Journalist Kamiel Visser has created a fascinating podcast series, entitled 'Sodoms house'.
He dives into the history of Utrecht's molly houses – secret refuges for men seeking sex with other men. Together with historians and experts, including Maurice van Lieshout, he goes back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries, to investigate how these locations contributed to the formation of an early gay community in Utrecht, and what we still notice of that today. And that history is broader than you might think: from a language and customs of its own, to identity development and the fateful year that abruptly put an end to the molly houses.
Kamiel created five episodes. In the first episode ‘Horen, zien, zwijgen’ (Hear, see, remain silent) he explores the biblical origins of sodomy, daily life, the norms of that time and the hidden world of men who secretly shared their desires. In the second episode ‘Een stelletje braave nighten tesamen’ (A bunch of brave queers together) the role of Utrecht in sodomite networks and molly houses is central. The third episode, ‘Culture in its infancy’, focuses on the subculture that sodomites developed in and around the molly houses. The fourth episode, ‘The Danger of Dreaming’, describes the changing way sodomites think about themselves. The final episode, ‘Every Man for Himself’, is about the disastrous consequences of the persecution of sodomites.You can listen to the podcast on Spotify.
You can listen to the podcast on Spotify.
Nederlands