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Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Who Were History’s Queer Seamen? with Dr. Seth LeJacq

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Sony Music

Science, Self-improvement, Comedy, Education, Society & Culture

4.921.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2023

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sea Daddies! Sea Queens! Land hoes! This week, we’re getting wet and wild with Dr. Seth LeJacq to learn what life was like for queer sailors in the British navy from the 15th century to the 19th century. How did these sailors express their gender and sexuality? What did they risk—legally and socially—when they pursued queer relationships? And were their ship hammocks really sturdy enough for a night of deep sea “exploration”? Dr. Seth Stein LeJacq is a historian specializing in the history of gender, sexuality, and medicine. He is currently a Caird Fellow at the UK National Maritime Museum. You can follow Dr. LeJacq on Twitter @SethSLeJacq, and learn more about his work at sethlejacq.com. His Routledge collection Sexual and Gender Difference in the British Navy, 1690-1900 will be available for pre-order soon. Here's a portrait of Captain Edward Rigby, here's an etching of Captain Whiffle and Mr. Simper, and here's a rendition of "Backside Rules The Navy." We'll be sharing more resources on our @CuriouswithJVN Instagram account throughout the week. Curious for more? Check out these episodes from our archives: Why Is The Titanic So Iconic? Who Were History’s “Female Husbands”? Do Beauty Standards Need A Glow Up? Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our producer is Chris McClure. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Samantha Martinez, and Anne Currie. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I am so over this situation here. I'm unbumble to find something real. You know

0:06.8

like someone you can count on, someone who actually cares about what you think. I

0:11.0

just want someone who's ready for that long-term kind of love. Whether you're

0:17.2

looking for your next boyfriend, girlfriend, casual date or just someone a truly

0:21.6

gacha, it's waiting for you unbumble. Find them unbumble.

0:28.4

The 100 presented back compared to the markup. It's a music tournament with

0:32.2

amazing cricket. No, it's a cricket tournament with amazing music. With explosions.

0:37.1

He means fireworks. And huge, fiery shooting things. He means flame machines. There's

0:42.5

also amazing DJs and big, foamy portings. He means, oh actually, there are those things.

0:49.2

And best of all, the world-class cricket. Is that we are the sponsor? Oh, of

0:54.0

course. The 100 presented by Compare the Markup. Simple.

1:03.6

Welcome to Getting Curious. I'm Jonathan Van Nass. Every week I sit down for a

1:08.6

gorgeous conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that

1:11.7

makes me so curious. Now you'll find today that it's very hard for me to sub out

1:15.9

of my branch, Deborah, a voice. And when I introduce to you the topic of today's

1:20.4

conversation, you will understand why earlier this year, we took our maiden voyage into

1:25.2

British naval history. Our guest, Dr. Megan Walker, taught us all about slot clothes

1:29.8

and the sinking of the Titanic. We also asked about queer sailors. And this week,

1:34.7

we are getting some answers. Because you know every episode I always ask about gay stuff.

1:38.6

Today's episode is going to be all about gay stuff, which I'm, well, it's what I'm anticipating.

1:43.4

And like I said, we're going to get some answers. So let's welcome to the show. Dr. Seth

1:47.5

Lijak, who is a historian whose research looks at sexual and gender diversity in the British Navy

...

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