Historical Homos Medieval Arab Lesbians (feat. Labia Gas & The Saffron Massage)
The Dark Ages: Rome has fallen, the Church won't shut the fuck up, there's a killer plague for every season, and everyone else is dying of BOREDOM.
Right? WRONG.
Western Europe may have been a shitshow for much of what we ridiculously call the "Dark Ages," but the rest of the world had its act together.
Specifically: Baghdad around the 800s AD. At the height of the Golden Age of Islam. They had libraries, they had mathematics, and...they had lesbian sex scientists.
This week we’re taking a tantalizing dip into the Golden Age of Islam to uncover a treasure trove archive of lesbionic women from medieval Arabia.
Muslim philosophers and physicians had actual words for lesbians (or lesbian-like women), entire books about famous lesbian couples, and specific manuals that explained how to vigorously rub one out with your beloved.
From labia gas to celery-and-rocket shakes, the science was...shaky, at best. But the spirit of inquiry was strong, and the genuine respect for lesbian love profound.
Tune in to explore:
- Why doctors thought the only sensible treatment for lesbianism was – get this! – lesbian sex
- A 13th-century Kama Sutra-style manual that coined the “saffron massage” (and came with a guide to lesbian sound effects)
- The interfaith power couple Hind Bint al-Nu'man and al-Zarqāʾ, whose legendary love story inspired queer and heterosexual writers for centuries to come
- The lost books of lesbian couples with names like Basil and Clove and Justice and Happiness (welcome, ladies, to the queer Muslim SPICE RACK)
- How medieval lesbian communities were rumoured to hold meetings and sex ed classes, because like all good homosexuals, they got organized.
🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you pod. Willow oil and saffron grinder sold separately.
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Episode Credits
Written and hosted by Bash.
Edited by Alex Toskas.
Produced by Dani Henion.