Want and Wanted
Desire and criminalization
Above is an actual wanted poster for sexual crimes, printed in The Hague in 1730. It lists ten Dutch citizens accused of the crime of sodomy. In April of that year, the Netherlands’ government began a reign of terror and a purge of gay men, summoning 250 men, officially exiling at least 90, and executing at least 60 by hanging, strangling, burning, or throwing them into the sea.Below is an illustration, from 80 years later, of the public punishment of men arrested at the Vere Street Club, a bar in London known to be a gathering place for men sexually interested in men. This record of the trial suggests that a structured form of gay community existed at this early date.
What do we want?
What are our ideals of sexual attractiveness? Whom do we seek in classifieds and personal ads, put on pinup calendars, consider as beautiful as Adonis? The Sexuality Collection has all kinds of sources on these questions!