Gert Hekma

Hekma finished Gymnasium-β, and in 1978 obtained his master's degree in Cultural anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.[2] From 1979 to 1981, he worked at Utrecht University.[2] He was one of the organizers of the June 1983 social-scientific congress "Among Women, Among Men" (Dutch: "Onder Vrouwen, Onder Mannen").[6] In 1987, Hekma received his PhD in Historical anthropology from Utrecht University.[3]

From 1984 (succeeding Mattias Duyves[7]) until 2017, Hekma was an assistant professor and teacher at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in the sociology and history of (homo)sexuality.[8][9] Hekma's research is part of an academic counterculture,[10] and some of his statements, in particular about pedophilia and about sadomasochism, have caused conflicts between him and some of his colleagues and the university board,[11][12] and resulted in threats directed at Hekma.[13]

Hekma has served as editor or editorial board member of many periodicals.[14] He has also co-organized several conferences,[5][15] and has studied the life and works of Jacob Israël de Haan,[15] Louis Couperus,[8] and Gerard Reve.[8] He has taught students at Queens College and at the City College of San Francisco.[14]

In 2017, three activities took place related to Hekma's retirement: a two-day symposium, "Perils and Pleasures: Confronting Erotic Diversions", in Amsterdam University Library; an exhibition, "Rooie Flikkers en Homostudies UvA", at IHLIA in the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam; a Mosse Lecture by Hekma.[16] The latter was organized by the George Mosse Fund, that he co-founded in 2001.[5]

Hekma is the son of a notary[11][12] and grew up in Bedum, the Netherlands.[12] He was a frequent visitor of the DOK gay disco[17] and was a member of the radical "Red Faggots" (Dutch: "Rooie Flikkers").[7] Hekma is a book collector,[4][13][18] and has a fetish for satin.[18][19] He is a fan of Marquis de Sade:[11][18] not only is De Sade one of his favorite authors and a source of inspiration,[13] Hekma is also fascinated by De Sade's position on violence,[20] and has used De Sade to provide his students with another perspective on sexuality and violence.[20] Hekma advocates against masculinity, paternalism and traditional gender roles.[21]

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Hekma (left) and Mattias Duyves in Portugal (1984), from Groene.nl.

In 2007, he received death threats after supporting the idea of including a boat for adolescents at the Amsterdam Gay Pride.[22] In 2014, Hekma co-created a petition addressed to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, pleading the Dutch Supreme Court to not ban pro-pedophilia association Vereniging MARTIJN.[23] His support of MARTIJN resulted in death threats and an attempted burglary.[4] Hekma has stated he is not a pedophile.[24] He and his significant other, sociologist Mattias Duyves (1953), have been together for more than forty years.[13] They met in 1977 and married in 2007.[13] Both champion sexual and relational freedom.[13]

Hekma was interviewed for John Scagliotti's documentary film Before Homosexuals (2017).[25]

Hekma has published widely on the LGBT history in the Netherlands and Europe,[26] both as a sole author and as a contributing editor.[9][27] His publications include scientific works and popular documents.[7] A selection follows.

• Homoseksualiteit, een medische reputatie [Homosexuality, a Medical Reputation] (1987)[5][9]
• Goed verkeerd [Rightly Wrong] (1989)[9][26]
• The Pursuit of Sodomy (1989)[9][26]
• De roze rand van donker Amsterdam [The Pink Outskirts of Gloomy Amsterdam] (1992)[5][9][28][29]
• Homoseksualiteit in Nederland van 1730 tot de moderne tijd [Homosexuality in The Netherlands from 1730 to Modern Times] (2004)[5][14][29][30]
• ABC van perversies [The ABCs of Perversions] (2009)[5][14][29]
• A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Modern Age (2011)[26][30]
• Sexual Revolutions (2014)[26][30]

• LGBT writers in the Dutch-language area
• LGBT history in the Netherlands

• (in Dutch) Voordrachten bij afscheid Gert Hekma van homo/lesbostudies UvA, 2017

• Profile at the University of Amsterdam