PAST OUT continued from page 23

chronicled the love of King Edward for his favorite, Gaveston. Edward's tragedy was the clash of his need to fulfill his role as king and husband and his powerful love for another man. In his personal life as well as his writings, Marlowe left clues about his sexuality: "All they that love not Tobacco & Boies [are] fooles," he reputedly said.

Same-sex relations between women during the Renaissance are much harder to pin down. Women had few outside social contacts and were dependent on men for economic survival. Also, few women (except nuns) were literate and could not document their experiences. In a highly sex-segregated society, it seems likely that intimate attachments between women would have formed, and the lives of some famous women point to this possibility. Queen Christina of

Curbside PASSING FANCY KRY

SO, WAS IT GOOD FOR YOU, KIDDO?

LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY IF I DIDN'T GET IT FOR FREE, I'D BE WILLING TO PAY YOU FOR IT!

YOU KNOW.. I

COULD HELP YOU OUT NATHAN....I MAKE MORE AT MY TEMP JOB THAN I REALLY USE..

NAH...I PROMISED MYSELF THAT I'D START BEING MORE OF AN ADULT AND RUN MY LIFE MORE UH, RESPONSIBLY.. BESIDES, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO BE MY SUGAR DADDY.

Sweden, for example, was romantically attached to one of her ladies-in-waiting and abdicated rather than marry a man. Juana Ines de la Cruz, a Mexican noblewoman, became a nun to get an education and to avoid marriage. As Sor Juana, she had a passionate relationship with the wife of the governor of Mexico.

Some male writers discussed lesbian sex in their work, most likely to titillate other men. In doing so, they inadvertently left records that sex between women was not unheard of. The 16th century writer, Pierre de Bourdeille, Seigneur de Brantome, waxed poetic about lovemaking between women, which he labeled "donna con donna." For him as for other men, lesbian sex was merely prelude or preparation for the real thing-male-female intercourse.

AW GEE, DREW, YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME... ANYWAYS, SPEAKING OF MONEY, IF I WANNA MAKE ANY, I BETTER GET MY BUTT IN GEAR... MY SHIFT IS IN 45 MINUTES!

THAT MAY BE... BUT THE THOUGHT OF YOU BEING AN UPRIGHT AND RES PONSIBLE GROWN-UP DOESN'T FEEL QUITE RIGHT SOMEHOW...

The work of one female writer of the Renaissance, Katherine Phillips, has survived. Phillips is sometimes called "the English Sappho." Her poems were published posthumously in the 1660s, and over half of them addressed her love for specific women. Phillips called her relationships "innocent" romantic friendships, but the comparison of her love for women with the love of a bridegroom suggests something deeper.

Men and women of the Renaissance cannot be called "gay" or "lesbian" by today's standards. Homosexuality was an act or a behavior, rather than an identity or culture. Still, literary and historical research shows that same-sex relations were an established fact in Europe hundreds of years before the word "homosexual" was ever coined.

BY ROBERT KIRBY SORRY, I REALLY CAN'T...RENT'S DUE NEXT WEEK.

WHY DON'T YOU CALL IN SICK? STAY HERE WITH ME TONIGHT INSTEAD!

ANSYL VISION

TELL YOU WHAT... COME PICK ME UP TONIGHT AND WE'LL GO GET REALLY TRASHED ANDSTAY OUT ALL NIGHT, STUMBLE HOME AT DAWN, AND FUCK UNTIL... TWELVE NOON!

HAHA, TOO BAD YOU'RE ONLY KIDDING...I'D ALMOST GO FOR IT!

YEAH..KIDDING..

HOROSCOPE

ARIES (March 21 April 19) You've made brave new plans for a kinder, gentler world. Yet you find

your decisiveness runs counter to what you feel you can communicate realistically. Accept that you yourself may be the biggest challenge you ever face. Plot thickens by Friday.

TAURUS (April 20 May 20)

Your nerves take the beating as ley lines of stress dig in for the long haul this cycle. Now would

be the perfect time to rebuild your relationship with your chi. Get cleansed, refoliate and try new diet to light the way to refreshed energy. GEMINI (May 21 June 20) Have you mended your wicked, wicked ways? Have you turned over a new leaf? Are you sweeping the cobwebs of didacticism from your weary head in order to welcome the sunshine of unbiased reason? Think over your relationship, too.

CANCER (June 21 June 22)

A crisp wind blows through you and presents little gusts and swirls of fresh perspective to you as you wind your way through a long, cold winter. Like Hansel and Gretel, you may be up against something too good to be true. Wear sage for clarity.

LEO (June 23-Aug. 22)

Collaborate with your inner-nerd on the big project headed your way. You'll need every scrap of

data you can scrounge to manipulate your way to the solution that waits at the end of your local rainbow. Catch dates by expanding social circle.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 Sept. 22)

Go fly a kite when irritation hits critical mass this cycle. Memory is a tricky organ and plays games

with nasty undertones. Keep a civil tongue in your head and you'll win out in the end. Reorganize kitchen pantry for tension release.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 Oct. 22) Speak clearly when making your demands, because those whom you address aren't really paying attention to what you're saying. Don't be afraid to use an ultimatum, but do be prepared to have a fallback position if you're serious about demands.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21) The answer to your question hides beyond your line of vision, lurking in the folds and crannies of your semi-consciousness. Long cherished ideals are played out in real time on the fields of the manifest. Believing and doing are not synonymous. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21)

You love a good circus; you only wish someone would let you know. whether you're a spectator or a performer. Make reason hostage to your intuition to flourish in seasons to come. Constant activity beckons. Last tango reveals outcome.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19) Desire and delight feed on each other to produce an uncharacteristic lack of common sense in your immediate future. Keep a weather eye on the barometer. Change in pressure signifies long-term shift in the entire ecosystem keeping you alive.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18) Too sharp for your own good? There's such a thing as knowing too much. Is there any such thing

as talking too much? Participation vs. meditation causes re-evaluauation of standing axioms. Technology glitch plays role in reshaping fate.

PISCES (Feb. 19 March 20) Bewitched, bothered and forgetful are you. Yet there's no feeling of panic in your early warning sys-

tem. Ride out the fury lashing around you, safe in the knowledge you're immune to the slings and arrows in play. Dream deep, move certainly.

AND THEN I'LL CALL IN SICK TO NURSE MY TWO-DAY HANGOVER!

http://www.visi.com/-oprairie/

METRO

WEEKLY

January

21, 1999

BY CARRIE MEGGINSON

METRO

WEEKLY

January 21, 1999