In “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln” director Shaun Peterson makes a compelling case that Honest Abe was queer.
The 102-minute doc features 20 Lincoln scholars and historians and never-before seen photographs and letters that argue that there is no denying that Lincoln had sexual relations with men. The film presents a plethora of evidence that the former president was involved with a series of men — four of significance. One of those men was Joshua Speed, with whom Lincoln shared a bed with for four years, according to the film which says it is widely documented.
“Lover Of Men’ explores not just Lincoln’s sexual preferences but the history of human sexual fluidity and the profound differences between sexual mores of the nineteenth century and those of today.
The doc, which makes its theatrical debut on Friday, recently partnered with Special Occasion Studios and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on the release of the film.
Variety spoke to Peterson and the doc’s producer Rob Rosenheck about why calling President Lincoln gay is so controversial.
Shaun, what drove you to make this documentary?
Shaun Peterson: I saw this Gore Vidal essay in Vanity Fair (“Was Lincoln Bisexual?”) about Lincoln’s sexuality and I was really fascinated by it. Then I went down this whole rabbit hole of looking up as much as I could about it. Then I started pitching different incarnations of this story dating back to 2008. The response I kept getting was, “C’mon. This can’t be true.” During the pandemic I was like, I’m so sick of hearing that, let me just make a documentary. So, I made a sizzle reel with interviews with three scholars – John Stauffer (Harvard professor), Jean Baker (historian) and Jonathan Ned Katz (historian).
Rob, how did you get involved?
Rob Rosenheck: Shaun and I met up and he told me what he was working on and he said, “Did you know Abraham Linoln was queer?” And I said, “No.” Then he told me the story and I said that’s the most incredible thing I’ve heard and I want to produce it. It’s a great story with an incredible hook.
Steven Spielberg made “Lincoln,” which was released in 2012 and there was Ken Burns’ acclaimed docusies “Civil War” that featured Lincoln, but I don’t remember anything in either film about Lincoln being queer. Why?
Rosenheck: Stauffer, in our film, says that Lincoln is the ultimate symbol of America and to many people that’s white and heteronormative. If you watched the Democratic National Convention, America is not white or heteornomrative. So, the premise of a queer Abraham Lincoln is a threat to people who are afraid of “the other,” and I understand why people are afraid of “the other.” I’m not saying that those people are evil or wrong, they are just misinformed. That’s the central struggle that the county is facing and that’s what drew me to the project – not whether or not Lincoln was queer but that this is an entry point to this larger conversation of who we are as a people which is reflected in the way that you understand Abraham Lincoln.
Peterson: Tony Kushner wrote the “Lincoln” screenplay and he wrote one of the most seminal plays, “Angels in America,” about the queer experience and and the AIDS crisis. Tony Kushner was certainly aware of Lincoln being queer and all of the evidence that scholars have presented, particularly from Clarence Tripp. So, my question is why wasn’t that explored in the “Lincoln” film?
The docu makes it clear that in the 19th century society was much more accepting of being queer than it is now. Why do you think that is?
Peterson: Beyond this provocative headline that Lincoln was queer, the real thrust of the movie is that Lincoln wasn’t some sort of outlier. It was a much more accepted behavior (in the 19th century). We are just using the word queer so we can put it in a contemporary context so it’s easier for people to understand. The word queer, the word homosexual, gay, straight, any type of (sexual) identity did not exist at the time. These are just simply behaviors that Lincoln, like many, many men, were just acting on. They were sexual impulses.
How do you think audiences will react to the doc?
Rosenheck: This is an important piece of American history that has been suppressed and hidden. The issue here isn’t, did Abraham Lincoln have sexual relations with a series of men? The question is, are we ok with that idea? Our film might upset members of a potential audience but that is not our concern and that’s because we are presenting historical evidence with 20 prominent scholars from prestigious universities who have all come to the same conclusion, which was that Lincoln was a lover of men.