@notchesblog.bsky.social
NOTCHES is a collaborative and international history of sexuality blog that aims to get people inside and outside the academy thinking about histories of sex and sexualities in the past and in the present across regions, periods and themes.
How did a Victorian heart medicine become a cornerstone of queer pleasure and politics? Author Adam Zmith joins NOTCHES to discuss his novel Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures.
Read the author interview here 👉 wp.me/p6JJ6S-4Qi
#QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory #NOTCHESBlog #GayCulture
“Ultimately, this is an exciting place to be, pondering all the histories we’re yet to uncover, all the complications to unearth. I look forwards to continuing watching this research elucidate the past, from the sidelines.”
12/12
"Smith’s work demonstrates the importance of regional histories and shows the limitations of generalised narratives of change. It reminds us that the history of sexuality is an incredibly complicated area, full of nuance and exceptions.
11/12
“To round this all off, I’d like to share the work of Helen Smith, whose work on northern working-class communities highlights a distinction between sexual activity/desire and identity.
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10/12
“I’ve also enjoyed Katherine Harvey’s various contributions to the blog. From stockings to perfect penises, the medieval explorations of Harvey’s work will continue to be some of my favourite articles of all time.
Read The Bishop’s New Stockings, or The Dangers of Love Magic: wp.me/p6JJ6S-zB
9/12
“Another article, Dardanella and Peter, explored sexual letters between two lovers (Harry and Gwyneth). This will stay with me, particularly in Nancy Christie’s exploration of microhistories.
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8/12
"Whalers’ pornography, for instance, was not something I had ever contemplated before The People’s Porn: A History of Handmade Pornography in America by Lisa Z. Sigel.
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7/12
“Beyond these specific interests, I’ve always found the histories NOTCHES shares brilliant at catching you off-guard in the best of ways.
6/12
“Trans histories are also huge passions of mine, and seeing the range of these histories on NOTCHES has been enlightening. In particular, Raúl Luis Suarez’s Smile and The Ruthless Archive by Patricio Simonetto made me rethink agency and power in these histories.
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5/12
“Stephen Brogan’s work on nightclub Taboo, Leigh Bowery, and Marc Vaultier has been incredibly insightful and all three of these linked articles are fascinating.
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4/12
"I have a particular interest in drag and cross-dressing histories, so the recent Jacob Bloomfield article on his monograph Drag: A British History, was a particular pleasure to read and promote.
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3/12
“I’ve been with NOTCHES for around 4 years now, and it has been a privilege to help share the incredible body of academic work submitted to NOTCHES.
2/12
Our Social Media Manager, Georgia, is moving on from NOTCHES. So, in her final #ThrowbackThursday post, she shares with us some of her favourite NOTCHES articles of all time:
#histsex #historyofsexuality #queerhistory
1/12
“Cesarean birth […] still carries the weight of its sacrificial origins. And therapeutic abortion remains an unresolved embarrassment […] for a state that has never fully guaranteed the reproductive rights of women or other birthing people”
3/3
Dornelas highlights that the nineteenth century shift in difficult childbirths from therapeutic abortion to caesarean sections arose not from medical, but from religious, legal, and moral reasons, and that these reasonings still shape the present day.
2/3
Out today, we have Two More Weeks: The Brutality Behind Brazil’s Reproductive Politics by Isabela de Oliveira Dornelas.
Read the full article here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-4Oy
CW: abortion, death in childbirth, sexual violence
#histsex #historyofsexuality #historyofmedicine #historyofscience
1/3
New post out now!
Two More Weeks: The Brutality Behind Brazil’s Reproductive Politics by Isabela de Oliveira Dornelas.
Read the full article here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-4Oy
#histsex #historyofsexuality
NOTCHES now has a Ko-fi account! If you like what we do and want to support us, visit ko-fi.com/notches and consider leaving us a tip.
24.10.2025 15:20 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0Bourke’s work touches on the topics of dignity and rights, consent, and pet ownership, to name a few. A brilliant extract to revisit!
5/5
Another fundamental tenet of Bourke’s work is that animals are treated societal agents, which ‘serves to challenge the anthropocentrism of history, human exceptionalism, and the idea that ‘culture’ is an entirely human preserve’.
4/5
Examining how zoosexuality has been viewed within the modern period, Bourke argues that queer theory can be used as a lens to examine inter-species relations.
3/5
#queerhistory
For today’s #ThrowbackThursday, we take a look back at Bourke’s work, exploring our complex, multifaceted relationships with animals.
2/5
Back in 2021, we posted an extract from the introduction of Joanna Bourke’s book, Loving Animals: On Bestiality, Zoophilia, and Post-Human Love, published by @reaktionbooks.bsky.social.
Find it here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-4c1
1/5
#histsex #historyofsexuality
Today’s #ThrowbackThursday, let’s celebrate yesterday’s, #InternationalLesbianDay. Looking back at lesbian history, today we spotlight Kim Racon’s article, Finding the lesbian premodern: Does it take one to know one?
Read it here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-qL
#queerhistory #lgbthistory
Looking at recordings of Dr Joan Malleson’s sexual counselling sessions, Rusterholz delves into 1950s ideas around heterosexuality, marriage, and pleasure.
Read the full article here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-3ss
Today’s #ThrowbackThursday, we return to the bedroom...or, rather, the counselling couch, with ‘This isn’t so boring if you can get an outside climax’: Dr Joan Malleson and sexual counselling in Britain by Caroline Rusterholz.
1/2
#HistSex #HistoryofSexuality
Rather than treating these values as mutually exclusive, this new article highlights the everyday negotiations, ethical dilemmas, and creative strategies that emerge as individuals navigate between communal ideals and personal desires.
Visit notchesblog.com for more!
#QueerHistory #LGBTQIA
What holds a polygamous family together? What pulls it apart? Drawing on six years of research, Dr. Jankowiak explores how Mormon fundamentalist communities navigate the tension between their ideal of harmonious plural love and the persistent human impulse toward dyadic emotional bonds.
16.09.2025 12:52 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
New on NOTCHES!
Illicit Monogamy: Inside a Fundamentalist Mormon Community by William Jankowiak
Read the exclusive author interview here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-4PT
#LGBTQHistory #HistoryOfSexuality #FamilyStudies #ReligiousHistory #Polyamory #Polyamorous #Mormon
Makeup also features in drag histories, and, whilst not explicitly on makeup, it would be a shame not to mention that on Tuesday we released our interview with Jacob Bloomfield on his book, Drag: A British History. Read it here: wp.me/p6JJ6S-4PW
7/7
