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'''Rachel Hope Cleves''' (born 1975) is an American-Canadian historian, specializing in early American history with research areas including gender and sexuality. Her most relevant work for MAPs and their allies is her 2020 article and book-length study on once-famous historical libertine / sex-positive MAP figure [[Norman Douglas]]. Her book on Douglas, titled ''Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality'' ((University of Chicago Press, 2020),<ref>[http://library.lol/main/4FB01D8582CB462BF79D0CF28A43BF00 Unspeakable PDF]</ref> reviewed by the ''Percy Foundation'',<ref>[http://wapercyfoundation.org/?page_id=1056 Percy Foundation on Cleves]</ref> was awarded the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize by the Canadian Historical Association in 2021. The award recognizes the best scholarly book in a field other than Canadian history.<ref>https://cha-shc.ca/prize-winner/rachel-hope-cleves/</ref><ref>https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/jcha/2022-v32-n2-jcha07615/1095575ar/</ref>
__NOTOC__[[File:Cleves-2020.jpg|thumb|left|Rachel Hope Cleves]]{{Template:Ac}}'''Rachel Hope Cleves''' (born 1975) is an American-Canadian historian, specializing in early American history with research areas including gender and sexuality. Her most relevant work for MAPs and their allies is her 2020 article and book-length study on once-famous historical libertine / sex-positive MAP figure [[Norman Douglas]]. Her book on Douglas, titled ''Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality'' (University of Chicago Press, 2020),<ref>[http://library.lol/main/4FB01D8582CB462BF79D0CF28A43BF00 Unspeakable PDF]</ref> reviewed by the ''Percy Foundation'',<ref>[http://wapercyfoundation.org/?page_id=1056 Percy Foundation on Cleves]</ref> was awarded the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize by the Canadian Historical Association in 2021. The award recognizes the best scholarly book in a field other than Canadian history.<ref>https://cha-shc.ca/prize-winner/rachel-hope-cleves/</ref><ref>https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/jcha/2022-v32-n2-jcha07615/1095575ar/</ref>


Cleves has written many other relevant articles. In 2020, she co-authored an open-access introduction to a special issue on ''Restoring Intergenerational Dynamics to Queer History'',<ref>https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/historical-reflections/46/1/historical-reflections.46.issue-1.xml</ref> along with a separate article on Douglas.<ref>https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/historical-reflections/46/1/hrrh460104.xml</ref> She has also written a general article on the history of intergenerational sex, "From pederasty to pedophilia", in 2017.<ref>https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12435</ref> In an academic blog ("Notches", 10 May, 2022),<ref>[https://notchesblog.com/2022/05/10/how-to-write-the-history-of-pederasty-in-the-age-of-groomers/ Notches blog link]</ref> which includes scholarly commentaries on ''Unspeakable'' by critical thinkers such as [[Joseph J. Fischel]] and [[Jana Funke]], Cleves uses the term "heretic" / "heretical" to describe the views expressed on the blog, including her own, after declaring that "paedophiles are not monsters."
Cleves has written many other relevant articles. In 2020, she co-authored an open-access introduction to a special issue on ''Restoring Intergenerational Dynamics to Queer History'',<ref>https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/historical-reflections/46/1/historical-reflections.46.issue-1.xml</ref> along with a separate article on Douglas and "The Problem of Modern Pederasty in Queer History".<ref>Cleves, R. H. (2020). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/48729159 The Problem of Modern Pederasty in Queer History: A Case Study of Norman Douglas]. ''Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques'', 46(1), 47–61. [[https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/historical-reflections/46/1/hrrh460104.xml Berghahn Journals link here]].</ref> She has also written a general article on the history of intergenerational sex, "From pederasty to pedophilia", in 2017.<ref>https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12435</ref>  


For the ''Washington Times'', she has written that "Roy Moore is not a pedophile" (2017),<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/roy-moore-is-not-a-pedophile/2017/11/19/1a9ae238-cb21-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html</ref> and for the ''Conversation'' (2019),<ref>https://theconversation.com/what-will-happen-to-michael-jacksons-legacy-a-famed-writers-fall-could-offer-clues-113327</ref> compared the legacy of Michael Jackson to Norman Douglas. Her writing is unique for using an "abuse" framework whilst also being willing to complicate it, acknowledging the reality of [[Accounts_and_Testimonies|former young people's perspectives]] and [[Research:_Secondary_Harm#Self-appraisal_of_abuse,_Self-Perception_and_"Consent"|self-perception]] which do not easily fit an abuse/victim/survivor framework, as they often considered meeting Douglas one of the best things to have ever happened to them and remained friends with him into later life. Her book states that she feels "misplaced sympathy" for Douglas, and makes very clear that she does not support sexual relationships between pre-pubescents and adults. As the ''Percy Foundation'' review argues,<ref>[http://wapercyfoundation.org/?page_id=1056 Percy Foundation on Cleves]</ref> there is much to criticize in her work.  
In an academic blog ("Notches", 10 May, 2022), which includes scholarly commentaries on ''Unspeakable'' by critical thinkers such as [[Joseph J. Fischel]] and [[Jana Funke]], Cleves uses the term "heretic" / "heretical" to describe the views expressed on the blog, including her own, after declaring that "paedophiles are not monsters."<ref>[https://notchesblog.com/2022/05/10/how-to-write-the-history-of-pederasty-in-the-age-of-groomers/ Notches blog link]</ref>
 
For the ''Washington Times'', she has written that "Roy Moore is not a pedophile" (2017),<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/roy-moore-is-not-a-pedophile/2017/11/19/1a9ae238-cb21-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html</ref> and for the ''Conversation'' (2019),<ref>https://theconversation.com/what-will-happen-to-michael-jacksons-legacy-a-famed-writers-fall-could-offer-clues-113327</ref> compared the legacy of Michael Jackson to Norman Douglas. After her book was published, Cleves turned to writing on the history of food and sex. By 2026, however, she took up the topic of intergenerational sex again. This time, in a "Forum" piece which commented on the work of four historians who had published on the history of childhood and of sexuality in the same journal issue.<ref>See Cleves, R. H. (2026). [https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sex.00054 A Forum: Coming of Age in the Age of Coming Out; The Transformation of Queer Youth Experiences in the United States], 1953–1983. ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'' 35(1), 114-118.</ref><ref>For the full journal issue, see [https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/56455 JHS, Volume 35, Number 1, January 2026].</ref>
 
Her writing is unique for using an "abuse" framework while also being willing to complicate it. Cleves acknowledges the reality of [[Accounts_and_Testimonies|former young people's perspectives]] and [[Research:_Secondary_Harm#Self-appraisal_of_abuse,_Self-Perception_and_"Consent"|self-perceptions]], which do not easily fit within an abuse/victim/survivor framework. In the case of [[Norman Douglas]], for example, his younger counterparts often considered their meeting Douglas to be one of the best things to have ever happened to them. Many remained friends with Douglas into later life. Cleves' book states that she feels "misplaced sympathy" for Douglas, and makes very clear that she does not support sexual relationships between pre-pubescents and adults. As the ''Percy Foundation'' review argues,<ref>[http://wapercyfoundation.org/?page_id=1056 Percy Foundation on Cleves]</ref> there is much to praise as well as criticize in her work...  


==2023 controversy==
==2023 controversy==


In April 2023, Cleves was pilloried on twitter by right-wing conservatives in a hostile twitter thread<ref>[https://twitter.com/cosminDZS/status/1638217303384035328 The twitter thread]</ref> which includes at least one anti-Semitic reply which points out her part-Jewish heritage to imply that people who are not bigoted towards MAPs are Jewish ("Every Time").<ref>[https://twitter.com/knowingly_ghost/status/1639015485026226181/photo/1https://twitter.com/knowingly_ghost/status/1639015485026226181/photo/1 anti-Semitic reply in that twitter thread, with the implication of the post being that people who 'support pedophilia' are Jewish 'every time']</ref> The [[Moral panic]] has remained small and within conservative/right wing outlets such as the ''Daily Caller'',<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/21/rachel-hope-cleves-pedophilia-historian-intergenerational-sex-rape-10-year-old-boy-abuse/</ref> and her university faculty profile<ref>https://www.uvic.ca/humanities/history/people/faculty/profiles/clevesrachel.php</ref> states she is currently "On leave", coincidentally timed just after she has been the subject of hostile twitter attention and has now set her twitter account to private.<ref>https://twitter.com/RachelCleves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Escreen-name%3Arachelcleves%7Ctwcon%5Es1</ref>
In April 2023, Cleves was pilloried by American conservatives on a Twitter thread<ref>[https://twitter.com/cosminDZS/status/1638217303384035328 The twitter thread]</ref> that included the anti-semitic "Every Time" trope, as applied to her sympathy for MAPs (she is part Jewish heritage).<ref>[https://twitter.com/knowingly_ghost/status/1639015485026226181/photo/1https://twitter.com/knowingly_ghost/status/1639015485026226181/photo/1 anti-Semitic reply in that twitter thread, with the implication of the post being that people who 'support pedophilia' are Jewish 'every time']</ref> The [[moral panic]] was muted among conservative/right wing outlets such as the ''Daily Caller'',<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/21/rachel-hope-cleves-pedophilia-historian-intergenerational-sex-rape-10-year-old-boy-abuse/</ref> and her university faculty profile<ref>[https://www.uvic.ca/humanities/history/people/faculty/profiles/clevesrachel.php University Profile]</ref> stated that she was "on leave", while she set her Twitter account to private.
 
===Commentary===
 
'''[[User:Prue|Prue]] (Editorial Lead: Social History and Critical Theory).'''
 
Compared to [[Allyn Walker]], [[Karl Andersson]] and [[Jacob Breslow]] who were subject to national media attention, we at Newgon are confident that Cleves, an award winning tenured faculty member who has worked at the same university since 2009, will withstand this media scrutiny. We recommend the ''Percy Foundation'''s detailed review of her work as cited in our [[Norman Douglas]] page, and we have noted Cleves' use of [[Gayle Rubin]]'s 'Charmed Circle' theory and partly similar thinking to deceased MAP figure [[Roger Moody]].
 
==External links==
 
*Cleves, R. H. (January 2018). [https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12435 From pederasty to pedophilia: Sex between children or youth and adults in U.S. history]. ''History Compass'', Volume 16, Issue 1. [[https://sci-hub.st/https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12435 Sci-hub link]].
 
*Cleves, R. H. (2020). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/48729159 The Problem of Modern Pederasty in Queer History: A Case Study of Norman Douglas]. ''Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques'', 46(1), 47–61.
 
*Cleves, R. H. (2020). [https://annas-archive.gd/md5/4fb01d8582cb462bf79d0cf28a43bf00 Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality] (University of Chicago Press, 2020).
 
*Cleves, R. H. (2026). [https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/sex.00054 A Forum: Coming of Age in the Age of Coming Out; The Transformation of Queer Youth Experiences in the United States], 1953–1983. ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'' 35(1), 114-118.


Compared to [[Allyn Walker]], [[Karl Andersson]] and [[Jacob Breslow]] who were subject to national media attention, we at Newgon are confident that Cleves, an award winning tenured faculty member who has worked at the same university since 2009, will withstand this media scrutiny. We recommend the ''Percy Foundation'''s detailed review of her work as cited in our [[Norman Douglas]] page, and we have noted Cleves' use of [[Gayle Rubin]]'s 'Charmed Circle' theory and partly similar thinking to deceased MAP figure [[Roger Moody]].
*[https://notchesblog.com/2022/05/10/how-to-write-the-history-of-pederasty-in-the-age-of-groomers/ How to Write the History of Pederasty in the Age of Groomers] - Rachel Hope Cleves.


==References==
==References==


[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Academics]][[Category:People: Critical Analysts]][[Category:Research: Broader Perspectives]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:People: American]]
[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:People]][[Category:People: Academics]][[Category:People: Critical Analysts]][[Category:Research: Broader Perspectives]][[Category:History & Events: Personal Scandals]][[Category:People: American]]

Latest revision as of 21:49, 14 March 2026

Rachel Hope Cleves
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Rachel Hope Cleves (born 1975) is an American-Canadian historian, specializing in early American history with research areas including gender and sexuality. Her most relevant work for MAPs and their allies is her 2020 article and book-length study on once-famous historical libertine / sex-positive MAP figure Norman Douglas. Her book on Douglas, titled Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality (University of Chicago Press, 2020),[1] reviewed by the Percy Foundation,[2] was awarded the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize by the Canadian Historical Association in 2021. The award recognizes the best scholarly book in a field other than Canadian history.[3][4]

Cleves has written many other relevant articles. In 2020, she co-authored an open-access introduction to a special issue on Restoring Intergenerational Dynamics to Queer History,[5] along with a separate article on Douglas and "The Problem of Modern Pederasty in Queer History".[6] She has also written a general article on the history of intergenerational sex, "From pederasty to pedophilia", in 2017.[7]

In an academic blog ("Notches", 10 May, 2022), which includes scholarly commentaries on Unspeakable by critical thinkers such as Joseph J. Fischel and Jana Funke, Cleves uses the term "heretic" / "heretical" to describe the views expressed on the blog, including her own, after declaring that "paedophiles are not monsters."[8]

For the Washington Times, she has written that "Roy Moore is not a pedophile" (2017),[9] and for the Conversation (2019),[10] compared the legacy of Michael Jackson to Norman Douglas. After her book was published, Cleves turned to writing on the history of food and sex. By 2026, however, she took up the topic of intergenerational sex again. This time, in a "Forum" piece which commented on the work of four historians who had published on the history of childhood and of sexuality in the same journal issue.[11][12]

Her writing is unique for using an "abuse" framework while also being willing to complicate it. Cleves acknowledges the reality of former young people's perspectives and self-perceptions, which do not easily fit within an abuse/victim/survivor framework. In the case of Norman Douglas, for example, his younger counterparts often considered their meeting Douglas to be one of the best things to have ever happened to them. Many remained friends with Douglas into later life. Cleves' book states that she feels "misplaced sympathy" for Douglas, and makes very clear that she does not support sexual relationships between pre-pubescents and adults. As the Percy Foundation review argues,[13] there is much to praise as well as criticize in her work...

2023 controversy

In April 2023, Cleves was pilloried by American conservatives on a Twitter thread[14] that included the anti-semitic "Every Time" trope, as applied to her sympathy for MAPs (she is part Jewish heritage).[15] The moral panic was muted among conservative/right wing outlets such as the Daily Caller,[16] and her university faculty profile[17] stated that she was "on leave", while she set her Twitter account to private.

Commentary

Prue (Editorial Lead: Social History and Critical Theory).

Compared to Allyn Walker, Karl Andersson and Jacob Breslow who were subject to national media attention, we at Newgon are confident that Cleves, an award winning tenured faculty member who has worked at the same university since 2009, will withstand this media scrutiny. We recommend the Percy Foundation's detailed review of her work as cited in our Norman Douglas page, and we have noted Cleves' use of Gayle Rubin's 'Charmed Circle' theory and partly similar thinking to deceased MAP figure Roger Moody.

References

  1. ↑ Unspeakable PDF
  2. ↑ Percy Foundation on Cleves
  3. ↑ https://cha-shc.ca/prize-winner/rachel-hope-cleves/
  4. ↑ https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/jcha/2022-v32-n2-jcha07615/1095575ar/
  5. ↑ https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/historical-reflections/46/1/historical-reflections.46.issue-1.xml
  6. ↑ Cleves, R. H. (2020). The Problem of Modern Pederasty in Queer History: A Case Study of Norman Douglas. Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, 46(1), 47–61. [Berghahn Journals link here].
  7. ↑ https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12435
  8. ↑ Notches blog link
  9. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/roy-moore-is-not-a-pedophile/2017/11/19/1a9ae238-cb21-11e7-aa96-54417592cf72_story.html
  10. ↑ https://theconversation.com/what-will-happen-to-michael-jacksons-legacy-a-famed-writers-fall-could-offer-clues-113327
  11. ↑ See Cleves, R. H. (2026). A Forum: Coming of Age in the Age of Coming Out; The Transformation of Queer Youth Experiences in the United States, 1953–1983. Journal of the History of Sexuality 35(1), 114-118.
  12. ↑ For the full journal issue, see JHS, Volume 35, Number 1, January 2026.
  13. ↑ Percy Foundation on Cleves
  14. ↑ The twitter thread
  15. ↑ anti-Semitic reply in that twitter thread, with the implication of the post being that people who 'support pedophilia' are Jewish 'every time'
  16. ↑ https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/21/rachel-hope-cleves-pedophilia-historian-intergenerational-sex-rape-10-year-old-boy-abuse/
  17. ↑ University Profile
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