What was Clyde Barrow's sexual orientation?

Answer 1

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died May 23, 1934

Rumors of Bisexuality, Homosexuality, Nymphomania and Group Sex in the Barrow gang are attributed some 29 years after their death to an author named "John Toland" who first made the assertions that started these rumors in 1963.The rumors persist even to this day.

Numerous interviews with friends, family members and even fellow Barrow gang members (all now deceased) over the years, all resulted in "no" implication for bisexual nor for homosexual tendencies on the part of Clyde Barrow, No implications for Bonnie suffering from Nymphomania and no evident group sex with the rest of the gang.

No recorded contemporary reports in the 1930's, nor follow up accounts in the 1940's and 1950's of the infamous duo ever made any mention or assertions regarding the sexuality of Clyde Barrow nor of Bonnie Parker before 1963.

In Fact, all who personally knew Bonnie and Clyde, including W.D. Jones, Ralph Futts, Blanche Barrow, Jack Hammett, L. C. Barrow and Floyd Hamilton, all described the couple as being deeply in love and committed to each other until the very end of their short reign as outlaws in the great depression era.

W.D. Jones, who died in 1974, actually knew Clyde since he was 11 years old and later traveled with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as a member of the gang for more than a year. W.D. gave numerous interviews before his death including a famous playboy magazine interview, in which he consistently stated that in his time as a friend of Clyde since childhood, as well as his time with the gang, he never witnessed any aberrant sexual behavior of any kind. W.D. Jones said of the rumors "They Ain't True" and speculated as to why some may have drawn such a conclusion,"Maybe it was Clyde's quiet, polite manners and his slight build that fooled folks". W. D. said that Clyde althouh only about 5'6" tall, was the undisputed leader of the gang. Everything was decided by Clyde and everyone else followed whatever Clyde said.

W.D. further rejected the notion that he had ever been whipped or physically abused by Clyde Barrow in any way. Jones insists that during his time traveling as an outlaw with Bonnie and Clyde that they were "best of friends". W.D. said he called Bonnie "Sis" and he called Clyde "Bud", He said Clyde in turn always referred to him as "boy", partially due to his being 7 years Clyde's junior and partially because they didn't want to get into the habit of using each others real names in public for fear that someone might overhear them and recognize who they were.

Blanche Barrow was the wife of Buck Barrow, Clyde's older brother. Blanche and Buck were also for a time members of the Barrow gang. As both a relative and a gang member Blanche personally knew both Bonnie and Clyde. She insisted on many occasions before her death in 1988 that there was never any indication of Bisexuality nor Homosexuality on the part of Clyde nor of Nymphomania on the part of Bonnie. She said she never saw or was involved in any group sex and repeatedly stated that she had "no idea where these rumors came from" so long after their death. She said that she "never even heard of these rumors" until after the movie made in 1968.

It is generally accepted that an Author named "John Toland" in his 1963 book entitled "The Dillinger Days", published some 30 years after the Death of Bonnie and Clyde, was the first person to make any assertion that Clyde Barrow was Bisexual. Beyond that Toland also made implied assertions that Bonnie Parker was a Nymphomaniac. Toland went even further by asserting that Clyde had been raped in Eastham Prison by a man he later killed. Clyde Barrow and one fellow inmate did in fact kill Ed Crowder while in Eastham Prison, but according to statements of fellow inmates that witnessed the event, Crowder was killed for being a prison yard "snitch", not for an alleged rape. No one can be sure why Toland made so many outlandish assertions in his book. Perhaps he wanted to heighten reader interest or perhaps Toland's own misinterpretations of stories he'd read about the couple or statements he'd heard. Maybe he had heard that the Barrow gang often occupied common sleeping quarters while on the run from the law during their 25 month crime spree, it has been said that one barrow family friend had said that Clyde was used while in Eastham Prison (which also employed forced convict labor). Perhaps the author drew his own conclusions. No one really knows why Toland (now Deceased) penned what he did in his book and no one has been ever been able to corroborate his assertions.

The 1967 movie starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway served to fan the flames of rumor by taking further Artistic license. The original screen play written by Robert Benton and David Newman in keeping with the "free sex" sentiments of 1960's youth was to incorporate a scene in which the character C.W. Moss was to be invited to join Bonnie and Clyde in bed. In a subsequent re-write of the screen play before shooting began, this scene was deleted and Clyde Barrow was instead depicted as Impotent in an apparent attempt to gain empathy from the audience with the on screen characters violence as the result of frustration.

The 1968 Movie was a "Screen Dramatization". It was Not a "Documentary". As a dramatized movie it is not obligated to reflect factual information. For example. in the movie when D.W. Jones (depicted as the fictional character "C.W. Moss" in the Movie) joins the gang. the implication is that he was just a stranger the couple met at a gas station, when in fact, by the real D.W. Jones own account, they had actually known each other since D.W. was 11 years old. They were not strangers.

Later historians and Authors have Credited John Toland's 1963 book as being the original source of this unconfirmed rumor. This was then reinforced with even more rumors that revolved around the original screen play and subsequent rewrite that resulted in the 1968 movie production starring Warren Beatty. The rumors continue to propagate even today with much misinformation on the internet.

Rumors and Myth however have a way of taking on a life of their own regardless of historical fact.

Answer 2

Oh, isn't that a lovely question, friend! You know, we don't always have all the information about historical figures' personal lives, and that's okay. What's important is to focus on the positive aspects of their legacy and the impact they had on the world around them. Let's paint some happy little trees and celebrate the beauty in every individual, shall we?

Answer 3

Well, honey, Clyde Barrow was a notorious criminal, not a contestant on a dating show. His sexual orientation wasn't really documented in the history books, so your guess is as good as mine. But hey, who he was attracted to doesn't change the fact that he was one half of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo.