Author: Read with Pride

readwithpride.com Long before rainbow flags and pride parades, there was Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, a man who refused to tone down his fabulousness for anyone, not even his brother, the Sun King himself. Known simply as “Monsieur” (because when you’re that iconic, you only need one name), Philippe lived his queer truth so openly …

Versailles’ Flamboyance: Philippe I, Duke of OrléansRead More

readwithpride.com When the King Had Two Favorites History loves to play it straight, literally. Royal biographies are full of convenient omissions, strategic silences, and the erasure of anything that doesn’t fit the heteronormative narrative. But every once in a while, the truth is so obvious that even centuries of whitewashing can’t completely hide it. Enter …

The King’s Confidant: William III and His FavoritesRead More

readwithpride.com Look, when someone tells you there’s nothing new under the sun when it comes to queer history, just point them toward Benedetta Carlini. This seventeenth-century Italian abbess was out here having mystical visions, running a convent like a boss, and carrying on a passionate love affair with another nun, all while the Catholic Church …

Improper Acts: The Life and Loves of Benedetta CarliniRead More

readwithpride.com History has a funny way of trying to hide the queer stories, doesn’t it? We’re told that medieval convents were these austere, silent places where women dedicated their lives solely to God. But tucked away in dusty manuscripts and hidden in the margins of ancient texts, there’s a different story, one filled with longing, …

Love in the Cloister: The Secret Letters of Medieval NunsRead More

readwithpride.com Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in LGBTQ+ history: the nunnery. Yeah, you heard that right. Behind those ancient stone walls and beneath those modest habits, countless queer women found something radical, freedom. For centuries, when society demanded that every woman must marry a man, bear his children, and submit …

Safe Havens: Nunneries as Sanctuaries for Queer LoveRead More

readwithpride.com Imagine being trapped in a convent at fifteen, your entire life mapped out by your family, prayers, silence, and a lifetime of servitude. Now imagine saying “absolutely not” and breaking out to become one of the most legendary soldiers in Spanish colonial history. That’s exactly what Catalina de Erauso did in 1607, and her …

Beyond the Habit: The Bold Life of Catalina de ErausoRead More

readwithpride.com Picture this: It’s 1760, and Denis Diderot just penned one of the most scandalous novels about convent life that would make even modern readers blush. The Nun (La Religieuse) wasn’t just another tale of religious devotion gone wrong, it was a full-blown exposé of forbidden lesbian desires, psychological torture, and the hypocrisy festering behind …

Forbidden Desires: The Reality Behind Diderot’s ‘The Nun’Read More

readwithpride.com Behind the thick stone walls of 17th-century Spanish convents, where silence was golden and obedience was law, women found ways to love each other. These weren’t just friendships: they were intense, passionate bonds that the Church nervously called “particular friendships.” And when Sister Feliciana de San Jose’s relationships with her fellow nuns caught the …

Under the Inquisition: The Trials of Sister FelicianaRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the stone walls and stained glass windows of Victorian convents, something fascinating was happening. While society outside obsessed over propriety and scandal, nuns were forming deep, emotionally charged bonds that today we’d recognize as intensely romantic: yet at the time were simply called “particular friendships.” These relationships existed in a fascinating gray area …

Victorian Veils: Romantic Friendships in the ConventRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the cloistered walls of convents around the world, something remarkable has been happening. Women who dedicated their lives to God have been discovering another kind of devotion, one that doesn’t fit neatly into the vows they took. These are the stories of modern ex-nuns who left their religious orders to pursue the women …

Leaving the Order: Modern Love Stories of Ex-NunsRead More

readwithpride.com The Church has always had a thing about controlling who loves whom, how, and when. But while most people know about the persecution of gay men throughout history, there’s a lesser-known story hiding in dusty ecclesiastical archives: the Church’s obsessive documentation of women’s intimate relationships, especially within religious communities. For centuries, Church authorities didn’t …

Regulating Love: The Church’s Records of Female IntimacyRead More

readwithpride.com History loves a good escape story. Whether it’s prisoners tunneling out of medieval dungeons or lovers fleeing disapproving families, there’s something universally thrilling about breaking free. But what about when the escapees are two nuns, bound by vows of chastity and obedience, who decide that their devotion to each other matters more than the …

The Great Escape: A 14th-Century Tale of Two NunsRead More

readwithpride.com When we talk about LGBTQ+ history, we usually focus on the modern era, Stonewall, marriage equality, Pride parades. But queer people have always existed, even in the most unlikely places. Like, say, the Vatican in the 11th century. Meet Pope Benedict IX, possibly the most scandalous pope in the entire history of the Catholic …

The Three-Time Pope: Benedict IX and the Scandals of the VaticanRead More

readwithpride.com When we think about LGBTQ+ history, medieval saints probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. But hidden in the archives of ecclesiastical correspondence lies some of the most passionate, intimate writing ever penned between men, and it’s all perfectly preserved in the official records of the Catholic Church. Meet Saint Anselm of …

Sacred Bonds: The Intimate Letters of Saint AnselmRead More

readwithpride.com If you think modern scandals are wild, buckle up for one of the most jaw-dropping stories from Vatican history. We’re talking about Pope Julius III, a 16th-century pontiff who decided that the best use of his papal power was to make his teenage companion a Cardinal. Yes, you read that right. A Cardinal. The …

The Cardinal’s Favorite: Pope Julius III and Innocenzo Ciocchi del MonteRead More

readwithpride.com Tucked away in the dusty archives of Byzantine manuscripts and early Christian texts lies a ceremony that most people have never heard of, and one that the Church would rather you didn’t know about. It’s called adelphopoiesis, which literally translates to “brother-making,” and for over a thousand years, it was an official Church ritual …

Brother-Making: The Church’s Forgotten Same-Sex RitualsRead More

readwithpride.com When you look up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling, you’re not just seeing biblical scenes painted by a Renaissance master. You’re witnessing one of history’s most profound acts of queer resistance: a gay man creating divine beauty for an institution that condemned his very nature. Michelangelo Buonarroti spent decades painting the Vatican’s most sacred …

Divine Desire: Michelangelo and the Men of the VaticanRead More

readwithpride.com The Vatican has always been a place of whispers. Stone corridors, candlelit chapels, and centuries of secrets kept behind ornate doors. But among the most persistent whispers throughout the 20th century was talk of something the Italian press dubbed “la lobby gay” or the “Pink Lobby”: an alleged network of gay clergy operating within …

The Pink Lobby: Behind the Vatican’s Secret NetworksRead More

readwithpride.com Sometimes the most faithful act is the one that gets you kicked out of church. Father John J. McNeill knew this truth better than most. A Jesuit priest who spent nearly four decades in service to his religious community, he made a choice that would define his legacy: speak truth to power, even when …

Faith and Freedom: The Courage of Father John J. McNeillRead More

readwithpride.com Behind the stone walls of medieval monasteries, where men devoted their lives to God and solitude, another story unfolded: one of forbidden desire, secret glances across candlelit chapels, and love that dared not speak its name. While history books often sanitize the past, the reality is far more complex and decidedly more human than …

Cloistered Secrets: Forbidden Love in Medieval MonasteriesRead More