Semester of Graduation

August 2018

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

French Studies

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This paper looks at French literature that defies binary and heteronormative gender roles and identities. The literature spans from the seventeenth- to the nineteenth-century. My goal is not only to bring these pieces of literature to light, proving that non-binary genders have existed long before the recent liberal LGBTQIA+ movement, but also to help modernize these identities from the past. In doing this, I aim to explain that contemporary gender identities are not new, but timeless. The experiences seen in this literature are strikingly similar to how people experience gender today. As a result, I hope that readers will be more accepting of contemporary gender identities. I dream of the day where we focus less on our differences and more on our own free expressions.

Date

5-30-2018

Committee Chair

Jensen, Katharine

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.4723

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