Introduction: Sources and Methods in the History of Sexuality

Historians of sexuality not only face the difficulty that sexuality has often been secret and hidden in the past, presumed to leave little evidence; the very meaning of sexuality varies in the past, shaped by culture, discourses, and power relations. Nonetheless, we show that historians have found creative ways around these problems. First, we define sexuality broadly to include sexual acts, desires, and relationships as well as discourses and identities. Second, we introduce the debates among historians as to whether contemporary terms can be used in the past or across cultures. Third, we draw on our authors to suggest that discourses about sexuality may be deceptive, in that they can be both regulatory and erotic, and present truth-claims yet lie. Fourth, we show how historians read against the grain to find evidence of agency and change in such sources as court records. Finally, we examine how individuals and collectivities have found expressed their desires and/or identities indirectly through sources such as personal and group archives, scrapbooks, diaries, and portraiture.