/u/cleopatra_philopater's posts in /r/AskHistorians
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I read that Medieval European languages do not have terms for describing women who are attracted to women unlike Arabic, Latin or Greek. This got me thinking, just how was female same-sex desire conceptualized in Medieval Europe? Did it differ from concepts of male homosexuality?
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"What land is so distant, that from it no spectator is present in thy city?" Multiculturalism & Empire AMA
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Were witches, in the sense of village healers and practitioners of magic, really "an accepted part of village life" in 16th C. England?
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Shakespeare's Cleopatra was black. How did audiences react to a portrayal of a queen renowned for her beauty and charm in this way at a time when "blackness" was associated with unattractiveness and sin? What are the broader implications of this for her relationship with Antony and Caesar?
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Many countries are phasing out plastic bags through bans or fees. How did single-use plastic shopping bags become so ubiquitous in the first place?
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