The sodomy in Chile (1885-1903)

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the crime of sodomy from the representation in criminal proceedings and the judicial architecture that reveals the testimonies of social actors. The selected primary sources (criminal trials) reveal the sexual and love tensions that arise in the sociability between men. In none of the selected criminal cases, sodomy rape was reached, but they correspond to friendships, compadrazgos and commercial ties that the men developed in their daily lives and that, later, led to legal proceedings. The crime of sodomy in the Chile of the selected period was formally prosecuted by the national criminal law of 1874.