The sexuality of one of the most important presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery and governed during the Civil War, has been explored in a new documentary Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, which addresses the possibility that the former president was gay.
Directed by Shaun Peterson, the film, which premiered on Friday, September 6, explores four homosexual relationships of the 16th President of the United States. According to Peterson, Lincoln had romantic interactions with four men: Billy Greene, Elmer Ellsworth, David Derickson and Joshua Speed, his best friend.
The president’s sexual orientation and whether he was gay is a widely discussed topic in the United States, according to The New York Times. To contribute to this conversation, Peterson decided to make a documentary with the help of historians. However, the story is narrated as a romantic drama. “Ultimately, it’s a love story,” explains Shaun Peterson in an interview with NBC.
Throughout the movie, we see interviews with queer academics and writers. Among them is gender studies specialist Jack Halberstam and the author of the book When Brooklyn Was Queer, Hugh Ryan.
The artist Alok Vaid-Menon and US legislator Zooey Zephyr also participate. These experts, through their research and perspectives, explain why they claim that President Lincoln was gay.
Through this biographical film, we see how President Lincoln shared the presidential bed with his bodyguard, David Derickson, when his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was not present. It also delves into his relationship with another lover, Billy Greene, whom he met at the beginning of his political career. Additionally, it explores his connection with Elmer Ellsworth, who worked in his law office.
But the most outstanding one was the one he had with Joshua Speed, his best friend. According to The New York Times review, Lincoln not only moved in with Speed as soon as they met in 1837, but the two shared the same bed for four years.
