Was Abraham Lincoln Gay? Inside the Making of “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln”

Was Abraham Lincoln gay? That’s the thesis behind the new documentary “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln.” From director Shaun Peterson, the film stays away from gossips and sticks with facts as told by historians such as Professor John Stauffer (Harvard, Professor of English and of African and African-American Studies) and Professor Thomas Balcerski (Occidental College, Presidential & Political Historian). I spent some time with the trio of Peterson, Stauffer, and Balcerski to talk about the film, the implications of Abraham Lincoln’s homosexuality, and the roles that gender and sexual identity played during Lincoln’s time. We see all this from the prism of the most beloved American President. As the film suggests, if you can accept queer Lincoln, then you can accept queer people over all. “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln” arrives in theaters on September 6th and here in Palm Springs, there will be a limited 3-day engagement at the Regal Rancho Mirage Theater also on Sept. 6th.