A new gay Gandhi book

joshua_ste

1st Like
Joined
Mar 5, 2011
Posts
72
Media
5
Likes
1
Points
43
Sexuality
60% Straight, 40% Gay
Gender
Male
Pulitzer-prize-winning Joseph Lelyveld's new book about Mahatma Gandhi, "Great Soul", strongly hints at a gay Gandhi though the author is hesitant to label him.

There was an intimate attachment to a german-jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach. The only portrait on the mantelpiece opposite Gandhi's bed was of Kallenbach. Gandhi left his wife to live with Kallenbach. There are letters from Gandhi:
"How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance."

Indian state bans Gandhi book after reviews hint at gay relationship | World news | The Guardian

Gandhi 'left his wife to live with a male lover' new book claims | Mail Online



There is no evidence that Gandhi actually acted on his feelings. If not, can we still label historical figures (like Lincoln, Tchaikovsky) as gay?

Andrew Sullivan says this, which comes across as fairly sound:

"When will these people realize that a man whose greatest love was for another man - whether he was celibate or not - was fricking gay. Being gay is not about having sex, for the umpteenth time. It's about being emotionally and sexually attracted to someone of the same gender. If the facts Lelyveld gathers are correct, then Gandhi was gay, even though those who still have no clue about homosexuality deny it. The same goes for Lincoln. You can put any cultural or historical gloss on it - and, yes, gayness required elaborate forms of euphemism and artifice in days gone by. But a passionate and long-lived crush on another man, romantically and sexually, even if nothing happens, is called homosexuality. Deal with it."

Gandhi Too, Ctd - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan