Same-sex bonds are viewed as an expression of autonomy and a refusal to have one's body entirely commodified for reproductive labor.
Since historical records of consensual queer love are often obscured by trauma or social stigma, modern authors use fiction to imagine these lost stories: naked gay sex slaves
An 18th-century observer in Cuba noted enslaved men in long-term relationships where they referred to each other as "husband," with one partner performing domestic labor typically assigned to women. Same-sex bonds are viewed as an expression of
While enslaved people could not legally marry, they developed their own commitment rituals and family cultures. Evidence of male-male and female-female bonds appears in various forms: Evidence of male-male and female-female bonds appears in
Early Pennsylvania sodomy laws differentiated punishments based on race, suggesting that same-sex encounters among Black men were a recognized social concern for authorities. Scholarly Interpretations and Intimacy