| dc.description.abstract | Although sexuality is widely accepted across the United States, being transgender or a gender nonconformist is not. Those across the LGBTQ+ spectrum are not on equal footing and many wonder why. Members of the transgender community are often subject to immense backlash, both socially and systemically. There are hundreds of anti-trans laws active in the United States, ranging from topics such as healthcare to sports. Many believe that being transgender is a new trend caused by the passing of gay marriage. However, this is far from the truth. Although being transgender is not a new trend, it is a historically quieted one. This paper seeks to look at the ways that the medical, legal, religious systems suppressed the transgender presence in order to enforce heterosexuality. To examine this, the memoirs of Herculine Barbin, and 18the century hermaphrodite are used. Other works used include Michel Foucualt’s History of Sexuality Vol. 1 and Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, and Pleasure and Efficacy by Grace Lavery. Through the analysis of these works, I come to the conclusion that the medical, legal, and religious systems, represented through their individual actors, worked in conjunction with one another for mutual advantage in order to suppress the transgender presence for the enforcement of heterosexuality. I also conclude that these systems are still operative today in similar ways. The conclusions of this study show that being transgender is not a new trend, but rather one that has been historically suppressed. | en_US |
