A dung beetle in distress: Hans Christian Andersen meets Karl Maria Kertbeny, Geneva, 1860: some notes on the archaeology of homosexuality and the importance of tuning.
In 1860, the Danish fairy tale writer (whose fairy tales are perhaps primarily for grown-ups) met Karl Maria Kertbeny--who is supposed to have coined the term "homosexual" (first used in a private manuscript in 1868). The meeting caused immense despair in Andersen; yet what happened has remained a mystery. A careful study of Andersen's fairy tales and papers, however, provides a clue to an answer. The article deals with the horrors of being labelled; but it also discusses labelling as merely a minor part of what goes on in the making of the modern homosexual. Above all, Andersen's moods seem important and identifiable to us as homosexuals; more generally, they seem stirringly close to postmodern existence.
Bech
H
H
University of Copenhagen, Department of Sociology, Denmark.
D003718:Denmark; D005197:Famous Persons; D049671:History, 18th Century; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D008297:Male; D013240:Stereotyping; D009626:Terminology as Topic