“Female Husbands”: Trans-Masculine Identities in 1800s British & American Newspapers

General Studies (College of) / Arts & Humanities

Description

The goal of this project is to gain an accurate picture of how a variety of 1800s and early 1900s British and American newspapers portrayed and represented "female husbands," assigned-female-at-birth people who lived and married as men. This project is part of book chapter that I am writing on two of the best known of these individuals in Victorian England, James Allen of London (c1787-1829) and Henry "Harry" Stokes of Manchester (c1799-1859). In this chapter, I am delineating how the common features of these narratives—the medical-legal examination of bodies, the chronicling of masculine work and habits, and the fascination with wives—sit at the intersections of the re-enforcement of the gender binary and transgender self-creation.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The student will read, analyze, and summarize a collection of articles on "female husbands" (in pdf form) from the British Library's Newspaper Archive and other collections. The student and faculty member will create a categorization system that will be employed in this process. This work will be done remotely with regular virtual check-in conversations.

Desired Qualifications

- general knowledge of transgender and queer studies/theory
- solid organization skills
- solid text analysis and interpretation skills

Project Based on UW-Waukesha's Campus