35. Claim to Flame: Edmonia "Wildfire" Lewis and her Harem Scarem
/In this episode of History is Gay Leigh and guest host Amanda Helton discuss Mary Edmonia “Wildfire” Lewis, the first internationally recognized African American and indigenous artist in the United States. Join us while we ponder how exactly a literal 2-ton sculpture goes missing, discuss the merits of lesbian drama in 1800s Rome, and did you know that blister beetles have been used as aphrodisiacs for centuries? Yeah... neither did we….
Our wonderful guest host for this episode, Amanda Helton, can be found at www.amandahelton.com or @oryxbesia on Instagram. You can also hear Amanda in our episode on Michelangelo!
Outline
0:00 – Introduction
7:18 – Socio-Historical Context
20:58 – Who were they? Bio Time.
25:06 – 26:18 — Content warning: racial violence
30:29 – Fun Segment: Word of the Week
58:27 – Why do we think they're gay?
1:22:52 – Main Takeaways and Final Conclusions
1:27:51 – How Gay were They?
1:30:53 – Closing and Where to Find us Online
