Sex and the Tulip City

My plane touched down in Houston, Texas 2 days ago and I've already started reminiscing about my time abroad. From telling my friends and families about our class discussions and out-of-class adventures, I have realized that I have a lot to write about in my final blog post. The last month spent abroad has taught me primarily how the Dutch open attitude influences all aspects of their culture, and how we can apply some Dutch practices here in the United States.  Before our departure, my vision of The Netherlands was idealistic. From what I understood, they had the best sex education in the world, everyone was sex-positive, and homophobia was non-existent. And while these statements may hold kernels of truth, The Netherlands is not perfect, like all other countries. On our first two class days with Chantal and Sophie Rose, we learned about the history of colonialism in The Netherlands. From these classes, my biggest takeaway was that there have always been hierarchies in Dutch cultu...

It's pride month, so what a perfect time to learn about the history of GLB people in The Netherlands! This week we heard from two wonderful speakers: Tijmen, a PhD student from Amsterdam, and Maurice, a queer historian from Utrecht. From both Tijmen and Maurice, we learned how queer people have made themselves known in The Netherlands and more.  Tijmen focused mainly on the queer history of Amsterdam, using an article by Hekma (1999) to provide background knowledge. Gay people have been visible in Amsterdam from before the world wars, and even started a magazine in 1932. However, emancipation of gay people really began after the second world war with the formation of the COC (previously The Shakespeare Club). The COC was primarily made up of white Dutch gay men, and their mission was to provide a safe space for gay people to meet, interact, and be themselves as they were not allowed to do so in public. Maurice also told us about the Utrecht chapter of the COC, which was established...