yes I also think that homosexuality is genetic, not something you learn ,as in your are born it. However what I was saying is that there is a myth in our culture that a straight man cannot have sex with another man, which is not true he can, he may not enjoy it particularly but he can; me as a straight guy am sure that if I wanted to could get hard and ejaculate in having sex with another man ( sorry if that was crudely said)

Let us look at ancient greece where bisexuality seemed to be just as equal as heterosexuality, and there was no concept that a man could only like men or women or just like them equally, there were millions of sfumature and in said culture being able to prefer sexually with a male or female whom was attractive was considered just normal or expected, secondly cam the personal preferences of each individual.

As for Shakespeare, It is all purely speculation, which may or may not be true, preaching for either side seems rather irrelevant and foolish, when the only answer we can accept is that we do not know, and that may be a blessing, as if we did know, we would undboutedly look at his works differently, which may remove us from the beauty of his art into more of a modern ineffectual political study of his works...

Apparantly everyone is a little bit bisexual...