Queering Dante

Abstract

This chapter investigates the queer in Dante. By queer we understand a critical practice that resists both heteronormative assumptions about desire and fixed binary notions of gender. The essay explores where and how Dante’s texts engage difference around sexuality/gender, especially sodomy and same-sex desire. It also surveys professional academic reactions to queer moments in Dante’s poem, particularly the sodomy cantos (Inf. XV–XVI, Purg. XXVI), where we detect a distinct strain of homophobic defensiveness. Finally, the essay begins to recount the fascinating history of Dante reception by queer readers—armchair enthusiasts and activists, scholars, poets, writers, and filmmakers.