On knowing nature's syntax: Preliminary cisness, victorian physiology and George Eliot.

As a trans intervention in Victorian studies and historical extension of recent work in trans studies, this article argues that the theorisation of natural laws in mid‐nineteenth century, British physiology produces a 'preliminary cisness' in Victorian sexual science. By then juxtaposing George Elio...

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Published in:Gender & History Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 151 - 167
Main Author: Ferguson, Alexis A.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Mar2024
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: On knowing nature's syntax: Preliminary cisness, victorian physiology and George Eliot.
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        au: Ferguson, Alexis A.
        affil: Department of English and Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University, Princeton New Jersey, , USA
      su:
        Transgender history
        Transgender people
        History of physiology
        Natural law
        Heteronormativity
        Eliot, George, 1819-1880
        Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903
        Victorian Period, Great Britain, 1837-1901
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          Transgender history
          Transgender people
          History of physiology
          Natural law
          Heteronormativity
          Eliot, George, 1819-1880
          Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903
          Victorian Period, Great Britain, 1837-1901
      ab: As a trans intervention in Victorian studies and historical extension of recent work in trans studies, this article argues that the theorisation of natural laws in mid‐nineteenth century, British physiology produces a 'preliminary cisness' in Victorian sexual science. By then juxtaposing George Eliot's Adam Bede with work by Herbert Spencer and George Henry Lewes and undertaking a close study of the characters Hetty Sorrel and Dinah Morris, this article suggests that Eliot offers social sympathy as a non‐cis, epistemological alternative to the ethical risks of pre‐cis sex.
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    language: English
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