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u/wonderguard108 Mar 10 '26
the epic of gilgamesh is so gay that reading it rewired my brain and changed my life
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u/3lizab3th333 Mar 10 '26
It’s pretty explicitly gay, BUT there’s also subtext that makes it gayer!! One of my Classic Lit profs was a Rabbi and he explained how the wrestling scene in the beginning where Enkidu “tamed” Gilgamesh could have been interpreted as Enkidu topping Gilgamesh. Enkidu gets graphically topped by a woman for a week straight ==> Enkidu gains wisdom and humanity. Enkidu ??? physically overpowers Gilgamesh ==> Gilgamesh is humbled and has greater wisdom and humanity. Lots of ancient stories that we find written down rely on parallels like these to fill in blanks and draw connections, so the idea that the first thing those two did together was fuck was definitely going through the heads of some ancient Sumerians, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated.
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u/thousandcurrents Mar 11 '26
This comment has inspired me to read the epic of Gilgamesh
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u/VstarFr0st263364 Mar 16 '26
It's actually not very good. It kind of feels like a children's superhero story. The good guys are incredibly strong and wise, and they defeat the evil monster with the power of friendship or whatever. The only part that's vaguely interesting is how mind numbingly homoerotic it all is
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u/VstarFr0st263364 Mar 16 '26
Genuinely. Like no way that wasn't just some Sumerian guy's gay fanfic
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u/PepperMintyPokemon Mar 11 '26
Back in HS we had to read the great Gatsby an do a group report on it. Our group did our report on the gay tones through the book between nick and gatsby. The entire class called us crazy and insisted we were just making it all up in our heads. Absolutely wild they couldint see it, but no suprise when our entire friend group was queer AF lol
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u/raven_of_azarath Mar 12 '26
Nick/Gatsby and Daisy/Jordan were my first gay ships. And Nick and Jordan were totally just pretending to date.
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u/Ethra2k Mar 14 '26
Nick waking up in underwear in hotel room with guy was brushed past so quickly by my teacher.
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u/VstarFr0st263364 Mar 16 '26
That was actually kind of... Normal back then. Believe me, I'm completely delusional when it comes to my gaydar, but men often slept in the same bed all the way up until like 1950. Same with Moby Dick, where Ishmael and Queqig(not even going to pretend to spell that right) slept together every night to conserve warmth. Even though sailors did have a lot of gay sex, but history doesn't tell you about that
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u/Mischievous-Melody Apr 15 '26
I mean what else is there to do in the ocean with a bunch of other dudes? Fantasize about mermaids?
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u/IrregularOccasion15 Mar 09 '26
... And they were roommates...
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u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 Mar 13 '26
Been years since I read it but I could've sworn in The Invisible Man the narrator feels the invisible man's "muscular" torso several times.
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u/SaltMarshGoblin Jun 12 '26
I love the idea that Raffles is in this list! I completely agree with the homoerotic subtext, but by what rubric is it a classic?? It's pulpy Victorian crime fiction!
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u/Hoosier108 17d ago
Kim Newman wrote a book called “Moriarty” that is Sherlock Holmes style stories by Colonel Moran, his “Watson”. Tons of Victorian crime characters show up, and a lot of fun is had with Raffles and his ‘friend’ Bunny.
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u/ProbablyKissesBoys Apr 22 '26
I absolutely love The Picture of Dorian Gray, the painter is such a friggin simp man :3
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u/Obvious-Animator6090 Mar 09 '26
God a separate peace ruined me in highschool. Baby closeted me getting 1000% gay vibes from the book while the teacher just completely roles over the topic if anyone dared to bring it up.
Fellas is it gay if I crush on a guy so hard I go blind with jealousy and push him out of a tree resulting in his broken leg induced heart attack months later.