Publications
Kertbeny's "Homosexuality" and the Language of Nationalism
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Karl Maria Kertbeny (1824-1882) coined the term "homosexuality" in 1869 in the midst of political discussions about the unification of Germany. Although medical discourses took up the vocabulary of "homosexuality, " the discourses of liberal Hungarian nationalism affected Kertbeny in his thinking about sexuality. Nineteenth-century Hungarian nationalism was not based in biology and race so much as in language and culture. Similarly, Kertbeny's understanding of sexuality found homosexuality not so much in the body as in a shared taste and aesthetic.
From At the Interface / Probing the Boundaries, Volume: 26
Publication Title
Genealogies of Identity: Interdisciplinary Readings on Sex and Sexuality
Publication Date
1-1-2005
Volume
26
First Page
3
Last Page
18
ISSN
1570-7113
ISBN
9789401201902
DOI
10.1163/9789401201902_005
Keywords
Austria, Germany, homosexuality, Hungary, Kertbeny, liberalism, nationalism
Repository Citation
Tobin, Robert D., "Kertbeny's "Homosexuality" and the Language of Nationalism" (2005). Publications. 15.
https://commons.clarku.edu/tobinpub/15