Same-sex bonds are viewed as an expression of autonomy and a refusal to have one's body entirely commodified for reproductive labor.

Since historical records of consensual queer love are often obscured by trauma or social stigma, modern authors use fiction to imagine these lost stories:

An 18th-century observer in Cuba noted enslaved men in long-term relationships where they referred to each other as "husband," with one partner performing domestic labor typically assigned to women.