Forbidden Love: Museum of London's Queer City Tour, by Sonny Thaker

Forbidden Love: Queer City Tour at the Museum of London

Political heads with more than one romantic partner, women in powerful positions yet still under the thumb of their masters… oops I mean husbands. Couples with more fame, clout and money then Kim & Kanye, blackmailed prime ministers, imprisoned writers and noteworthy olympians. Oh yes - did I forget to mention most of them were LGBTQI?

No - I’m not practicing future headlines for a thrilling and fast paced career as a writer for The Sun or The Daily Express. These were actually all droplets of England’s fascinating history over the last several thousand years.

There we were, about a dozen postgrad students from UAL visiting the Museum of London for our Queer City Tour, gazing upon our host as if we were kids on an exciting school trip full of treasure and wonder. With our ears peeled, and our eyes focused, we were whisked around time through the rich LGBTQI history of London and England.

The words and stories poured from our dashing host - Andrew with such grace and eloquence.  I mean he could have told us elephants whizzed around on tricycles and that would have been interesting. Hang about - is this a crush I sense Sonny? Oh dear pardon me, now - what was I saying?

Oh yes. Forbidden Love, inappropriate behaviour, things you don’t say, never think and definitely DO NOT DO. Yes - all part of the tour actually.

When is love forbidden?  Who decides? & why did humanity conspire to create a society overpowered by such an oxymoron?

Reading the two words Forbidden & Love juxtaposed, your mind may immediately jump to a place filled with moral turpitude.

But let me lay caution dear friends, for have you ever questioned where this overt sense of morality, this heavy wielding hammer of what’s right and what’s wrong came from?   Yes, yes - I know it’s from your parents - but I meant for you to think beyond that. For goodness sakes people - Focus.

Have you ever asked yourself where our culture came up with all the judgements and rules we adorn ourselves with? It shrouds over us like moss hugging an old and forgotten oak tree.  Especially when it comes to all things of a sexual nature. Am I even allowed to say that word in a school publication.  SEX - there it’s done.  But isn’t Love so much more than Sex?

It’s quite funny that when we speak of Forbidden Love - how sex, sexuality, who we love, how we love them, when we should love them & in what type of relationship we should love them — all seem to cast the shadow of doubt upon those who differ from the norm. A dark and heavy shadow that LGBTQI people have been dealing with throughout most of history.

One of the fascinating things on this tour was that in Roman times one of the rulers of what would eventually become England, was quite openly in love with a man.  Hadrian (you know, the guy with the big wall named after him), well he was madly in love with Antinous.  In fact so madly in love - that Hadrian would eventually immortalize his Antinous as the God of Hedonism. This only after Hadrian’s heart had been broken into a thousand pieces. You see his love was drowned in the river. Or was it suicide, as Antinous felt trapped in a sordid and frowned upon relationship. Sounds like an episode from Tiger King I know - but this was a few thousand years back. You know what they say about being doomed to repeat history.

What was most interesting about this story and the time in which it happened is that Hadrian was a leading Roman political figure, in his mid fifties. Antinous was a mere teenager of fifteen when they met and began courting.  I think Celine Dion did that history repeat.

Antinous was said to be a commoner so Hadrian made sure he was properly educated and taught the manners of an aristocrat.  Oh yes and Hadrian was quite butch and Antinous quite cherubic. Hadrian - The Original Sugar Daddy. I know, I know - another Netflix blockbuster

Forbidden is one of those juicy red door words; the more you’re not meant to go in, the more you have an overwhelming sense you just want to.

Or perhaps you’re one the bystanders that sits close by that red door, waiting to pass judgement upon all those who slipped up and just needed taste of the sweet temptation that waited beyond.

Well on the next part of the tour - the Dark Ages - the tour took a real turn toward the judgement Judie’s of history.  The plague, great fire, suffering, loathing, and general shady times were all the perfect breeding ground for the Christian idealists to serve up their elixir of fear, self doubt and hatred for all things forbidden.

Pretty soon, homosexual behaviours and all things sex-for-pleasure became the workshop of the Devils work. Shame cast a twisted and torturous net upon us. A net that we are still struggling to cut free from today.

Of course love always finds a way. Throughout history, no matter what has been done to LGBTQI people, they continue to pick themselves back up, walk with pride and connect with full hearts. Perhaps a time will come when we won’t need such labels, because the default won’t be straight or queer - the default will simply be to Love without any shame and without any judgement.

Perhaps we should all so be so lucky to share what Hadrian and Antinous once did - free of judgement and free of harm.

If you wish to book your own Queer City Tour please feel free to email boxoffice@museumoflondon.org.uk & if you’re lucky you may get the the handsome and dashing Andrew as your host too.

Oops - I think that sort of overt compliment is forbidden Sonny (note to self). You’re too old anyways. Dear oh dear - give your head shake matey.

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