Att skriva transhistoria

Cisnormativitet och historiens könsöverskridare

Abstract

This article discusses transgender history, and argues for a broad understanding of such. The first part contains a discussion on cis normativity and historical research, specifically within women’s and gender studies. Certain stereotypical explanations of gender transgressive experiences, in particular the so-called ”passing woman” are examined as part of a certain feminist heritage. In this particular line of research, cross-dressing is considered an emancipatory practice where cisgender women disguise themselves as men in order to escape the boundaries of patriarchal society. The article does not contest the occurrence of such experiences, but argues for more, and more nuanced, understandings of sex and gender. The second part of the article considers five Swedish gender transgressive persons: Anders Magnus Åhrman (also Anna Maria, 1777-unknown date of death), Lasse-Maja (Lars Larsson Molin, 1785–1845), Aron Forss (1807–1854), Andreas Bruce (1808–1885), and Carl August/Helga Lundström (1862–1915). One of the key arguments is that such cases should not be analysed only on the basis of assigned sex. Such assumptions of sex and gender identities are problematic in several ways. For example, they leave out important areas of research by viewing the experiences of transfeminine persons as ”male”. Also, they ignore more complex and non-binary understandings that have been available for recognizing, articulating and interpreting sex and gender before the 20th Century. Through other departures, the article argues, it is possible to more fully apprehend both the conditions of gender transgressions and the ways in which sex and gender have been understood through history.