Personal and collective trans-mythologies: creative attitudes to gender incongruence among transgender individuals
Abstract
Embedded within the biographies of some transgender people are narratives elements more frequently found in culturally-specific legends settings and the interplay of mythological figures. Individuals who specifically identify as transsexuals (unlike other, non-binary or gender-queer transgender people) sometimes report the wish, the dream, and/or the desire to understand or alleviate their experienced gender incongruence in a surprisingly creative way: through some type of magical transformation. Calling upon recently collected interviews, this study examines those narratives and their use of such elements, noting their reliance on binary gender formations. Through philosophical and cultural-anthropological analyses, we suggest that these fields grant powerful and imaginative personal allowances, opportunities and perceptions to transsexual identifying transgender individuals – magical transformations and justified transpositions to alleviate dysphoria, a surrender of personal responsibility to unseen universal forces, and especially an inherent wisdom gifted during transitional liminality – that neither scientific nor academic evaluations of gender transition can. While these creative allowances are fictive, fantastical, and temporary, they nevertheless articulate a need if not an imperative for understanding, expression and ultimately action on behalf of the transitioning individual.
Article in English.
Asmeninės ir kolektyvinės transmitologijos: kūrybiniai požiūriai į lyties neatitikimą tarp translyčių asmenų
Santrauka
Naratyviniai elementai, vis dažniau aptinkami kultūriniu požiūriu specifinių legendų steigiamame fone ir sąveikaujant mitologinėms figūroms, yra įtraukti į kai kurių translyčių žmonių biografijas. Asmenys, kurie specifiniu būdu identifikuoja save kaip transseksualus (skirtingai nei kiti transseksualūs asmenys – nebinarinės lyties ar lytiniai keistuoliai), kartas nuo karto praneša apie norą, svajonę ir / ar troškimą suprasti ar sušvelninti jų patiriamą lytinį neatitikimą stebėtinai kūrybišku būdu – stebuklinga tam tikro pobūdžio transformacija. Remiantis neseniai surinktais interviu, šiame tyrime nagrinėjami tie naratyvai ir jų elementų naudojimas, atkreipiant dėmesį į jų priklausomybę nuo binarinių lyties struktūrų. Pasitelkiant filosofinius ir kultūrinius-antropologinius tyrimus, teigiama, kad šios sritys teikia paveikių ir kūrybiškų asmeninių išlygų, galimybių ir suvokimų individų, save identifikuojančių kaip translyčius, atžvilgiu: stebuklingos transformacijos ir pagrįsti perkėlimai, siekiant sušvelninti disforiją, asmens atsakomybės kapituliavimą universalių dvasinių jėgų akivaizdoje ir ypač prigimtinę išmintį, suteiktą pereinamojo liminalumo, o to neteikia nei moksliniai, nei akademiniai lyties keitimo vertinimai. Nors šios kūrybinės išlygos yra pramanytos, neįtikimos ir laikinos, vis dėlto jos artikuliuoja supratimo, išraiškos ir galiausiai jei ne imperatyvo, tai bent veiksmo pereinančiojo asmens atžvilgiu poreikį.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: kūrybinis požiūris, lyties neatitikimas, stebuklinga transformacija, perėjimo ritualas, translyčiai asmenys, transseksualūs asmenys, „netinkamo kūno“ diskursas.
Keyword : creative attitude, gender incongruence, magical transformation, rite of passage, transgender individuals, transsexual individuals, “wrong-body” discourse
How to Cite
Kłonkowska, A. M., & Bonvissuto, S. (2019). Personal and collective trans-mythologies: creative attitudes to gender incongruence among transgender individuals. Creativity Studies, 12(1), 61-74. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2019.5823
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Kłonkowska, A. M. (2014). Dual-unity or dichotomy? Androgyny and social construction of gender bipartition. Creativity Studies, 7(2), 118-134. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2014.944595
Kłonkowska, A. M. (2017). Płeć: dana czy zadana? Strategie negocjacji (nie)tożsamości transpłciowej w Polsce. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
Leyen, von der F. (1973). Mit i baśń. Pamiętnik Literacki: czasopismo kwartalne poświęcone historii i krytyce literatury polskiej, 64(1), 293-309.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1966). The savage mind. Series: The Nature of Human Society Series. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1963). Totemism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Lüthi, M. (1973). Style gatunkowe. Pamiętnik Literacki: czasopismo kwartalne poświęcone historii i krytyce literatury polskiej, 64(1), 283-292.
Malinowski, B. (1990). Mit, magia, religia. Series: Dzieła. Vol. 7. Warszawa: PWN.
May, R. (1997). Błaganie o mit. Poznań: Zysk i S-ka Wydawnictwo.
Meyerowitz, J. (2004). How sex changed: A history of transsexuality in the United States. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Mieletinski, E. (1981). Poetyka Mitu. Warszawa: PIW.
Mock, J. (2014). Redefining realness: My path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more. New York, NY: Atria Paperback.
Plato. (1999). Phaedo. Series: Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Propp, W. (2000). Nie tylko bajka. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Read, J. (1997). Prelude to chemistry: An outline of alchemy, its literature and relationships. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.
Salih, S. (2002). Judith Butler. Series: Routledge Critical Thinkers. R. Eagleston (Series Ed.). London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203118641
Spade, D. (2000). Mutilating gender. Retrieved from http://www.makezine.org/mutilate.html
Stone, S. (1991). The “empire” strikes back: A posttranssexual manifesto. In J. Epstein & K. Straub (Eds.), Body guards: the cultural politics of gender ambiguity (pp. 280-304). New York: Routledge.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2001). Tree and leaf. London: Harper Collins Publishers.
Turner, V. (1969). Liminality and Communitas. In V. Turner, The ritual process: Structure and antistructure (pp. 358-374). New Brunswick and London: Aldine Transaction.
Vincent, B. W. (2016). Non-binary gender identity negotiations: Interactions with queer communities and medical practice (Doctoral Thesis). Leads: The University of Leeds (unpublished source). Retrieved from http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/15956/1/Vincent_BW_Sociology_PhD_2016.pdf
warburg.sas.ac.uk. (2018). Artis Avriferae, Qvam Chemiam Vocant. Vol. 2: Qvod continet Morieni Romani scripta de re metallica atque de occulta summaque antiquorum medicina. Retrieved from https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/pdf/fgh100b3193420B.pdf
Woolf, V. (1973). Orlando: A biography. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Bettelheim, B. (2010). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. New York: Vintage Books.
Bolin, A. (1988). In search of Eve: transsexual rites of passage. New York, NY: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc.
Bornstein, K., & Bergman, S. B. (2010). Gender outlaws: The next generation. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. Series: Thinking Gender. Nicholson, L. J. (Ed.). New York, London: Routledge.
Cassirer, E. (1977). Esej o człowieku: Wstęp do filozofii kultury. Series: Nowy Sympozjon. Warszawa: Czytelnik.
Cassirer, E. (1955). The philosophy of symbolic forms. Vol. 2: Mythical Thought. Yale: Yale University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
digital.slub-dresden.de. (2018). Theatrum chemicum, praecipuos selectorum auctorum tractatus de chemiae et lapidis philosophici antiquitate, veritate, iure, praestantia, & operationibus continens. Bd. 1. Retrieved from http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/23652/1/0/
Eliade, M. (1968). Myth and reality. New York: Harper & Row.
Eliade, M. (1978). The Forge and the Crucible: The origins and structures of alchemy. Chicago and London: Phoenix Edition.
Feinberg, L. (2010). Stone butch blues: A novel. New York: Alyson Books.
Flamel, N. (1995). Hieroglyphical Figures: concerning both the theory and practice of the philosophers stone (1624). Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.
Forrest Miller, J. (2017). I wanna know where the rule book is: YouTube as a Site of Counternarratives to Transnormativity (Master Thesis). Atlanta: Georgia State University (unpublished source). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1063&context=wsi_theses
Foucault, M. (1990). The history of sexuality. Vol. 1: An Introduction. New York: Vintage Books.
Fromm, E. (1977). Zapomniany język. Wstęp do rozumienia snów, baśni i mitów. Warszawa: PIW.
Gennep, van A. (1960). The rites of passage. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Graves, R. (1955). The Greek myths. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Pelican Books.
Habermas, J. (1999). Teoria działania komunikacyjnego. Vol. 1. Series: Biblioteka Współczesnych Filozofów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Hines, S. (2007). TransForming gender: Transgender practices of identity, intimacy and care. Bristol: The Policy Press (University of Bristol). https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qgpqw
Jacobi, J. (1993). Psychologia C. G. Junga. Przedmowa Carl Gustav Jung: Wprowadzenie do całości dzieła. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Wodnika.
Jeffreys, Sh. (2014). Gender hurts: A feminist analysis of the politics of transgenderism. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315778266
Jung, C. G. (1996). C. G. Jung Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 9/1: Die Archetypen und das kollektive Unbewußte – Aus Gesammelte Werke 1–20 neunter Band, erster Halbband. Zürich, Düsseldorf: Walter-Verlag.
Jung, C. G. (2011). C. G. Jung Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 6: Psychologische Typen. M. Niehus-Jung, L. Hurwitz-Eisner, F. Riklin, L. Zander (Hrsg.). Ostfildern: Patmos Verlag der Schwabenverlag AG.
Jung, C. G. (1987). C. G. Jung Gesammelte Werke. Suppl. Bd.: Seminare: Kinderträume. Jung, L.; Meyer-Grass, M. (Hrsg.). Olten und Freiburg: Walter.
Jung, C. G. (1944). Psychologie und alchemie. Zürich: Rascher Verlag.
Kłonkowska, A. M. (2010). Alchemical theory and practice as overcoming the split between the domain of culture and life itself. Miscellanea Anthropologica et Sociologica, 10/11, 171-183.
Kłonkowska, A. M. (2014). Dual-unity or dichotomy? Androgyny and social construction of gender bipartition. Creativity Studies, 7(2), 118-134. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2014.944595
Kłonkowska, A. M. (2017). Płeć: dana czy zadana? Strategie negocjacji (nie)tożsamości transpłciowej w Polsce. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
Leyen, von der F. (1973). Mit i baśń. Pamiętnik Literacki: czasopismo kwartalne poświęcone historii i krytyce literatury polskiej, 64(1), 293-309.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1966). The savage mind. Series: The Nature of Human Society Series. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1963). Totemism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Lüthi, M. (1973). Style gatunkowe. Pamiętnik Literacki: czasopismo kwartalne poświęcone historii i krytyce literatury polskiej, 64(1), 283-292.
Malinowski, B. (1990). Mit, magia, religia. Series: Dzieła. Vol. 7. Warszawa: PWN.
May, R. (1997). Błaganie o mit. Poznań: Zysk i S-ka Wydawnictwo.
Meyerowitz, J. (2004). How sex changed: A history of transsexuality in the United States. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Mieletinski, E. (1981). Poetyka Mitu. Warszawa: PIW.
Mock, J. (2014). Redefining realness: My path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more. New York, NY: Atria Paperback.
Plato. (1999). Phaedo. Series: Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Propp, W. (2000). Nie tylko bajka. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Read, J. (1997). Prelude to chemistry: An outline of alchemy, its literature and relationships. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.
Salih, S. (2002). Judith Butler. Series: Routledge Critical Thinkers. R. Eagleston (Series Ed.). London and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203118641
Spade, D. (2000). Mutilating gender. Retrieved from http://www.makezine.org/mutilate.html
Stone, S. (1991). The “empire” strikes back: A posttranssexual manifesto. In J. Epstein & K. Straub (Eds.), Body guards: the cultural politics of gender ambiguity (pp. 280-304). New York: Routledge.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2001). Tree and leaf. London: Harper Collins Publishers.
Turner, V. (1969). Liminality and Communitas. In V. Turner, The ritual process: Structure and antistructure (pp. 358-374). New Brunswick and London: Aldine Transaction.
Vincent, B. W. (2016). Non-binary gender identity negotiations: Interactions with queer communities and medical practice (Doctoral Thesis). Leads: The University of Leeds (unpublished source). Retrieved from http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/15956/1/Vincent_BW_Sociology_PhD_2016.pdf
warburg.sas.ac.uk. (2018). Artis Avriferae, Qvam Chemiam Vocant. Vol. 2: Qvod continet Morieni Romani scripta de re metallica atque de occulta summaque antiquorum medicina. Retrieved from https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/pdf/fgh100b3193420B.pdf
Woolf, V. (1973). Orlando: A biography. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.