[ID: a reddit comment by u/strongestman which reads: “It’s important to remember that ‘gay’ as it is used now did not exist in Melville’s time. There was no word for gay people so Melville could not identify as gay or straight or anything but a sailor, a profession long associated with gay sex, from buccaneers to The Village People.
Were I a gambler I would bet Melville had sex with at least one dude, probably many dudes. It gets lonely at sea and Melville was kind of a babe. He has a tender, lumberjack vibe that I, for one, would find irresistible were I covered in sun blisters and spermaceti, trading horror stories about giant squids and whales. I would hold his magnificent beard for comfort”. End ID]