Collected Item: “Queer Constellations: The Histories of Rural Gay Men”
Contributing Organisation
Contribution Title
Queer Constellations: The Histories of Rural Gay Men
Description (This can only be plain text, i.e. no links or bullet points.)
Criminal archives are the most common source of gay histories, as male homosexuality was illegal until 1967. Through searching assize records on Ancestry, and investigating court reports via the British Newspaper Archive, we identified rural occupations for some of the men placed on trial. By comparing these occupations to objects in our collection, we aim to show that these men were more than just a conviction. They were ordinary people living ordinary lives.
An online exhibition inspired by the 2021 physical exhibition, 'Queer Constellations: Artistic Trespass and Rural Gay Histories'. 'Queer Constellations' posed the question as to whether there is queerness in rural life. It brought together artists from around the UK and Ireland, including Epha J Roe, James Aldridge, Emma Plover, Gemma Dagger, Eimear Walshe, Claye Bowler and Daniel Baker, to delight in the strangeness of rural life and to feel its enough-ness. The MERL invited users to trespass the space, explore the margins, and to join us in queering the countryside.
An online exhibition inspired by the 2021 physical exhibition, 'Queer Constellations: Artistic Trespass and Rural Gay Histories'. 'Queer Constellations' posed the question as to whether there is queerness in rural life. It brought together artists from around the UK and Ireland, including Epha J Roe, James Aldridge, Emma Plover, Gemma Dagger, Eimear Walshe, Claye Bowler and Daniel Baker, to delight in the strangeness of rural life and to feel its enough-ness. The MERL invited users to trespass the space, explore the margins, and to join us in queering the countryside.
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Left: a 'dock-lifter' a pronged metal and wood tool with a handle, used for uprooting weeds, MERL object 51/136 Right: light beige waggoner's jacket with three buttons, MERL object 55/223.
Content Type
Online Exhibition
Subject (1)
LGBTQ+ History
Subject (2)
Agricultural History
Subject (3)
History of Gender, Sex and Sexualities
Geographical Area (1)
Britain and Ireland
Time Period
18th-19th Century
Time Period (2)
20th Century
Contribution URL
https://merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/online-exhibitions/queer-constellations-histories-rural-gay-men/