James Baldwin’s work remains particularly revolutionary for LGBTQ+ history as it considers a thorough account of not only bisexuality – with Baldwin having had relationships with both men and women throughout his life – and intersectionality of class, race, and gender through the experience of characters he describes, as well as his own.
I personally find his 1985 essay “Here Be the Dragons” and the 1987 work “To Crush The Serpent” particularly heartfelt as Baldwin frequently touches on the idea that love crosses all boundaries of sex, gender and biology – that love goes beyond the idea of who we are ‘meant’ to be in terms of our biological functions. He claims that it is an individual’s personality and character one falls in love with, not their sex or gender.
He claims that it is an individual’s personality and character one falls in love with, not their sex or gender.
James Baldwin had no issue with being labelled gay or homosexual throughout his life despite arguing that labelling sexuality is limiting and potentially outdated over time. To Baldwin, love is forever a personal thing that should not be bound to societal labels alone – and as a bisexual woman myself, I find this message so powerful!
