bartieboy

So I just watched the amazing film Lawrence of Arabia but I was somewhat surprised to see Lawrence of Arabia acting so... feminine...
Tough I must admit that it was fun to see a man accomplish great things while he is not some Arnold Schwarzenegger it got me wondering: was Lawrence accurately portrayed in this film?

Salah

There were some rumors about his sexuality; some claimed he was celibate, others that he was homosexual. He definitely appears to have been sado-masochistic.

Robtweb1

So far as the acting is concerned, that's just Peter O'Toole. At the time the movie was made, he was a member of the Britsh version of the "Rat Pack", which included Richard Harris, Richard Burton, and a few others. They all drank like fish. I always thought O'Toole moved as though his joints weren't connected well. Probably over-lubricated.

Ancientgeezer

His alleged homosexuality or predisposition has been debated since he came to prominence; he was certainly "odd" even by the standards of 19th C public school educated academics, but there is no smoking gun.
That a generation of British "Arabists" were supposedly as gay as a gypsy wedding is often used as an excuse by Zionists for accusing the British of favouring the Arabs. "After all" said, David Ben-Gurion,"If you are an English Fegele who do you want to **** you? Prince Hassan, Lion of the Desert, or Solly Cohen the tailor from Tel Aviv?"

shivfan

Of course, it's hard to get at the truth, because when Lawrence heard about the Sykes-Picout agreement, he was furious, and came down on the side of Faisal. He hated the French, and as a result disobeyed pre-existing agreements between the French and the British with regards to incursions into Syria, which was then, obviously, under Ottoman rule. As a result of his 'independent spirit', he was subjected to a series of negative articles, propagated not just by the French, but by members of the British govt as well....

Read 'A Line in the Sand' by James Barr. It will give you a more accurate description of the British mandate than any Peter O'Toole movie.

Connie Beliveau

The story of the real people depicted in the movie is even more entertaining than the fiction (at least, it is for me!). Our website offers a large collection of archival photos, a short video clip and audio clips (of Lowell Thomas, the journalist), and an in-depth discussion of the major events that transformed T.E. Lawrence into "Lawrence of Arabia." We also feature an extensive bibliography, if you want to delve deeper into books after reading through the exhibit: Lowell Thomas and Lawrence of Arabia / T.E. Lawrence online history exhibit :: Home. We've made every effort to present a balanced view of Lawrence, including diverse viewpoints (pro and con) regarding his personality and achievements.

Moishe3rd

Homosexuality was nothing like the controversy it is today in either the British culture or the Muslim culture.
In societies where impregnating a woman not your wife could result in severe penalties for those who could not afford it - discreet dalliances with other men were considered par for the course.
Men have a rather strong urge to "mate" with anything, animate or inanimate, if women are not available and willing...

NewModelSoldier

He was a masochist, which was helpful while he was being tortured in Cairo.

Bismarck

Have you seen the sequel, 'Lawrence After Arabia' with Ralph Fiennes as TE? It is mostly concerned with Paris Peace Conference and is a good watch.

Vladd

The likes of Oscar Wilde might disagree.