OK, kids, we’re taking a slight pivot from documentaries on fabulous women to talk about a documentary on a fabulous president. Yass, sisters, dust off your best stovepipe hats cause the gay gods are gifting us with a doc that explores the (alleged) boyfriends of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln! Is it Hanukkah? Or my birthday? (No to both.) The only negative thing I can think of to say is, why didn’t they hustle to get this out in theaters for Pride Month?? Backing up a bit, People Mag just nabbed the exclusive debut of the new trailer for Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, in which “preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters” detail the hitherto untold tale of ALL the loves of Lincoln’s life. Can you tell I’m excited?
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer for the upcoming documentary Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, which peels back the curtain on the 19th-century president’s private life and examines Lincoln’s relationships with men before he was elected president in 1860.
Directed by filmmaker Shaun Peterson, Lover of Men features interviews with over a dozen scholars, historians and experts on Lincoln’s life. The trailer emphasizes his near mythical stature in American culture.
“Lover of Men examines the intimate life of America’s most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln,” reads an official synopsis for the upcoming film. “As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters, the film details Lincoln’s romantic relationships with men.”
The movie uses historical evidence of Lincoln’s romantic relationships to then widen “its lens into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the nineteenth century and those we hold today,” the synopsis reads.
“The film fills in an important missing piece of American history and challenges the audience to consider why we hold such a limited view of human sexuality,” the film’s synopsis concludes. “Lover of Men is not only an exploration of gender roles and sexual identity, but also serves as an examination of American intolerance.”
Lincoln’s sexuality has been examined over the years, including a 1999 feature story in Salon magazine and a 2005 book by author Clarence Arthur Tripp titled The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln, among other works.
“Years in the making…my passion project has come to life,” filmmaker Peterson wrote on Instagram of the movie in May.
Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln is coming soon to theaters nationwide.
The standout quotes to me from the trailer (so far) are, “He was seen wearing Lincoln’s nightshirt!” and “Freud was devastating for sexuality.” (Talk about penis envy!) We all know there’s gonna be a contingency out there who lose their ever-loving minds over the notion that Abe was fluid. Speaking personally, I first encountered the idea REDACTED decades ago when I was in middle school. I had to do a report on Dr. Paul Ehrlich, inventor of the “magic bullet” approach to targeting microbes, which led to the first effective treatment for syphilis. As part of my research for that report, I came across a list of historical figures that had strong, anecdotal evidence (based on symptoms) of having had syphilis. Lincoln’s name was there, and they didn’t suggest he caught it from Mary Todd, wink wink.
If this has ignited the Lincoln itch in you, and since we don’t know how long “coming soon” will be, may I humbly recommend some options to whet your appetites: there’s the HBO doc Living With Lincoln, available on Max. It came out in 2015, and I definitely want to revisit it now because it was about a family steeped in Lincoln memorabilia, so I’m curious to see how their material will stack up to the “never before seen” items Lover of Men promises. And next I recommend Manhunt, the Apple TV+ series about the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. Tobias Menzies is excellent as the Secretary of War who leads the hunt. Fair warning, though: the historically-accurate discussions of insurrection are quite something to take in from the vantage of our current climate. They don’t beat you over the head with the parallels, it’s just so undeniably apparent.
Photos credit: IMAGO/United Archives / WHA / Avalon, IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Heinz-Dieter Falkenstein / Avalon
I don’t know, I think they are making mountains out of molehills for a lot of the evidence they are using. So much of that evidence was considered normal for platonic relationships among men. We really shouldn’t put modern notions of what is heteronormative masculinity on the past.
Good point, Lauren. But reputable historians have been grappling with the question of Lincoln’s sexuality for years now. There really does seem to be some evidence that his relationships with men were not entirely in keeping with cultural norms at the time. I will be very interested in seeing this documentary to get another perspective. Maybe they have actually uncovered new information.
I absolutely LOVE the trailer!
Yet when we say a historical figure was a cis male, cis female, or straight, nobody gets all up in arms about applying modern notions of heteronormativity and gender to the past….It’s funny how this whole ahistorical claim only gets trotted out when it comes to queer and trans folks.
I like the fictional idea that he was a vampire hunter, myself.
In the end, whoever Lincoln played with has no real bearing. Whatever he did in his private life didn’t reflect in his politics or day job….he’s not known for advocating for LGBTQ rights, but also not known for being ANTI gay. Like most in that time period, it wasn’t discussed, so it didn’t exist.
Oh for pitty sake.
Oh nooooooooooos. Not THAT for heaven’s sake!
Lincoln’s predecessor, James Buchanan, fits the ‘bill’, so perhaps does Charles Sumner, a senator at the time of Lincoln. So why no big documentaries on them? I get the impression some people are trying to make fetch happen, for their own 21st century personal reasons. Lincoln married and had four children, that is a fact. Doesn’t mean he did not have close relationships with men, but whether the relationships had a sexual element is unknown, and 159 years after his death, unimportant, IMO. When I stand in the Lincoln Memorial, reading his immortal words, I am not wondering who wore his nightshirt.
I think Lincoln’s sexuality is important. It’s part of who he was and did not in the least prevent him from greatness. If he was gay or bisexual, it causes problems for homophobes who see gays as always “less than”. That alone makes his sexual orientation, not just important, but a pretty big deal.
Agree! @ Brassy
I’m sympathetic to the suspicion that modern people might be overlaying their own agenda on our most popular president. However, it’s inaccurate to say his orientation doesn’t matter – *because* he’s our most popular president. Meaning: If Lincoln was queer, many, MANY people will need to rethink their biases to make room for that fact. Either he was great and queer, or he was not great – a conclusion that doesn’t bear up under what they know about him and his achievements. That’s a valuable national reality check.
Like Michael Scott from The Office would say : “At the very least it’s bisexual”.
Babraham Lincoln. I thought he was a cross dresser?
Huh. I did not know about this. Good for him if he was. Good for him if he wasn’t. Just meaning I have no idea who he was into or not but it wouldn’t matter to me either way. But yeah it would likely matter to others. So I like the idea of the doc using this lens to challenge minds about sexual fluidity.
I wonder if they are going to talk about Ann Rutledge. Also, who cares if Lincoln was bisexual or bi-curious; I just want to know more about his vampire hunting!
Lincoln’s sexuality has been an open secret for years. He shared a bed with Joshua Speed for four years.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/but-were-they-gay-the-mystery-of-same-sex-love-in-the-19th-century/262117/
Fluid sexuality is not just a 21st Century construct.
Btw. Love all of the diverse content today!
That article is actually making the argument that we shouldn’t be calling folks like Abe gay based on how we view homosexuality today, as things were different back then. And many men had intense emotional relationships with men but it wasn’t considered a sign of being a homosexual. You might want to find a different example.
Also, it was very common for people to share beds, even men. That had more to do with the fact that people without a lot of money couldn’t afford private accommodations. The truth is we will never know who in the past may have been straight, gay, bi, etc. It was a different time and some of things we may view as signs of homosexuality, weren’t always viewed that way.
This has never been a secret, I just loathe the day conservatives use this to negate Lincoln’s judgments or his life’s work.
I feel like historians have been saying for years that Abe liked the gentlemen? This doesn’t sound like new news?