About this episode
This episode explores the concept of asexuality throughout history, particularly among royals, and the challenges historians face in identifying asexual individuals from the past.
Throughout history, across cultures and in every walk of life, there have always been people with varied sexual attractions, or lack there of. Asexuality, in particular, has only been identified and studied since the early 20th century. People in the past did not have the concepts, terminology or relative freedom we have today. So those who might now identify as asexual had a limited understanding of what they were experiencing. This makes it difficult for historians to identify people from the past who may have been asexual. Sexual attractions and relationships of every variety often left evidence, like steamy love letters and reports from others. But a lack of sexual desire was much less likely to be expressed. Sexuality, particularly among royals and especially among women, was often not a matter of choice. Princes and Princesses had to marry and reproduce with whoever their parents told them to. In many cases, particularly when young princesses were wed to much older kings, their own desires were invalid. So unless they risked their lives by having an affair, we can’t know if they were secretly lusting after the stable boy, the kitchen maid, or if they just wanted to be left…
People in this episode
Host: Lindsay Holiday
Topics covered
- asexuality
- royalty
- history
- LGBTQIA+
- sexuality
- cultural studies
Keywords
- asexual royals
- historical sexuality
- LGBTQIA+ history
- cultural perceptions
- sexual attraction
- historical figures
- royal marriages
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