Stories about Utrecht queer history
Sodomites as scapegoats
The sodomite persecution of 1730 marked a turning point because the ‘silent sin’ was no longer hidden from the general public.
From sodomite to homosexual
In the 19th century, not only the police was busy with men having sex with men, a whole procession of experts were looking for explanations for deviant sexual behaviour.
The Utrecht gay monument
Immediately after the liberation, monuments were erected all over the Netherlands that reminded of the Second World War.
Utrecht victims of 248bis
It is no longer possible to retrieve how many gay men and lesbian women in Utrecht have fallen victim to art. 248bis of the Criminal Code, but it must have been hundreds.
1949-1979 Changing times
Following the example of the church, science and government, most Dutch people in the post-war period regarded homosexuality as a sin, disease or crime.
Atalanta
Around 1980, Rymke Wiersma and Weia Reinboud started the Atalanta printing and publishing house in Utrecht. They thus created a platform for spreading “nice philosophy”.
Pearl Days
Utrecht organist Janjob Remmers (1956-1994) lived with AIDS for four years. Some parts of his mother’s diary from that time.
Lesbian Archive Utrecht
The Lesbian Archive Utrecht was founded in 1982, following the example of Leeuwarden, Amsterdam and Nijmegen.