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"Jag vill stänga in min broder, och låta kvinnan i min kropp få leva" Kön och sexualitet i den tidiga svenska transrörelsen, 1964-1969

Baaring, Devin LU (2023) ILHM05 20231
Division of History of Ideas and Sciences
Abstract
This essay deals with the early trans movement in Sweden, which started in the sixties. Through the personal archive of Eva-Lisa Bengtson, activist and co-founder, it presents the groups Transvestia and FPE-NE (Full personality Expression, Northern Europe) as the first organisations to be started by and for any gender non-conforming people in Sweden. Their primary target group were heterosexual, male transvestites which means most of their members at times dressed as, acted as and in other ways personified women. The primary focus is to analyse how these transvestites viewed themselves and their gender non-conforming identities and practices.

Using the heterosexual matrix from queer studies but also acknowledging the primacy of lived... (More)
This essay deals with the early trans movement in Sweden, which started in the sixties. Through the personal archive of Eva-Lisa Bengtson, activist and co-founder, it presents the groups Transvestia and FPE-NE (Full personality Expression, Northern Europe) as the first organisations to be started by and for any gender non-conforming people in Sweden. Their primary target group were heterosexual, male transvestites which means most of their members at times dressed as, acted as and in other ways personified women. The primary focus is to analyse how these transvestites viewed themselves and their gender non-conforming identities and practices.

Using the heterosexual matrix from queer studies but also acknowledging the primacy of lived and embodied experiences in the tradition of trans studies, this essay aims to capture what it could mean to be a transvestite during the sixties in Sweden. While there are some simple definitions, a closer examination shows that there were a multitude of ways to look at and practise transvestism. Looking at how the transvestites distanced themselves from transsexuals, homosexuals and men dressing in women clothing for sexual pleasure will show a large variety in interpretations, inclusions, and exclusions. The analysis of these areas of uncertainty will also discuss why these processes were important to the transvestites in relation to the surrounding society. This will be examined through contextualising in three arenas: the public debate on sex, gender and sexual freedom, the medical society, and the impact of contacts with the community of American transvestites surrounding the magazine Transvestia and its founder, Virginia Prince. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Baaring, Devin LU
supervisor
organization
course
ILHM05 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
HBTQ, LGBTQ, transvestism, transsexualism, könsöverskridande, gender non-conformity, Transvestia, FPE-NE, FPE, transhistoria, trans history, queer historia, queer history
language
Swedish
id
9127472
date added to LUP
2023-08-24 08:26:46
date last changed
2023-08-24 08:26:46
@misc{9127472,
  abstract     = {{This essay deals with the early trans movement in Sweden, which started in the sixties. Through the personal archive of Eva-Lisa Bengtson, activist and co-founder, it presents the groups Transvestia and FPE-NE (Full personality Expression, Northern Europe) as the first organisations to be started by and for any gender non-conforming people in Sweden. Their primary target group were heterosexual, male transvestites which means most of their members at times dressed as, acted as and in other ways personified women. The primary focus is to analyse how these transvestites viewed themselves and their gender non-conforming identities and practices.

Using the heterosexual matrix from queer studies but also acknowledging the primacy of lived and embodied experiences in the tradition of trans studies, this essay aims to capture what it could mean to be a transvestite during the sixties in Sweden. While there are some simple definitions, a closer examination shows that there were a multitude of ways to look at and practise transvestism. Looking at how the transvestites distanced themselves from transsexuals, homosexuals and men dressing in women clothing for sexual pleasure will show a large variety in interpretations, inclusions, and exclusions. The analysis of these areas of uncertainty will also discuss why these processes were important to the transvestites in relation to the surrounding society. This will be examined through contextualising in three arenas: the public debate on sex, gender and sexual freedom, the medical society, and the impact of contacts with the community of American transvestites surrounding the magazine Transvestia and its founder, Virginia Prince.}},
  author       = {{Baaring, Devin}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Jag vill stänga in min broder, och låta kvinnan i min kropp få leva" Kön och sexualitet i den tidiga svenska transrörelsen, 1964-1969}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}