A fascinating exploration of three individuals in fin-de-siècle France who pushed the boundaries of gender identity. Before the term "transgender" existed, there were those who experienced their gender in complex ways. Before Trans examines the lives and writings of Jane Dieulafoy (1850–1916), Rachilde (1860–1953), and Marc de Montifaud (1845–1912), three French writers whose gender expression did not conform to nineteenth-century notions of femininity. Dieulafoy fought alongside her husband in the Franco-Prussian War and traveled with him to the Middle East; later she wrote novels about girls becoming boys and enjoyed being photographed in her signature men's suits. Rachilde became famous in the 1880s for her controversial gender-bending novel Monsieur Vénus, published around the same time that she started using a calling card that read "Rachilde, Man of Letters." Montifaud began her career as an art critic before turning to erotic writings, for which she was repeatedly charged with "offense to public decency"; she wore tailored men's suits and a short haircut for much of her life and went by masculine pronouns among certain friends. Dieulafoy, Rachilde, and Montifaud established themselves as fixtures in the literary world of fin-de-siècle Paris at the same time as French writers, scientists, and doctors were becoming increasingly fascinated with sexuality and sexual difference. Even so, the concept of gender identity as separate from sexual identity did not yet exist. Before Trans explores these three figures' lifelong efforts to articulate a sense of selfhood that did not precisely align with the conventional gender roles of their day. Their intricate, personal stories provide vital historical context for our own efforts to understand the nature of gender identity and the ways in which it might be expressed.
Before We Were Trans illuminates the stories of people across the globe, from antiquity to the present, whose experiences of gender have defied binary categories.
Refuting arguments that transgender people, experiences, and identities were non-existent or even impossible prior to the twentieth century, this volume focuses on archives—literary texts, trial transcripts, documents, and ...
In part, Abram J. Lewis argues, this is because of Erickson's many nonscientific and ostensibly irrational pursuits. As he got older, he funded a massive amount of New Age research into mystical, magical, and supernatural practices and ...
Through surgeries and recovery, highs and lows, from high school to college to the real world, Skylar welcomed others on his journey. Before I Had the Words is the story of what came before the videos and what happened behind the scenes.
... Fair: Trans America, Special Edition, 18 August 2015; and C. Jenner and B. Bissinger, The Secrets of My Life (London, 2017). For Mock, see J. Mock, Redefining Realness (New York, 2014); J. Mock, Surpassing Certainty (New York, ...
A chronological account of transgender theory documents major movements, writings, and events, offering insight into the contributions of key historical figures while discussing treatments of transgenderism in pop culture. Original.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The lives of three women—transgender and cisgender—collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires in “one of the most celebrated novels of the year” (Time) “Reading this ...
This book is the author's story of love and loss and an account of the LGBTQ community's battle for equal rights.--adapted from dust jacket.
... pasa mi mano por mi carne: lúgubre lujuria, espejos cortan con un filo de esperma el ansiado sendero, crudas estrellas allá arriba, la lluvia sin recuerdos, el despojo de las horas que pasan conmigo aquí, poco interesante, and sigh, ...
A queer love letter steeped in desire, grief, and delight, the story is interspersed with encyclopedia entries about a fictional TV show set on an isolated island.