Intersexuality and Degeneracy Theory

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 09:00 The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Often when a book or article brings in literary criticism to discuss a historic topic, I feel like it's more of an intellectual game. But in this case, it really does feel like the literary ant the real-life aspects are so solidly braided together that the approach makes sense. Major category: LHMPTags: LHMP LHMP #582e Linton 2022 Unmaking Sex Chapter 4 About LHMP Full citation: Linton, Anne E. 2022. Unmaking Sex: The Gender Outlaws of Nineteenth-Century France. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 978-1-316-51182-4 Chapter 4 Inheriting “Hermaphrodism”: How Degeneration Theory Changed Literature and Medicine As usual, the chapter opens with an illustrative example: a real-life case that reflects the literary themes to be discussed. An aristocratic family line pins their hopes on a child who is first classified as female, then reclassified at adolescence when masculine characteristics emerge (both anatomical…