Conditions of Affection: Intimacy, Love, and Sex in Queer Studies of Early America

Queer studies and gender and sexuality studies have often focused on the sexual components of relationships to reconstruct the historical narrative. However, sex and sexuality do not define the entirety of the queer experience. This work seeks to introduce affection and intimacy as a methodology by which scholars can re-examine queer history in a manner that is inclusive to all members of the LGBTQIA+ community while also navigating the difficulty of applying modern terminology to historical contexts.