Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Many scholars have speculated that Walt Whitman was homosexual or bisexual; however, finding a lack of evidence of sexual activity, but plenty of evidence that he appreciated both sexes physically but had more romantic feelings toward men, I propose that Walt Whitman was asexual; specifically, an asexual homoromantic. In “Leaves of Grass,” especially in “Song of Myself” he equates himself with all of humanity, not any particular lover. In the classical era, he would have been deemed a platonic lover. During the American Civil War, he served as a nurse for wounded soldiers, much as Florence Nightingale, another asexual, served during the Crimean War. A comparison of Whitman’s life with other known asexual persons, a careful exegesis of his poetry, and a discursive explanation of asexuality lead me to conclude that he was most likely asexual.