[MUSIC]
Welcome back to Think Tank. Hannah
and Mr. Ferroni here.
>> [LAUGH] >> I can't help it.
I can't help it.
His name is Nick Ferroni, but
he is a teacher.
And so, I feel compelled to call
him Mr. Ferroni, I apologize.
>> And I feel so old when she says
that, okay.
>> I'm so sorry.
[LAUGH] Now, Mr.
Ferroni is not only a,
[LAUGH] I just did it again.
Nick Ferroni, Nick Ferroni
is not only a teacher and
he has experienced many accolades,
which we have been mentioning
through all of our past clips.
>> We don't have to mention again.
>> But he is also an LGBT activist,
and he is very passionate about,
I think, shining a light on some of
history's bad asses who also happen
to be part of the LGBT community.
So we are going to
go through some of them here today.
And I think you have some pretty
interesting characters up your
sleeve, which we will get to.
>> Incredible, yes.
>> Exactly, so the first
one that a lot of people don't know
about is Eleanor Roosevelt.
Eleanor fell in love with reporter
Lorena Hickock, and
their love letters to one
another still survive.
She also kept close company with
other lesbian
couples throughout her life.
So, I think this is one
that people might be familiar with,
the fact that she did have many
relationships with women.
>> And as FDR did with
other women as well.
>> Yeah, exactly.
>> So, they had a very open
relationship.
>> I appreciate that.
They were ahead of their time.
>> Well, they were sixth cousins.
I don't know if you know that too.
>> Yeah >> So they believe it was
very political.
>> Yeah, of course.
I'm sure that's what it was.
And now the next one is Leonardo Da
Vinci, the artist behind
the Mona Lisa indulged in drawing
quasi-erotic figures of men.
And in his writings, expressed
disgust towards sex with women.
He was charged with sodomy at least
twice in his life, and lived in
Florence, which was a haven for
gay men in his time.
Which was pretty interesting,
that kind of make sense,
I feel like.
>> Well, it's funny.
When we talk about LGBT history,
a lot of my students were like,
I thought gay people just showed up
in the 70's?
As if they've were nonexistent
throughout history.
>> Yeah, no.
>> Yeah, no people have been
around forever.
So, it's when I bring up people
like Da Vinci and Michelangelo and
those figures,
it's very fascinating.
Should it matter, no.
But it's nice for a little side
note to know that these people.
>> Yeah. >> These certain kids
going through a similar situations
can relate to these figures.
>> Yeah, it was interesting when I
was, I- >> Da Vinci is my idol,
besides being brilliant,
he was left handed too, so.
Yes, yes, lefties, we're better.
>> Well then.
[LAUGH] It was interesting as I was
kind of collecting these stories,
is I was thinking it's so
sad that they didn't feel
as comfortable coming out and
being as public about it.
And he was charged for sodomy,
which is ridiculous.
And then I was thinking, I mean,
we've advanced a ton, right?
We are much,
much more accepting now.
But there's still a stigma around
it, and so it's important, I think,
to shine a light on some of these
influential history figures.
So that we can realize
hey this has been going on forever.
This is just part of life,
and we can be more accepting of
people coming out now.
>> Especially as a teacher who
knows he has students who
maybe gone through that situation.
>> Yeah. >> It's funny, I get a lot
of backlash because they're telling
people I'm encouraging a sin.
So my response is so, you would
rather me not say anything and
have a kid attempt suicide in that
situation, rather than make a kid
feel comfortable?
>> Right. >> A child shouldn't have
to be brave to be themselves.
>> Amen to that,
that should be like a mantra,
I need that on a shirt.
A child shouldn't have to be
brave to be themselves.
I love that.
The next historical badass
is Aristotle.
Now, the great Greek philosopher
had lots of male sex partners,
as was the style of the time.
In his case, Aristotle seemed to
love sex with other men,
including fellow writers,
like Plato, and had little use for
women in his life.
Which is cool, and I mean,
we do know that was something that
was more common and
more accepted in that time.
Although I don't think
it was defined as being gay.
>> Is it a theme that the most
brilliant men in history didn't
have relationships with women so
they could focus more on their,
is that, is there a theme along
those lines?
>> I think there might be
a theme, I think.
[LAUGH] >> Which is why I'd be more
successful then, right?
>> I think, right back at ya.
>> [LAUGH] >> All right,
the next one is Marlon Brando.
Now, Brando was a famous womanizer,
and in his later years,
he revealed why.
He was in love with another man,
actor Wally Cox.
Brando once said he wished he
could have married Cox, and
the two are buried together today.
Brando also said he had a steamy
love affair with Lawrence Olivier,
and always defended his attraction
to men, calling himself unashamed.
I like this one,
because Marlon Brando is this,
quintessential-- >> Godfather.
>> Manly man, and yes,
he was part of the LGBT community.
Those things aren't mutually
exclusive.
So I love shedding light on
characters like this,
where our grandparents looked at
this guy like,
this is the man's man.
And he was also gay.
>> Him and Rock Hudson,
my father worshiped those men.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah.
>> Cool, very cool.
Again, the next one, Abe Lincoln.
While no gay rumors
followed him during his lifetime,
surviving private letters do hint
at several same-sex relationships.
He never warmed to women but
did spend lots of time with male
companions, and wrote at least
poems about sex with men.
Letters also reveal he
frequently slept in the same
bed with bodyguard David Derickson.
Hotly debated are papers discovered
in an apartment Lincoln once shared
with his friend Joshua Speed,
which detail a sexual
relationship as well.
>> Joshua Speed and
him had a very close relationship.
>> Yeah.
>> But again, as I explain to my
students with Lincoln,
Lincoln was suicidal in the 1850's.
So Joshua Speed came up and
spent that time with him.
And in fair honesty, those letters,
how guys wrote
letters in those days,
you would think everyone was gay.
I have a letter from Washington
saying to my dearest companion
Marquise Lafayette, I yearn for
our days together.
If a guy wrote that to you,
you'd be like wow.
>> I'd be like finally.
>> But that's how guys.
>> Finally. >> Yeah, finally.
>> God damn you're taking forever.
>> Now it's like you Hanna,
what's good? Yo, Hanna, what's.
>> Yeah 3 AM, you up?
>> Sup, sup?
>> [LAUGH] >> But
guys were very much more
poetic in narrative in those days.
So every letter seemed
like a gay relationship.
>> Well, I wonder too if they were
just more comfortable.
>> Yeah. >> They were more
comfortable in their sexuality.
>> I work out a lot,
I mean it's like,
you see guys working out together,
there's a lot of homoerotic stuff
going on.
It's.
>> I'm not judging.
>> Yeah.
>> But I'm really excited
because you have
somebody who wanted to share
that was an LGBT badass, and so
I'm really excited for this story.
Well, one of my favorite figures,
which I didn't learn about til
I got to college,
was Baron von Steuben.
And the interesting story about him
is he was kicked out of Prussia for
having an affair
with Frederick the Great.
>> Right. >> So he was in France on
trial for sodomy where a gentlemen
named Ben Franklin came across him
while he was trying to
court King Louis to help us support
against the Revolution.
When Franklin met him,
he knew that this man was on trial.
So what he did was,
which is the funny part is, he
wrote a letter to Congress saying,
I found this military man.
He knew Washington needed help.
>> Right. >> So he wrote
a letter saying I found this Baron,
he created a fake title,
which again, in America,
we have Queen Latifah, King James.
We don't have real royalty, so
we create, which is that's fine.
But when Baron Von Steuben came
here, literally,
Washington said we would not have
won the war without this man.
He trained them, got them dressing
right, looking good.
The one funny thing I always tell
is, a lot of guys were
getting sick during the Revolution.
What he realized is people were
bathing in the same place they
were going to the bathroom.
So his first logic was right,
we pee over here,
we bathe over here.
The book that he used,
which is even funnier, is still
used by the military today.
He was made an American citizen.
And one interesting tidbit
about von Steuben.
Every city,
every state has a Steuben town.
>> Yeah. >> Steuben Street.
>> Steubenville >> Yes,
and if you remember the scene
from Ferris Bueller's Day Off,
where he's singing Danke Schön?
That was at the Steuben Day Parade
in Chicago.
So Washington, himself,
said we would not have won the war
without the help of this man who
just happened to be a gay man.
>> Wow, that is incredible.
And I read that he came in,
and he had bells and frills.
He was like the first flamboyant
man to come out and
just save the day, essentially.
>> Washington's exact quote was,
to Congress, he's brilliant, but
he has very peculiar ways.
[LAUGH] >> Ain't
nothing wrong with that.
Thank you so much for
sharing that story.
>> Thank you.
>> I love shedding light on stories
like this.
We've done this before with people
who are celebrities,
who are immigrants,
celebrities who are Muslim.
Because a lot of the times, these,
I guess groups get a bad rap,
right, in our country, and
they don't feel comfortable.
And we want to remind you hey,
some of these amazing historical
figures who you know and love and
have learned about
were part of the LGBT community.
Unfortunately, our history books
didn't tell that part of the story,
but it's important to realize that
this is normal and
is just part of life.
>> Everyone contributed to
this country.
>> Exactly, exactly.
Thank you so much for being here.
>> Thank you. >> Tell people where
they can find you from here on out.
>> @NicholasFerroni on both
Twitter and Instagram, and
Nicholas Ferroni on Facebook.
>> And you have a new
series coming out?
>> Yes, I'm doing a great series
with Soul Pancake in People
magazine called Field Tripped.
>> Okay.
>> Where we basically,
some of the social experiments I do
with my students, which they hate,
but learn a lot from.
We actually do on people outside,
so we basically get people
to experience history and
topical events by putting them in
those situations to see
how they'll react.
>> Awesome, so
we'll be sure to check that out.
Also, please check out the New
Age Creators on SoulPancake, and
we'll see you guys next time.
>> [MUSIC]
