The LGBTQ2S+ Community Throughout History - Article three
Oscar Wilde was an English novelist, playwright, and poet. He was known for his works The Picture of Dorian Gray and The importance of being Earnest as well as many others. Oscar was born into an intellectual family in Dublin, he attended Trinity College and Oxford where he began earning a reputation for his flamboyance. After finding success with his poetry he traveled to the states for a year to promote himself (Claiming he “kissed” Walt Whitman - one of the foremost American poets - along the way). He then lived in Paris for some time.
After returning to London, he married Constance Lloyd and had two sons with her. His career focused mainly on journalism and short pieces of fiction as he continued to thrive career-wise. His biggest impact came with The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890, a novel of decadence as well as thinly veiled homosexuality that was decreed to be immoral. After this Wilde turned to theater and had immense success with satirical comedies such as The importance of being Earnest. He found joy in poking fun at the Victorian society - who enjoyed being made fun of. Oscar was invited to every party and was known for his biting banter as well as his wit. In 1891 Wilde met Lorde Alfred Douglas or “Bosie” to friends. Douglas wasn’t Oscar’s first homosexual affair but it was definitely the most intense and ultimately ruinous. When Douglas’ father accused Oscar of being a posing somdomite (misspelling of sodomite - a derogatory term for homosexual) on a public calling card, Lorde Alfred convinced Wilde to sue his father for libel. The trial ultimately backfired when the offense provided several men Oscar had paid to sleep with and the case was dropped in favor of prosecuting him instead. He became one of the first and most famous people to be convicted under the UK’s “Gross indecency” laws. He was given the harshest sentence: two years of hard labor. He died a few years after his release, separated from his wife, and reunited with Douglas (who never visited or wrote to Oscar while he was in prison). Wilde never apologized for his relationships (which I feel he never needed to), in fact, he defended them beautifully in court. Oscar didn’t ever say he identified with a specific sexuality believing instead he was imprisoned for being an artist and a non-conformist. Being so famously outed turned him into a permanent icon for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Tennessee Williams was a celebrated American playwright who happened to be gay. He was known for his works The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A cat on a hot tin roof as well as others. Williams had a rough childhood, he grew up with an abusive father, an overbearing mother, and a loving sister who eventually was institutionalized. His family's dysfunction became his inspiration for his work The Glass Menagerie which brought him to fame. His sexuality was an open secret that was publicly confirmed in the post-stonewall riots era (a series of demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ2S+ community responding to a police raid on June 28th, 1969 see more here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots). Many of his short stories and plays dealt with gay themes, though they were rarely positive, which reflect Tennessee's dissatisfaction with being gay himself, At the height of his career he created several successful plays that later became adapted into award-winning films. Sadly his late life was marked by alcohol, drugs, and depression after the death of his long-time partner Frank Merlo (An American actor who passed away from cancer).
Both of these men lead slightly similar lives as they were both lovely writers but they are both so different. I myself believe Oscar Wilde simply identified as queer because he thought his sexuality shouldn’t matter (which he was right to believe as it doesn’t define him or anyone). I also know that Tennessee Williams’ dissatisfaction with not being straight is a very sad reality for many LGBTQ2S+ people, even today.
- Devon (They/He/She)
Written Apr 16th, 2023 Edited Jun 4th, 2025
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