A Queer Breakfast

Breakfast might be an unusual subject for lgbt history, yet its surprising how much of breakfast has queer connections to the past.

There could be some valid claim that the Kellogg’s company popularised the modern cereal breakfast. The co-founders were the Kellogg brothers John (1852-1943) and Will (1860-1951). They were members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church which taught that a healthy body and mind led to a healthy soul. To help them develop this idea the church founded the Battle Creek Sanitorium. John Kellogg was the medical superintendent there.

To Kellogg and many Seventh-Day Adventists rich, calorie-laden food led to excessive sexual desires, especially masturbation. They also considered homosexuality so it was a sin this was a sexual desire they particularly wanted to get rid of.

In his experiments to produce simple, healthy, sex-suppressing foods John Kellogg developed corn flakes, and the international breakfast has never been the same. So, have you noticed how your sexual desires diminish after eating a bowl of corn flakes? No, I didn’t think you did. If, however, you prefer yoghurt for breakfast bear in mind that John Kellogg also developed an enema machine which pumped half a pint of yoghurt up you-know-where.

I wonder what John Kellogg would think about the current Kellogg’s company producing a breakfast cereal called “All Together”, a mixture of all of their cereals in one box. Kellogg’s worked with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Deformation to show their support for lgbt rights for Spirit Day, the annual observance on the third Thursday in October established to combat homophobic bullying. The “All Together” cereal first went on sale in 2018, and again in 2019.

Now, how about something to drink, like orange juice. In 1969 there became a problem with orange juice, not the product itself but who was promoting it. It led to the Florida Orange Juice boycott. The target of the boycott was a woman whose name, fifty years later, still sends a shiver down the spine of members of the lgbt community – Anita Bryant.

On the surface Anita Bryant was the all-American girl. A former beauty queen, a moderately successful recording artist, and with a handsome all-American sporty husband. She was also the poster girl of wholesome Florida orange juice producers as the face of ad campaigns.

In 1977 Miami-Dade County in Florida passed a non-discrimination law protecting lgbt citizens. Anita Bryant, a county resident, objected and led a campaign against the law claiming it violated her rights as a Christian. In Florida the lgbt community responded by boycotting state-produced orange juice and lgbt bar owners across America poured it down the drains.

But all was in vain. Bryant had high-profile support and enough campaign funds to create ads that were too stick and persuasive. A referendum on the anti-discrimination law went in her favour and the law was thrown out. The orange juice boycott continued for a while but gradually fizzled out.

If orange juice has left a nasty taste in the mouth, why not have some coffee for instead.

Coffee houses were all the rage in 18th century London. The most famous gay meeting place at the time was Mother Clap’s coffeehouse. In 1726 it was raided and closed down. Mother Clap, the proprietor, was imprisoned for “keeping a disorderly house”.

When I was young we didn’t have “proper” coffee in our house, just instant coffee. We drank a popular brand called “Camp” (named after its inventor, Campbell Paterson). It has its own distinctive label which has hardly changed in over a century. The original label featured an officer of the Gordon Highlanders being served coffee by a non-commissioned Sikh soldier. Over the decades attitudes to portrayals of ethnic minorities as servants have become rather sensitive and today the Sikh non-commissioned officer is now sitting alongside his commander drinking coffee with him – an instant court martial for a soldier in real life. The evolution of the label design is shown below.

There is a theory that the officer depicted on the label is one of the most famous Victorian military heroes, Maj.-Gen. Sir Hector Macdonald (1853-1903). He served in the Second Afghan War (1878-80) and is said to have turned down a Victoria Cross. Last summer I mentioned the sad demise of Sir Hector in my City Pride article on Paris. While there’s no actual proof that it is Sir Hector on the Camp coffee label the visual evidence is striking. Compare the officer on the labels above to the portrait of Sir Hector below.

Perhaps you prefer tea for breakfast. Lipton’s tea is another popular drink in the UK. Sir Thomas Lipton (1848-1931) opened a grocery store in Glasgow in 1871 and by 1880 he had stores all over the UK. He took advantage of the drop in tea prices and began trading in tea. This led to him opening several tea-houses and establishing his own tea brand. A recent biography of Lipton has claimed that he was gay, having a 30-year relationship with one of his store managers. It’s difficult to prove but I’d say it was more than likely.

So, that’s your queer breakfast prepared. I hope that after all this you don’t decide to have bacon and eggs instead!