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Mutable Sex, Cross-dressing, and the mujer varonil: Understanding Non-Normative Sex in Early Modern Spain

Mason, Rebecca Mary

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Spanish and Portuguese.
This dissertation examines circulating popular beliefs in early modern Spain that addressed sex difference and the possibility of sudden sex changes due to fluctuations in climate and humors. These beliefs are articulated by authors of medical treatises and other texts that deal with human anatomy, health and wellness, and natural phenomena. Understanding how early modern Spaniards conceived of sex and gender is crucial for analyzing the reception and representation of historical and literary figures with non-normative sex and gender during this time period. The central thesis of this project is that early modern Spaniards accepted the possibility that an individual might experience a sudden change of sex, and therefore understood human sex to be mutable, rather than fixed, and to some extent, spectral rather than binary, given that said sex changes were believed to leave an individual with vestigial characteristics of their original sex. Therefore, in order to understand how historical and literary figures with non-binary sex and/or gender were understood, for example, Catalina de Erauso, or the theatrical figure of the mujer varonil, we must take into account these beliefs, as they would have played a role in the reception of said figures. In order to arrive at a better understanding of how non-normative sex and gender were explained, understood and represented in early modern Spain, I consider three different perspectives. The first of these are the medical and scientific theories that informed popular beliefs about sex and gender. Many texts were published in early modern Spain in which these topics are examined at great length, suggesting the importance and relevance for the authors and their perceived audiences. The second perspective concerns the reception and perception of historical figures whose sex and gender did not adhere to a strict binary. The documents written by and about individuals such as Catalina de Erauso and Eleno/a de Cespedes shine light on how they understood and explained themselves, as well as how they were understood by those who knew them. At various points in both cases, references are made to the popular beliefs found in the medical texts I consider in my first chapter. Finally, I look to theatrical representations of particularly masculine female characters, or instances of the mujer varonil, a popular figure in the Golden Age comedia who, in some cases, shares characteristics with the descriptions of masculine women found in the medical treatises as well as descriptions of historical figures with non-normative sex and gender.
Jonathan Burgoyne, Dr (Advisor)
220 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mason, R. M. (2016). Mutable Sex, Cross-dressing, and the mujer varonil: Understanding Non-Normative Sex in Early Modern Spain [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460991983

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mason, Rebecca. Mutable Sex, Cross-dressing, and the mujer varonil: Understanding Non-Normative Sex in Early Modern Spain. 2016. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460991983.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mason, Rebecca. "Mutable Sex, Cross-dressing, and the mujer varonil: Understanding Non-Normative Sex in Early Modern Spain." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1460991983

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)