When the Greek leader Agamemnon, takes Achilles’ mistress Briseis without his consent, Achilles withdraws from battle and the Greeks begin losing until Patroclus puts on Achilles’ armor and leads his men in battle. Achilles & PatroclusĪchilles and Patroclus are well known from Homer’s Iliad (8th century BCE) in which they are depicted as very close friends who grew up together and joined the expedition of the Mycenaean Greeks in the war on Troy. The others on the list leave no doubt as to their sexual orientation and preference. In the case of Sappho of Lesbos, it could well be she was assuming a persona in her poetry, but ancient writers understood her as a lesbian and she inspired the terms "sapphic" and "lesbian" as regarding feminine homosexuality.
In the same way, Alexander the Great and Hephaestion have been characterized as "close friends" by scholars and historians while primary sources strongly suggest they were lovers. Sexual relations with people of both genders or, in some cultures, a third gender was simply considered sex. Homer, in his depiction of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, does not explicitly present them as gay but provides enough context clues that, by the 4th and 5th century BCE, writers regarded them as such. The first two couples come from Greek literature and mythology and so are not historical but do suggest the paradigm of widespread acceptance of same-sex relationships without any hint of prejudice or judgment. In these cases, there is enough textual evidence to suggest that some were probably gay, and others certainly were. Wind’s observation applies to historical accounts generally but certainly to some of the couples below. Whose story will the principal believe? Which version will become the official story, the history, of that moment? What if that third person doesn’t like you? What if that third person is your best friend? What if your fight was with the principal’s kid? Whose story will become history now? (8) You’ll have your story, the other kid will have their story, and a third person, who maybe saw the fight happen, will have a third story. Afterward, there will be different versions of what happened. History was crafted by the people who recorded it. Earlier historians do make mention of some people’s gender preferences while biographies of men like Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar written in the Common Era downplay or ignore that aspect. Heche is currently in a relationship with James Tupper and they have one son together, Atlas Heche Tupper (born 2009).Although it has been claimed that there is little evidence to positively identify figures of the past as gay or lesbian, this fact in itself argues for how easily same-sex relationships were accepted, as though they were not even worth noting. The “Cedar Rapids” star later married Coleman ‘Coley’ Laffoon and the couple have one child together, Homer (born 2002). Ellen DeGeneres was previously involved with the actress Anne Heche for 10 years. She publicly came out in 2005 and she has been married to Ellen DeGeneres since 2008. Portia de Rossi was married to Mel Metcalfe from 1996-1999. Wanda Sykes frequently jokes about how gay marriage is better than straight marriage in her stand-up comedy routine. She married her partner Alex Sykes later that year. In 2008, Sykes announced that she was gay. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress was married to Dave Hall from 1991-1998.
Who is the most famous gay woman who was married to a man? Wanda Sykes tops our list. Some married before they fully recognized that they were gay, while others used their marriages to keep their sexuality a secret from the public. Several famous women who have come out as lesbians, have been married to men. List of Famous Gay Women Who Were Married to Men ranked by fame and popularity.