26. A Royal Troublemaker in King Kristina of Sweden

What better way to start off the cold, wintery season than with a new episode of History Is Gay and a trip to, as Rene Descartes said, the land of rocks and ice and bears? For this episode, Leigh is joined by fantabulous guest host V Silverman to explore the fascinating history of King Kristina of Sweden. A probably nonbinary, most likely asexual, definitely biromantic monarch of 17th century Sweden, Kristina was known for their aesthetic tastes, insatiable hunger for knowledge, and absolutely atrocious spending habits. Follow our hosts as they track Kristina’s claiming of power, conversion to Catholicism, cavorting around Europe, and countercultural influence, with a few pit stops and power-grabs along the way.

Hey look, a guest host!

Meet V!

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V is awesome. Friend of the pod, they are the fantastic artist behind our Geographic Queers gear designs, and joins us for the most delightfully genderqueer episode chock full of they/thems. V is also the co-host of the fantastic podcast Fuzzy Logic, an educational-ish, comedy-ish podcast where the hosts know very little about a whole lot. Listen, learn, and LOL! You can find more things from V at their website, or check them out on twitter @nikeagxy!

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A Closer Look at King Kristina of Sweden

A rare portrait of a young Kristina, by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, at 14 years old and uncharacteristically in a wig and feminine clothing.

A rare portrait of a young Kristina, by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, at 14 years old and uncharacteristically in a wig and feminine clothing.

A portrait of Kristina, by Sébastien Bourdon

A portrait of Kristina, by Sébastien Bourdon

Christina of Sweden by Sébastien Bourdon, 1653. This was Kristina’s favorite painting and hung in their bedroom to the end of their life.

Christina of Sweden by Sébastien Bourdon, 1653. This was Kristina’s favorite painting and hung in their bedroom to the end of their life.

The maidenly Belle, and Kristina’s intimate lady-in-waiting, Ebba Sparre.

The maidenly Belle, and Kristina’s intimate lady-in-waiting, Ebba Sparre.

Kristina and the Saumais playing a prank on poor Ebba Sparre, making her unwittingly read from a raunchy novel aloud. The GUFFAWS!

Kristina and the Saumais playing a prank on poor Ebba Sparre, making her unwittingly read from a raunchy novel aloud. The GUFFAWS!

Axel Oxy-boy!

Axel Oxy-boy!

Kristina (on the left side of the right table), in an argument with Rene Descartes, in a romanticized painting by Nils Forsberg (1842-1934), after Pierre-Louis Dumesnil the Younger (1698-1781)

Kristina (on the left side of the right table), in an argument with Rene Descartes, in a romanticized painting by Nils Forsberg (1842-1934), after Pierre-Louis Dumesnil the Younger (1698-1781)

A portrait of Kristina in their later years, circa 1685.

A portrait of Kristina in their later years, circa 1685.

And lastly, Kristina again in their elder years, rocking that badass androgynous style.

And lastly, Kristina again in their elder years, rocking that badass androgynous style.

A Selection of Kristina’s Maxims:

  • “We should be more miserly with our time than with our money”

  • “It is more difficult to do evil than to do good”

  • “Custom makes us insensible to almost everything”

  • “We should never believe anything we have not dared to doubt”

  • “A prince must think of himself a slave crowned by the people”

  • “Happiness does not lie in the opinions of others”

  • “Life is too short for love”

  • “It requires more courage to marry than to go to war”

  • “Patience is the virtue of those that lack either courage or force”

If you want to learn more about Kristina of Sweden, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

Books and Print Articles:

  • Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric by Veronica Buckley

  • Queer, There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

  • Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman

  • Who’s Who in Gay & Lesbian History ed. Robert Aldrich & Garry Wotherspoon

  • “Two Portraits of a Queen: Calderón and the Enigmatic Christina of Sweden” by Deborah Compte, Hispanic Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1

  • “Christina of Sweden's Patronage of Bernini: The Mirror of Truth Revealed by Time” by Lilian H. Zirpolo, Woman’s Art Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1

  • Beneath the surface: the portraiture and visual rhetoric of Sweden's Queen Christina” by Nathan Alan Popp, University of Iowa

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!

9. Nazi Punks Fuck Off, Pt 2: Claude Cahun

Claude Cahun's name might not be well known, but their work as an artist has been hugely influential in the lives of many Western pop culture icons (David Bowie, for example). But the line between life and art wasn't always so clear for Claude Cahun and their life partner Marcel Moore. Whether it was fucking with gender norms in self portraiture or fucking with Nazis during World War II, Claude never did things in a straightforward manner. We'll say it again, "Nazi punks, fuck off!" Now with surrealism!

A Look at Claude Cahun

Much of Claude's self-portraiture work with their life partner Marcel Moore dealt with challenging gender expectations and roles, and playing with the gaze and assumptions of the viewer. Check out some of these shots:

Marcel and Claude

Marcel and Claude

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Autoportrait, 1928 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

Autoportrait, 1928 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

Que Me Vuex Tu (What Do you Want From Me), 1929

Que Me Vuex Tu (What Do you Want From Me), 1929

Autoportrait, 1927

Autoportrait, 1927

Self Portrait (as a dandy), 1921-1922

Self Portrait (as a dandy), 1921-1922

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Self portraits - Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, left to right respectively.

Self portraits - Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, left to right respectively.

This one is Leigh's favorite. They also desperately want that coat.

This one is Leigh's favorite. They also desperately want that coat.

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How can you not immediately fall in love with the kooky weirdo walking their cat on a leash in the cemetery!!

How can you not immediately fall in love with the kooky weirdo walking their cat on a leash in the cemetery!!

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Scan_20180529 (7).jpg
I Am In Training Don't Kiss Me, 1927 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

I Am In Training Don't Kiss Me, 1927 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

Symbolist and Surrealist Art

Not only did Cahun and Moore create a library of photo series, they also created other media of Symbolist and Surrealist art together-- from beautifully (and homoerotically) illustrated manuscripts and manifestos, photo-and-literary montage pieces, to surrealist sculptures and objects:

Uranian Games manuscript cover, 1916-1918

Uranian Games manuscript cover, 1916-1918

A spread from Views and Visions, Chapter 29, 'The Modern Night' and 'The Antique Light', 1919

Aveux non avenus (Disavowels) frontispiece, 1920-1930 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

Aveux non avenus (Disavowels) frontispiece, 1920-1930 (courtesy of Jersey Heritage Collection)

More from Disavowels

More from Disavowels

👀 Such vulvic imagery....

👀 Such vulvic imagery....

Nazi Fighting Badasses

Later in their lives, during the Nazi occupation of France in WWII, Cahun and Moore moved to the isle of Jersey and began a misinformation propaganda campaign aimed at tanking morale of German troopsl. Adopting the persona of Der Soldat Ohne Namen (The Soldier Without a Name), they began leaving propaganda tracts and posters, resistance poems, and defaced Nazi posters all around town. 

A propaganda tract from Cahun and Moore, 1942

A propaganda tract from Cahun and Moore, 1942

One of their rough designs for a tract that they ended up placing on oberleutenant w. zepernick's grave, 1943

One of their rough designs for a tract that they ended up placing on oberleutenant w. zepernick's grave, 1943

More leaflets of awesome resistance!

More leaflets of awesome resistance!

Signing as the soldier with no name

Signing as the soldier with no name

Cahun in the garden of La Rocquaise, posing as der Soldat ohne Namen

Cahun in the garden of La Rocquaise, posing as der Soldat ohne Namen

Arrest and Continued Resistance

When Cahun and Moore were arrested by the Gestapo, it did not stop their resistance efforts, as they vowed to fight the Nazi horror to their very last breaths. 

Marcel Moore's sketch of their prison cell, complete with the ventilation ducts that allowed a network of prisoners to secretly send messages to one another

Marcel Moore's sketch of their prison cell, complete with the ventilation ducts that allowed a network of prisoners to secretly send messages to one another

And we leave you with this, badass Claude Cahun after being released from prison, flipping the Nazis the "dirty bird" one last time. ICONIC HERO!

And we leave you with this, badass Claude Cahun after being released from prison, flipping the Nazis the "dirty bird" one last time. ICONIC HERO!

 

If you want to learn more about Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, check out our full list of sources and further reading below!

Online Articles:

Books and Print Articles:

  • Exist Otherwise: The Life and Works of Claude Cahun by Jennifer L. Shaw

  • Disavowals by Claude Cahun

  • Gillian Wearing and Claude Cahun: Behind the Mask, Another Mask by Sarah Howgate and Dawn Ades

  • Inverted Odysseys: Claude Cahun, Maya Deren, Cindy Sherman by Shelley Rice

Until next time, stay queer and stay curious!