Vous consultezDans l’ombre de l’hermaphrodite : hommes et femmes en famille dans la France du xixe siècle

This article studies a group of men and women who have emerged in historical narratives as « hermaphrodites ». It seeks to resituate them in a social perspective within the family, rather than focusing on their bodily or genital specificities. The condition of hermaphroditism challenges the family in a twofold perspective: firstly it disrupts the normal identity projections between parents and children and between siblings; secondly, it raises the major problem of infertility and of marriage not only for the men or women concerned, but also for the family as a whole. The extreme diversity of intra-familial relations and affects revealed highlights the fact that while hermaphroditism emerged in the 19^th century as a medical category, it did not function as a social category.

Keywords


gender, hermaphrodites, family, doctors, 19th century