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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:
Transgender history
Transgender people
History of physiology
Natural law
Heteronormativity
Eliot, George, 1819-1880
Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903
Victorian Period, Great Britain, 1837-1901
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary: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.