Discursive Intersections in Literature on Hermaphroditism

At the turn of the 21st century, a surge in popularity of the literary motif of hermaphroditism can be observed, not only in the German-speaking world but also internationally. The new literary works (published 1990 - 2010) distance themselves from the antique heredity of the motif by not drawing on hermaphroditism as a symbol of union and harmony, but presenting it as a physical disease. It is the aim of this project to analyse the impact of the change in deployment of an ancient literary motif. 10-15 German literary works as well as relevant works of different origin shall thus be examined. The body of texts will include literary works that can be assigned to various literary genres. In addition, works from the field of so-called `high` as well as `middle brow` literature are taken into consideration. Many of the respective works have not yet been analysed according to the standards of literary theory. Moreover, a compilation and comparative analysis of various texts represent a desideratum. Hence, the project provides new insights into the contemporary German and international literary field. On account of preliminary research, the project is based on the assumption that the above-mentioned development may be explained by focusing attention on the results of previous academic debates. From the 1990s onwards, hermaphroditism has managed to become a heatedly discussed topic of both the natural sciences/medicine and gender studies based on poststructuralism (cf. BUTLER). Whereas the natural sciences/medicine have considered hermaphroditism as a disorder in terms of a deviant embryonic sex development, gender studies, in contrast, have repeatedly criticized the natural sciences for perpetuating an 18th century notion of an allegedly `natural`, strictly bi-polar system of gender dimorphism. Gender studies emphasise the contingency of all knowledge about the (gendered) body, the validity of existent binary norms (ill/healthy, deviant/normal, male/female) is doubted. Thus, hermaphroditism can be perceived as a travelling concept (cf. BAL) within the academic discourses that has made its way back into the literary world after its respective academic `trips`. It is the project`s task, however, to concentrate on the current discursive intersections of medicine and gender concepts within narration concerning hermaphroditism. In a first step, the reading of the compiled body of texts aims at retracing the narrative materialisations of the allegedly `deviant` hermaphroditic body as well as the narrative figuration of a (hermaphroditic) gender-identity by means of combining theoretical framework on narrative identities (cf. RICUR) with the deployment of the tools of narratology (cf. BAL). In the following, the project tackles the hermaphroditic characters` significance for the narrative structure of the respective works. A plot-analysis aims at gaining insight into different modes of agency of the hermaphroditic characters (cf. GUTENBERG). Subsequently, the plot analyses from the single works form the basis for further, comparative examinations. By taking a look at different plot-structures found within the works, the problem of whether narrative models can be formulated shall be addressed. By means of these lectures, insights shall be gained into possible modes of (narrative) figurations of the hermaphroditic body and of gendered identities beyond the system of gender dimorphism. By also taking a look at possible forms of agency, the project may help to further raise awareness within society for the problems of `real` people affected by the medical condition of hermaphroditism.

The goal of the research project was to analyze interdiscursive narratives of hermaphroditism/intersex in German literature (1990-2015). The starting point of the project was the observation that, originating in the USA in the 1990s, hermaphroditism/intersex increasingly became an object of political discussion. The focus of the controversy was that in the Western world those born with anatomical characteristics of both genders were surgically corrected, already as small children, into maleness or femaleness, without the permission of the person in question. Overall, activists denounced and denounce a society that knows and recognizes only two genders and promotes gender uniformity by attempting to make deviations invisible by medical means. In the scope of the project, ways were examined in which literary texts bring into contact the medical discursive field with other artistic and/or academic motifs and image complexes. An analysis of these discourses and complexes indicate that contemporary German literature on the topic of hermaphroditism/intersex takes into account mainly five sets of motifs and images: And so there appear numerous (also fictional) autobiographically oriented texts, texts which place hermaphroditism/intersex in family sagas, criminal novels, novels that depict hermaphroditic/intersexed characters as super human angels, as well as texts that broach hermaphroditism/intersex with grotesque corporal portrayals. While the autobiographies and family sagas concentrate chiefly on medical aspects and social criticism, the detective novels mainly highlight hermaphroditic/intersexed victims, who, due to their experiences, become culprits. In the novels with hermaphroditic/intersexed angel characters the analysis focuses on violent experiences against persons who have been perceived as different by their environment. Grotesque body depictions, in turn, scrutinize modern conceptions of the subject, whereby the subject is not represented as an autonomous entity but as a fragmented, diffuse figure. As a conclusion of the projects analysis, we hold that the publication of literature on hermaphroditism/intersex greatly contributes to support emancipatory-oriented discourses by making visible to the public a subject that has been taboo for centuries, and pointing out the violent dimension of medical practices and the prevailing binary gender system. In addition, work on this project was able to influence the course of discussion and affect academic approaches to hermaphroditism/intersex in several ways. First, the exchange with political activists could spur on their cause; second, interdisciplinary and interdiscursive writing projects helped developing alternatives to traditional academic writing about the other as an object.