[Being transgender in the France of the 19th century].

Abstract

Transidentity, in terms of the fluidity of gender identities, is unthought during the 19^th century in France. In a society marked by sexual binarity, one can nevertheless discover in unpublished archives women who lived as men and, exceptionally, men who lived as women. These transgender existences exhibit all social backgrounds, especially the poorest people. The performative intensity can be read first of all in the physical appearance recomposed by the clothing and the haircut. But more than that, it can be appreciated through the ability to integrate the sociability of the chosen gender into daily life. It is striking, especially among the most humbles, by its fullness and duration, by its irrevocable character when it is not forced, by the audacity and freedom that nourish it. It invites us to take into consideration the projection into the other gender not only as an opportunity but as an imperious necessity.