How Did a Third-Century Catholic Sat Bee a Gay In? Here’s the Homoerotic History of Sat Sebastian

Contents:

• SAT SEBASTIAN AS A GAY IN
• SAT SEBASTIAN: HISTORY’S FIRST GAY IN?
• HOW DID A THIRD-CENTURY CATHOLIC SAT BEE A GAY IN? HERE’S THE HOMOEROTIC HISTORY OF SAT SEBASTIAN
• HOW DID ST SEBASTIAN BEE A GAY MALE IN?
• THE DEPRAVY OF ST. SEBASTIAN’S GAY CATHOLIC PRITS: HOW THEY NETWORK AND HAVE “COME OUT”
• ST. SEBASTIAN’S ANGELS: A SYSTEM OF GAY CATHOLIC PRITS
• THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
• SAT SEBASTIAN, A GAY IN WH ART
• GAY STRASBOURG · CY GUI

SAT SEBASTIAN AS A GAY IN

In more recent terpretatns, the Christian fixatn wh the sirable bodi of s sats and the permeable boundari between the bodily flh and the dive have been seen as homoerotic or queer.

SAT SEBASTIAN: HISTORY’S FIRST GAY IN?

In 1976, Derek Jarman appropriated the tradn story of Sat Sebastian through a queer lens his homoerotic historil thriller film Sebastiane.

Brish pater Keh Vghan (1912–1977) also ma e of the myth of Sat Sebastian to exprs and explore his homosexual sire, a mon theme throughout his work. Sat Sebastian has been lled history’s first gay in and the patron sat of homosexualy.

Nothg is known about Sebastian’s love life, so his long-standg populary wh gay men is partly based on the way he looks and the sheer sensualy of his portrayals. Many gay men also intify wh his sufferg and his experience of beg attacked on relig grounds. In addn to his longstandg but unofficial stat as patron sat of gay men, Sebastian is a patron sat of soldiers, archers and athlet.

HOW DID A THIRD-CENTURY CATHOLIC SAT BEE A GAY IN? HERE’S THE HOMOEROTIC HISTORY OF SAT SEBASTIAN

Richard “Ric” Stott, a gay Methodist mister and artist Bra, e Sebastian om standard inography by prentg him as a proud black man.

He portrays Sebastian as Ji Maulay, a gay Nigerian prit who who set up a church Nigeria for LGBTQ people unr dangero circumstanc and now misters London through Hoe of Rabow. “St Sebastian is often seen as an inic gay figure and, the Wtern art tradn, as a young whe man – patg him this way seeks to liberate the the ia of St Sebastian om such a narrow lens. For more on Stott, see the prev article “Gay artist pats ‘Intimacy wh Christ’: Richard Stott reflects on sensual spirualy.

Prevly O’Connell sculpted a life-size statue of Sebastian and ma a film of his dramatic teractns wh the figure to make a strong statement agast homophobic vlence a performance art piece for All Sats Day. For the whole lany and more , see my prev post New art film highlights queer sats, Sebastian and homophobic vlence for All Sats Day.

HOW DID ST SEBASTIAN BEE A GAY MALE IN?

Sebastian also appears wh a rabow halo as a “wrathful protector sat” O’Connell’s “Triptych for the 49, ” a tribute to the people killed by a mass shooter at the Pulse gay nightclub Orlando, Florida. Sebastian appears wh rehg clary a 2020 artwork by Andrew Frhour, a New Hampshire artist and gay Epispalian. In a break wh tradnal reprentatns of Sebastian, he is liberately NOT beg martyred a 2000 patg by gay Los Angel Filipo Amerin artist Davidd Batalon.

He bends the “arrows” the fence downward, reprentg the survival of gay men durg the AIDS panmic. Keh Vghan (1912-1977) was a gay Brish artist who was troubled by his sexual orientatn.

Gay Mexin artist Felix d’Eon prents the sat wh brown sk and a chunky, sensuo body “The Martyrdom of Sat Sebastian.

THE DEPRAVY OF ST. SEBASTIAN’S GAY CATHOLIC PRITS: HOW THEY NETWORK AND HAVE “COME OUT”

(News alert: A nservative Catholic webse acced Q Spir of promotg “gay porn” bee of of the art discsed this article. Sat Sebastian is a favore subject of many ntemporary gay artists, cludg Tony De Carlo (1956-2014). “It wasn’t until the year 2001 when I went to a Catholic store New Mexi, picked up a pewter statue of Sat Sebastian, and saw a label on the bottom that said ‘Patron Sat of Homosexuals.

“Sat Sebastian and Matt Shepard Juxtaposed” by JR Leveroni par Sebastian’s martyrdom wh the killg of a ntemporary gay martyr, Matthew Shepard (1976-1998).

ST. SEBASTIAN’S ANGELS: A SYSTEM OF GAY CATHOLIC PRITS

Shepard was a stunt at the Universy of Wyomg when he was btally beaten and left to die by two men who later claimed that they were driven temporarily sane by “gay panic. Patg a Cubist style, he portrays the sufferg gay martyrs a subdued way wh barely a trace of blood.

Gay New Zealand artist Christopher Olwage pated a self-portra as Sebastian for his “Ecce Homo” exhib vg viewers to nsir the possibily of a gay J. California gay artist Rick Herold plac Sat Sebastian agast a lorful, rtoon-like backdrop remiscent of gay artist / activist Keh Harg, a gay artist who showed Sat Sebastian his later work. Herold me out as gay and turned to patg male nus and homoeroti.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

As a gay Pop artist and activist, Harg addrsed homosexualy and AIDS his artwork.

An important film bgraphy for many gay men today is “Sebastiane, ” directed by Brish pennt filmmaker Derek Jarman. The Lat-language 1976 film was ntroversial for s homoeroticism and is nsired a landmark of LGBTQ cema. A moment of sexual awakeng is given visual form “Peter Hujar Dreamg” by gay artist David Wojnarowicz.

Sat Sebastian: The Homoerotic Patron of Gay Men (Artwork I Love Blog). Sebastian is also referenced equently the gay lerary world. For example playwright Tennsee Williams named his martyred gay character Sebastian “Sudnly, Last Summer, ” and Osr Wil ed Sebastian as his own alias after his release om prison.

SAT SEBASTIAN, A GAY IN WH ART

In his tobgraphil novel “Confsns of a Mask, ” Japane thor Y Mishima wr about beg aware of his homosexualy. Wise’s poetry has appeared RFD Journal, The Gay and Lbian Review Worldwi, and a host of onle lerary journals and z.

Canadian gay theologian Donald Boisvert wrote a prayer to Sebastian and other early-church martyrs om an LGBTQ-liberatn perspective. This prayer is clud his 2004 book “Sancty and Male Dire: A Gay Readg of Sats”:. “Sat Sebastian South Carola” by Ed Madn (Gay and Lbian Review Worldwi).

Tradnal and alternative sats, people the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, thors, theologians, relig lears, artists, i and other figur of special tert to lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) people and our alli are vered. How did a third-century Catholic sat bee a ntemporary gay in referenced on everythg om the vers of men’s magaz to art and films and an adopted psdonym by Osr Wil? But who was Sat Sebastian really and how, when, and why did this cur exultatn to the stat of gay in occur?

GAY STRASBOURG · CY GUI

Ined, the Renaissance and Baroque pictns are rooted the Catholic teachgs about the permeabily of sats’ bodi and the ecstasy experienced their munn wh the dive—the pictns were the on to be later embraced by the gay muny who saw their own experienc mirrored Sat Sebastian’s betiful sufferg. Ecstasy and Agony: Sebastian, Patron Sat of the Gay Communy.

In the morn era, the popularizatn of Sat Sebastian as an in the gay muny often leads back to Guido Reni’s Martyrdom of St.

Reni’s patg was siarly fluential to the famed 20th-century Japane thor Y Mishima; Mishima’s 1949 novel Confsns of a Mask, the book’s adolcent protagonist experienc a homosexual awakeng while gazg at the very same patg. The referenc to the sat didn’t end there—Mishima, who was himself gay, went so far as to pose as Sat Sebastian a now-famo photographic portra, taken not long before the wrer’s ath by suici 1970.