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E-book
Author Skidmore, Emily, author

Title True sex : the lives of trans men at the turn of the twentieth century / Emily Skidmore
Published New York : New York University Press, [2017]
©2017

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Description 1 online resource (v, 253 pages) : illustrations
Contents Introduction: Harry Gorman's Buffalo -- The last female husband : new boundaries of identity in the late nineteenth century -- Beyond community : rural lives of trans men -- "The trouble that clothes make" : whiteness and acceptability -- Gender transgressions in the age of U.S. empire -- To have and to hold : trans husbands in the early twentieth century -- Conclusion: Kenneth Lisonbee's Eureka
Summary The incredible stories of how trans men assimilated into mainstream communities in the late 1800s. In 1883, Frank Dubois gained national attention for his life in Waupun, Wisconsin. There he was known as a hard-working man, married to a young woman named Gertrude Fuller. What drew national attention to his seemingly unremarkable life was that he was revealed to be anatomically female. Dubois fit so well within the small community that the townspeople only discovered his "true sex" when his former husband and their two children arrived in the town searching in desperation for their departed wife and mother. At the turn of the twentieth century, trans men were not necessarily urban rebels seeking to overturn stifling gender roles. In fact, they often sought to pass as conventional men, choosing to live in small towns where they led ordinary lives, aligning themselves with the expectations of their communities. They were, in a word, unexceptional. In True Sex, Emily Skidmore uncovers the stories of eighteen trans men who lived in the United States between 1876 and 1936. Despite their "unexceptional" quality, their lives are surprising and moving, challenging much of what we think we know about queer history. By tracing the narratives surrounding the moments of "discovery" in these communities - from reports in local newspapers to medical journals and beyond--this book challenges the assumption that the full story of modern American sexuality is told by cosmopolitan radicals. Rather, True Sex reveals complex narratives concerning rural geography and community, persecution and tolerance, and how these factors intersect with the history of race, identity and sexuality in America
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Description based on print version record
Subject Transgender people -- United States -- History
Female-to-male transsexuals -- United States -- History
Male impersonators -- United States -- History
Transsexuals -- United States -- History
Transgender Persons
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Cultural Policy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Popular Culture.
Female-to-male transsexuals
Male impersonators
Transgender people
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2017007947
ISBN 9781479860500
1479860506
Other Titles Lives of trans men in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century