Exploring tea and sexuality

By Jennifer Palmberg
The Collegian

Tea, the national beverage of England, caused distorted views of the gender and sexual identities of 18th century British subjects.

Through the College of Arts and Humanities Lecture Series, assistant professor of English at Fresno State, John Beynon, will dissect pieces of literature that “manifests the anxiety” in England’s society about tea’s affect on the body of men (in particular) in that century, in a presentation he titled “Tea and Sodomy.”

Beynon said most of the anxieties about tea came from the male population.

“Through the discourses I’ve studied on this subject I have found numerous pieces of British literature that supported the idea that tea makes you weak,” Beynon said. “In that time period the British believed tea inhibited your masculinity and weakened the male body.”

He said the British also believed tea attacked the nervous system weakening muscle fibers. The belief was drinking tea undermined one’s manhood, led to bachelorhood and caused loss of desire or loss of ability for procreation.

Beynon said some of these anxieties were transferred over to Americans. He said this transfer of anxieties is the reason we’re more of a coffee-drinking nation than a tea-drinking nation.

He said the sodomy part comes in from other literature he has read.

“I came upon a pamphlet that described how a mother sodomized her child through a series of steps and one of these steps was to have the boy drink tea,” Beynon said. “This encouraged me to do further research on the topic, which revealed numerous pieces of British literature linking tea and sodomy. There’s really no other culture that supports this belief.”

He said the point of his presentation is to share his findings and research and to take a look at how scientific studies on the benefits of tea has changed the popularity of tea in cultures, especially in British culture.

“I hope people walk away from my presentation understanding that tea wasn’t always an accepted drink or not always England’s national beverage,” Beynon said. “I hope they also get some better insight on past views of human sexuality and some history on how it has developed over time.”

Beynon earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Utah and his Ph.D at the University of California, Riverside. He joined the Fresno State English Department in 2000 and teaches courses in restoration, 18th century British literature and culture, and lesbian and gay literature.

He recently published essays on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure.”

Beynon also worked as an assistant editor for “The Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures” and is working on co-editing a collection of writings on same-sex desire between women in 18th century Britain and a study on the role-play in early modern British culture.

Beynon will be featured as part of the Lecture Series on Thur., Oct. 6 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Conley Lecture Hall.

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