A new documentary about Abraham Lincoln focuses on the former president’s sexuality, speculating that his private writings and certain actions prove he was most likely gay.
“Lover of Men” argues that the 16th president likely had several male lovers even after marrying his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Some historians have explored the subject, and it has become an urban legend in academic circles.
“We live in a homophobic society,” producer Rob Rosenheck said, per USA Today. “People keep talking about Lincoln’s queerness as a ‘theory’ or ‘myth,’ but you need to acknowledge the fact that it keeps coming up over and over and over again. The reason for that is because it’s part of our history and it won’t go away.”
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“Do we really need to get into his personal life?” director Shaun Peterson said. “To me, there’s always a homophonic tinge to that. There have been thousands of writings about Lincoln and Mary having this fractured marriage. People are fine writing about a heteronormative relationship, but when it comes to the possibility of his love of men, it’s like, ‘Well, we shouldn’t dig that deep.’”
The documentary, which hit theaters on Thursday, claims Lincoln may have had sexual relationships with several men he shared beds with in the 1800s despite that being a common practice for heterosexual men of the time.
The main suspected love affair presented in the film was between the former president and one of those bedmates, Joshua Speed. The two friends shared a bed for four years, and Lincoln spoke fondly of him after he moved away. Speed got married and stayed in touch with Lincoln by exchanging letters.
“You can see the passion on the page,” Peterson says. “Lincoln would write things like, ‘I miss you’ and ‘I’m jealous of your new wife, Joshua.’ He pours his heart out in these letters. Nowhere else in any of Lincoln’s work have you seen anything quite like it.”
The documentary also makes much out of the fact that Lincoln fell into a “suicidal depression” when Speed moved away, writing, “I’m now the most miserable man living. If what I am feeling were distributed to the whole human family, there would not be a cheerful face on the earth.”
Another argument in favor of Lincoln being gay or bisexual stems from him and his wife having separate bedrooms in the White House. The couple had four children together.
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Presidential historian Tom Balcerski said Lincoln was likely “sexually fluid” and everyone needs to get on board with that concept.
“This next generation of Americans that we call Gen Z, they’re more queer and fluid than ever. They get this argument,” he said, per the outlet. “But talk about hitting your head against the wall trying to have this conversation with older folks.”
