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hrjOne of the aspects of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project that I’ve tried to emphasize clearly is that the “lesbian” aspect of the project derives entirely from my own purposes and primary intended audience, and not necessarily from the objective nature of the historic data itself. In fact, a significant fraction of the publications and data that the Project covers would be equally useful to someone interested in transgender themes and characters (especially FTM). One of the recurring concerns in studying historic sexuality is the difficulty (and often impossibility) of determining how specific historic individuals understood how their own desires and activities related to the categories of “male” and “female” and where the dividing lines might be between behavior and identity. And just as the LHMP does not require me to come to any conclusions about whether specific historic data “counts as lesbian” for me to identify it as useful in the context of this project, the fact of inclusion doesn’t detract from the usefulness of that same data to other compatible framings of gender or sexuality. In that context, it seems worthwhile to provide a brief list of covered publications that have particular relevance to transgender themes. (Obviously this only includes material covered so far. I will try to remember to update this periodically.)
* * *
Amer, Sahar. 2008. Crossing Borders: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. ISBN 978-0-8122-4087-0
Especially chapter 3 focusing specifically on the story of Yde and Olive.
Anson, John. 1974. “The Female Transvestite in Early Monasticism: The Origin and Development of a Motif” in Viator, 5: 1-32.
The entire genre of “female transvestite saints” falls considerably more comfortably under transgender rather than lesbian themes.
Benkov, Edith. “The Erased Lesbian: Sodomy and the Legal Tradition in Medieval Europe” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages. ed. by Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn. Palgrave, New York, 2001.
Specific case studies, especially that of Katharina Hetzeldorfer, raise significant questions regarding how the individual in question understood their own gender.
Braunschneider, Theresa. 2010. “Reforming the Coquette: Poly, Homo, Hetero in The Reform’d Coquet and The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless” in Lesbian Dames: Sapphism in the Long Eighteenth Century. Beynon, John C. & Caroline Gonda eds. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-7335-4
There is an episode of MTF gender disguise in one of the stories being analyzed, but not what I’d consider a solid transgender theme.
Bullough, Vern L. 1974. “Transvestites in the Middle Ages” in American Journal of Sociology 79/6: 1381-1394
A rather badly dated article. My summary covers FTM themes but the article itself is broader in coverage.
Bullough, Vern. 1996. “Cross Dressing and Gender Role Change in the Middle Ages” in Handbook of Medieval Sexuality, ed. Vern L. Bullough and James A. Brundage Garland Publishing, New York. ISBN 0-8153-3662-4
This article primarily concerns temporary, situational cross-dressing and gender play rather than issues of identity and long-term expression.
Clover, Carol J. 1995. "Maiden Warriors and Other Sons" in Robert R. Edwards & Vickie Ziegler (eds). Matrons and Marginal Women in Medieval Society. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge.
Clover’s thesis addresses the “maiden warrior” motif as a culturally sanctioned (though often temporary) cross-gender role and reviews similar themes in both literary and historic cultures.
Cressy, David. 1996. “Gender Trouble and Cross-Dressing in Early Modern England” in Journal of British Studies 35/4: 438-465.
A broad survey of cross-gender expression for many different purposes.
Dekker, Rudolf M. and van de Pol, Lotte C. 1989. The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe. Macmillan, London. ISBN 0-333-41253-2 (Link is to Part 1 - see also Parts 2 & 3)
There are a great many case studies included here that are ambiguous in terms of how the individuals understood their own identities (especially given that their personal testimony was typically given in the context of trials when answers may have been tailored for personal safety).
Dickemann, Mildred. 1997. “The Balkan Sworn Virgin: A Cross-Gendered Female Role” in Islamic Homosexualities - Culture, History, and Literature, ed. by Stephen O. Murray & Will Roscoe. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-7468-7
As I note in my summary, this article and topic fit far more comfortably within a cross-gender analysis, though still relevant to my core project.
Donoghue, Emma. 2010. Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 978-0-307-27094-8
Chapter 1 (Travesties) covers themes of cross-gender expression that create ambiguous contexts for erotic desire.
Dugaw, Dianne. 1989. Warrior Women and Popular Balladry 1650-1850. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-16916-2 (Link is to Part 1, see also Part 2)
A great deal of information on cross-gender performance in popular culture, though primarily covering individuals who appear to understand themselves as female.
Gonda, Caroline. 2010. “The Odd Women: Charlotte Charke, Sarah Scott and the Metamorphoses of Sex” in Lesbian Dames: Sapphism in the Long Eighteenth Century. Beynon, John C. & Caroline Gonda eds. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-7335-4
Actress Charlotte Charke not only was famed for her “trouser roles” but engaged in cross-gender performance in her personal life, including presenting herself as husband to her female romantic partner.
Hotchkiss, Valerie R. 1996. Clothes Make the Man: Female Cross Dressing in Medieval Europe. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-8153-3771-x
A broad survey of themes and motifs.
Merrick, Jeffrey & Bryant T. Ragan, Jr. 2001. Homosexuality in Early Modern France: A Documentary Collection. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-510257-6
Although my summary only covers the material involving individuals born female, the male material is more extensive. Case studies and literary examples include cross-gender performance and identity.
Rictor Norton (Ed.), Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook. Updated 7 September 2014 . (Accessed 2014/09/13)
A wide variety of relevant material. Go to the original web site to side-step the filtering I did for my own summary.
Puff, Helmut. 2000. "Female Sodomy: The Trial of Katherina Hetzeldorfer (1477)" in Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies: 30:1, 41-61.
Detailed account of an individual whose life could be viewed equally as cross-gender or lesbian.
Roche-Mahdi, Sarah. 1999. Silence. Michigan State University Press, Lansing. ISBN 0-87013-543-0
I included this on the general theme of cross-dressing and the “nature versus nurture” debate. Despite the romance’s resolution with Silence taking up a female role, the character’s life has very strong transgender themes.
Sautman, Francesca Canadé. “What Can They Possibly Do Together? Queer Epic Performances in Tristan de Nanteuil” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages (ed. By Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn), Palgrave, New York, 2001.
As with Silence, the motifs of gender transformation in this medieval romance have significant transgender relevance.
Shank, Michael H. 1987. "A Female University Student in Late Medieval Krakow" in Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society: 12:373-380.
Another case study of a cross-dressing/passing individual with multiple possible interpretations.
Westphal-Hellbusch, Sigrid (trans. Bradley Rose). 1997. “Institutionalized Gender-Crossing in Southern Iraq” in Islamic Homosexualities - Culture, History, and Literature, ed. by Stephen O. Murray & Will Roscoe. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-7468-7
As I note in my summary, an article I’d approach with suspicion, but useful as a pointer to research possibilities.
Whitbread, Helena ed. 1992. I Know My Own Heart: The Diaries of Anne Lister 1791-1840. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-9249-9 (Link is to introduction, see also the various entries by year.)
Anne Lister was interpreted by some of her contemporaries as coding male in dress and behavior, although there is no indication I can find of actual cross-dressing. There are also significant themes concerning to what extent loving women requires one to identify as male.
Woodward, Carolyn. 1993. “’My Heart So Wrapt’: Lesbian Disruptions in Eighteenth-Century British Fiction” in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 18:838-865.
The two protagonists discussed here enjoy extended travels and adventures presenting as male, including interacting romantically with women as such. The novel includes significant internal debate regarding whether one must be male to love and engage in a romantic relationship with a woman.
* * *
Amer, Sahar. 2008. Crossing Borders: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. ISBN 978-0-8122-4087-0
Especially chapter 3 focusing specifically on the story of Yde and Olive.
Anson, John. 1974. “The Female Transvestite in Early Monasticism: The Origin and Development of a Motif” in Viator, 5: 1-32.
The entire genre of “female transvestite saints” falls considerably more comfortably under transgender rather than lesbian themes.
Benkov, Edith. “The Erased Lesbian: Sodomy and the Legal Tradition in Medieval Europe” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages. ed. by Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn. Palgrave, New York, 2001.
Specific case studies, especially that of Katharina Hetzeldorfer, raise significant questions regarding how the individual in question understood their own gender.
Braunschneider, Theresa. 2010. “Reforming the Coquette: Poly, Homo, Hetero in The Reform’d Coquet and The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless” in Lesbian Dames: Sapphism in the Long Eighteenth Century. Beynon, John C. & Caroline Gonda eds. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-7335-4
There is an episode of MTF gender disguise in one of the stories being analyzed, but not what I’d consider a solid transgender theme.
Bullough, Vern L. 1974. “Transvestites in the Middle Ages” in American Journal of Sociology 79/6: 1381-1394
A rather badly dated article. My summary covers FTM themes but the article itself is broader in coverage.
Bullough, Vern. 1996. “Cross Dressing and Gender Role Change in the Middle Ages” in Handbook of Medieval Sexuality, ed. Vern L. Bullough and James A. Brundage Garland Publishing, New York. ISBN 0-8153-3662-4
This article primarily concerns temporary, situational cross-dressing and gender play rather than issues of identity and long-term expression.
Clover, Carol J. 1995. "Maiden Warriors and Other Sons" in Robert R. Edwards & Vickie Ziegler (eds). Matrons and Marginal Women in Medieval Society. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge.
Clover’s thesis addresses the “maiden warrior” motif as a culturally sanctioned (though often temporary) cross-gender role and reviews similar themes in both literary and historic cultures.
Cressy, David. 1996. “Gender Trouble and Cross-Dressing in Early Modern England” in Journal of British Studies 35/4: 438-465.
A broad survey of cross-gender expression for many different purposes.
Dekker, Rudolf M. and van de Pol, Lotte C. 1989. The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe. Macmillan, London. ISBN 0-333-41253-2 (Link is to Part 1 - see also Parts 2 & 3)
There are a great many case studies included here that are ambiguous in terms of how the individuals understood their own identities (especially given that their personal testimony was typically given in the context of trials when answers may have been tailored for personal safety).
Dickemann, Mildred. 1997. “The Balkan Sworn Virgin: A Cross-Gendered Female Role” in Islamic Homosexualities - Culture, History, and Literature, ed. by Stephen O. Murray & Will Roscoe. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-7468-7
As I note in my summary, this article and topic fit far more comfortably within a cross-gender analysis, though still relevant to my core project.
Donoghue, Emma. 2010. Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 978-0-307-27094-8
Chapter 1 (Travesties) covers themes of cross-gender expression that create ambiguous contexts for erotic desire.
Dugaw, Dianne. 1989. Warrior Women and Popular Balladry 1650-1850. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-16916-2 (Link is to Part 1, see also Part 2)
A great deal of information on cross-gender performance in popular culture, though primarily covering individuals who appear to understand themselves as female.
Gonda, Caroline. 2010. “The Odd Women: Charlotte Charke, Sarah Scott and the Metamorphoses of Sex” in Lesbian Dames: Sapphism in the Long Eighteenth Century. Beynon, John C. & Caroline Gonda eds. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-7335-4
Actress Charlotte Charke not only was famed for her “trouser roles” but engaged in cross-gender performance in her personal life, including presenting herself as husband to her female romantic partner.
Hotchkiss, Valerie R. 1996. Clothes Make the Man: Female Cross Dressing in Medieval Europe. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-8153-3771-x
A broad survey of themes and motifs.
Merrick, Jeffrey & Bryant T. Ragan, Jr. 2001. Homosexuality in Early Modern France: A Documentary Collection. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0-19-510257-6
Although my summary only covers the material involving individuals born female, the male material is more extensive. Case studies and literary examples include cross-gender performance and identity.
Rictor Norton (Ed.), Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook. Updated 7 September 2014 . (Accessed 2014/09/13)
A wide variety of relevant material. Go to the original web site to side-step the filtering I did for my own summary.
Puff, Helmut. 2000. "Female Sodomy: The Trial of Katherina Hetzeldorfer (1477)" in Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies: 30:1, 41-61.
Detailed account of an individual whose life could be viewed equally as cross-gender or lesbian.
Roche-Mahdi, Sarah. 1999. Silence. Michigan State University Press, Lansing. ISBN 0-87013-543-0
I included this on the general theme of cross-dressing and the “nature versus nurture” debate. Despite the romance’s resolution with Silence taking up a female role, the character’s life has very strong transgender themes.
Sautman, Francesca Canadé. “What Can They Possibly Do Together? Queer Epic Performances in Tristan de Nanteuil” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages (ed. By Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn), Palgrave, New York, 2001.
As with Silence, the motifs of gender transformation in this medieval romance have significant transgender relevance.
Shank, Michael H. 1987. "A Female University Student in Late Medieval Krakow" in Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society: 12:373-380.
Another case study of a cross-dressing/passing individual with multiple possible interpretations.
Westphal-Hellbusch, Sigrid (trans. Bradley Rose). 1997. “Institutionalized Gender-Crossing in Southern Iraq” in Islamic Homosexualities - Culture, History, and Literature, ed. by Stephen O. Murray & Will Roscoe. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-7468-7
As I note in my summary, an article I’d approach with suspicion, but useful as a pointer to research possibilities.
Whitbread, Helena ed. 1992. I Know My Own Heart: The Diaries of Anne Lister 1791-1840. New York University Press, New York. ISBN 0-8147-9249-9 (Link is to introduction, see also the various entries by year.)
Anne Lister was interpreted by some of her contemporaries as coding male in dress and behavior, although there is no indication I can find of actual cross-dressing. There are also significant themes concerning to what extent loving women requires one to identify as male.
Woodward, Carolyn. 1993. “’My Heart So Wrapt’: Lesbian Disruptions in Eighteenth-Century British Fiction” in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 18:838-865.
The two protagonists discussed here enjoy extended travels and adventures presenting as male, including interacting romantically with women as such. The novel includes significant internal debate regarding whether one must be male to love and engage in a romantic relationship with a woman.
