Billy Eichner Is the First Gay Man Ever

Contents:

• THE OLST KNOWN GAY MAN?
• WHO WAS KARL HERICH ULRICHS? MEET THE FIRST MAN TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• THE OLST GAYS HISTORY
• THE FOTTEN HISTORY OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN TO PLAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
• BILLY EICHNER IS THE FIRST GAY MAN EVER

THE OLST KNOWN GAY MAN?

April 7, 2011 -- Archaeologists the Czech Republic have unearthed the grave of what may be the remas of the olst known homosexual or transgenr prehistoric body dat to the Copper age -- or 2900 to 2500 years ago -- and was buried a manner that was typilly rerved for male skeleton was found on s si, facg east, and was surround by domtic jugs, objects prevly seen only female grav. Homosexualy, as Wterners thk of today, wh a lot of add societal baggage that wouldn't ronate at all wh prehistoric man, Arnold said. "Homosexualy is found a great many other speci -- om ducks to chimps -- as well as many cultur where people are allowed to exprs .

WHO WAS KARL HERICH ULRICHS? MEET THE FIRST MAN TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

In some societi, is even celebrated, such as the Navajo where lbians are believed to have a special nnectn to the spirual world, " Helen Fisher, a blogil anthropologist at Rutgers Universy, wrote an email to "So, " Fisher ntued, "there is every reason to thk that some of our anctors were gay. Karl Herich Ulrichs is nsired by many as the first gay activist morn tim, and the first person to publicly “e out”. Throughout his life, Ulrichs fought tirelsly for the rights of gay people – even before the term ‘homosexual’ was ed.

In fact, Ulrichs is wily creded as the pneer of the morn gay rights movement, and is famo for makg his own words up to scribe gay men, lbians, bisexuals and tersex people. In the works, Ulrichs fought for the rights of gay people and outled his theori on homosexualy. Afterwards, he worked the civil service of Hanover until 1854, when he stepped down before he uld be dismissed over his homosexual activy.

Although gay acts weren’t yet illegal Hanover, he uld still be fired om his job as a civil servant. Essays on gay love. Between 1863 and 1865, Ulrichs wrote a seri of five says published as Forschungen über das Rätsel r mannmännlichen Liebe (Studi on the Riddle of Male-Male Love), which he provid his own terms for gay men, lbians, bisexuals and tersex people.

THE OLST GAYS HISTORY

In his says, Ulrichs lled gay men ‘Urng’ – a term spired by a sectn Plato’s philosophil text Symposium – and lbians as ‘Dng’. Ulrichs’ fns were ground-breakg for the time – wasn’t until 1869 that Atrian wrer Karl-Maria Kertbeny ed the term “homosexual. ’ This le, ed by Seth on his nephew, is probably the olst rerd chat-up, gay or straight, all of history.

As far as the rerd go, Nyankhkhnum and Khnumhotep are, I thk, the olst gays history. But they did not have a rigid nventn of sexualy as eher heterosexual or homosexual, and, at least at certa tim, and certa strata, may have tolerated and even celebrated same-sex love.

THE FOTTEN HISTORY OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN TO PLAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

In 1974, The Advote wrote letters to Major League Baseball teams askg to terview players “livg a gay liftyle. ” The requt “was meant to jolt the baseball tablishment to acknowledgg that there were ed gay men playg the game, ” Andrew Maraniss wr his new book, Sgled Out: The Te Story of Glenn Burke.

BILLY EICHNER IS THE FIRST GAY MAN EVER

Along wh beg the first openly gay man to have played the MLB — he me out 1982, after leavg the league — Burke and his teammate Dty Baker are often creded wh ventg the high five. Yet his acplishments were largely fotten or tentnally obscured, whether by a homophobic society that had no e for a gay athlete or by a baseball anchise that wanted to claim cred for the thgs Burke had done for the team whout acknowledgg the prence of an out gay man their Sgled Out, Maraniss do his bt to pture the tragedy and weight of Burke’s story. He signed a Mor League ntract wh the Los Angel Dodgers his first uple of years the mors, Burke didn’t yet know that he was gay, jt that he was “different” om his teammat.

Eventually, Burke unrstood himself to be gay, which me as a relief.

He also spent the off-season prowlg the gay bars of the Castro San Francis, across the Bay om his hometown of Maraniss explas his book, was unheard of for profsnal male athlet to be gay at that time. The other players were so far removed om gay culture, and so unspectg that one of their teammat might possibly be gay, that many of them simply missed the ample evince of Burke’s inty. The fact that he didn’t fulfill the prevailg effemate stereotype of a gay man helped him rema illegible to his peers.