LGBTQ+ people have led the way in human progress, according to this manifesto.
Kennard, an environmentalist and community organizer, contends that gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirited, and genderfluid people have made disproportionate contributions to the arts, sciences, and social advancement. He theorizes a biological basis for their achievements, arguing that “nature has programmed queers to challenge the prevailing social system” and given them a “queer consciousness” that “implants a strong desire to rectify social wrongs,” so much so that “queers…are operating on a higher moral plane than most other people (i.e. straight people).” Unfortunately, the author asserts, homophobic historians have maliciously denied the queerness of many notable figures, a misdirection that the book tries to rectify by spotlighting 150 of them, all dead. He includes people who are generally recognized as gay or bisexual, from Sappho to Leonardo da Vinci, Tchaikovsky, Little Richard, and several Beat poets; others, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Malcolm X, whose queerness is hotly debated; and some who almost nobody thinks are queer. (Richard Nixon had a gay affair with his crony Charles “Bebe” Rebozo, Kennard claims, citing the leader’s frequent trips to the banker’s Key Biscayne, Florida, manse.) Writing in lucid, lively prose—“In legend, these fierce women warriors matched men in physical agility, in strength, in archery, in riding skills, and in the arts of combat. But the Amazons are not merely legends! They really existed!”—the author offers a wealth of information on intriguing personalities both celebrated and obscure. Unfortunately, the information is sometimes inaccurate or taken out of context. (Florence Nightingale did write that “no woman has excited ‘passions’ among women more than I have,” but she meant passion for nursing careers, not lesbian desire, as Kennard insinuates.) Moreover, the author’s argument that all the best people are queer is nearly tautological, since virtually everyone can fit his loose criteria for queerness, including anyone who weathered prurient gossip, burned letters, never married, or just had a close same-sex friendship. He even labels Abraham Lincoln a “two-spirit” who “repressed his queer sexuality,” solely because the president supposedly displayed a “feminine side” by pardoning deserters and visiting wounded soldiers. Queer people and their allies may be inspired by Kennard’s cheerleading, but history buffs may feel some misgivings about it.
An energetic, sonorous, but uneven paean to the virtues of unorthodox sexuality.