I really enjoyed your post this week (particularly the line with Whitman being “as gay as the day is long”). I agree with Erin to a point; the avuncular camaraderie was one of Whitman’s multiple facets. Whitman often takes an older role when he looks over the soldiers; he often refers to himself as an uncle or father figure in reference to them, and takes on that more experienced role. Perhaps this was to fulfill that paternal longing that he craved.
But you can’t deny the ulterior eroticism either, especially within his letters. It’s hard to maintain a strictly familial line when Whitman lingers over the wasted bodies or boasts of kissing a soldier for nearly half a minute. Unless you’re talking about incest, and we just don’t go there.
When you discussed the details of intimacy, it reminded of the discussion we had earlier about “Song of Myself,” and the way Whitman deals with men and women. I think the complete tangibility of men (as opposed to the ethereality of women) in that section scores another point for team Gay Whitman. It just makes me imagine how much time Whitman spent memorizing the detail of a man’s body in that quest for intimacy (which, on one hand, is terribly creepy, and on the other, is remarkable and almost endearing. ..almost).

Great and interesting post! Thanks for sharing! You have definitely given all of us plenty to think about. I don’t know for certain if Whitman is gay, but I’m on the fence leaning that way. We have to remember that “love” to Whitman was not always sexual in nature, but also stood for brotherly love, comraderie. And that there are other times where he’s “loved” women as well. And yes, I’m with you that Walt envies his friends that have families, so that could be a clue to his gayness, but, just because he yearns for a family, but hasn’t connected with a woman doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gay. Whitman simply yearned for a family, not for the love of family and raising it, but simply as a way to spread his seed, for lack of a better phrase.