Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996. First Edition. 477pp. Octavo [24 cm] Dark blue cloth with gilt stamped title on the backstrip. Fine/Fine. Item #8584
Inscribed by the author on the title page. D. Michael Quinn's Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans has elicited critical acclaim as well as controversy. Using Mormonism as a case study of the extent of early America's acceptance of same-sex intimacy, Quinn examines several examples of long-term relationships among Mormon same-sex couples and the environment in which they flourished before the onset of homophobia in the late 1950s.
"I recognize that some members of the LDS Church wish there was no evidence of any same-sex experiences among early Mormons and prefer to ignore such evidence that does exist. For example, one Mormon historian (who I do not identify here in any way) strenuously recommended against the publication of this study and argued that it 'does not address important historical issues. Certainly it is not surprising to know that homosexual men and women have existed in Mormon society at all periods.' That is the same argument that some have used against the historical study of various minorities, and such an attitude contains a philosophy that I reject: that some humans are irrelevant because they differ from the majority in a fundamental way." - D. Michael Quinn.
Price: $100.00