Abbreviation of the archaic
rakehell. A man of dissolute morals. In 17th Century England,
the term referred to a libertine overly fond of liquor, women, and often
boys. The rake became a stock character in plays and racy novels, where he
was represented as a libertine who lived for "base" pleasures.
The significance of rakes in gay
history is the way they were represented. Playwrights often portrayed
rakes as lovers of boys (along with girls), but their homoerotic exploits
did not diminish - and sometimes even enhanced - their reputations for
masculinity and virility. Around 1700, England experienced a cultural
transformation in the perception of buggery. The virile image of
the boy-chasing rake of the 1600s gave way to that of the mollies,
men execrated for their effeminacy.
