PHAIS Seminar Series Week 22: Dr Martha Robinson Rhodes (History)

The PHAIS Seminar Series meets weekly in term time to discuss a paper by a visiting Philosopher, Historian, Art Historian or a member of our academic staff.

Muddying the Water: Bisexual Coming Out Stories in Modern Britain

Dr Martha Robinson Rhodes, Northwestern University

Martha will share research from her forthcoming book, Bisexuality and Beyond: A History of Multiple-Gender-Attraction in Modern Britain. This book will be the first historical study of bisexuality in Britain, using oral histories to explore the creation of the gay/straight binary from the perspective of those who fell beyond its limits. This talk focuses on the concept of ‘coming out’, and argues that there was not a single bisexual ‘coming out narrative’, but rather multiple narratives, refracted through the lens of gender, class, race and age.

Biography

Martha Robinson Rhodes is a historian of sexuality in modern Britain. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2021, and has since worked in the policy and research team of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, and as a postdoctoral researcher in Sexuality Studies at Northwestern University, Illinois. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher on the 'Inclusive Histories' project at Royal Holloway, University of London, working to support the more inclusive teaching of History GCSE.

The seminar will be delivered in person, but a Zoom link will be available for those who wish to attend remotely.