Herculine Barbin
Encyclopedia
Herculine Barbin was a French
intersex
person who was treated as a female at birth but was later redesignated a male after an affair and physical examination.
in France in 1838. She was regarded as a girl and raised as such; her family referred to her as Alexina. Her family was poor but she gained a charity scholarship to study in the school of an Ursuline
convent.
According to her account, she had a crush on an aristocratic female friend in school. She regarded herself as unattractive but sometimes slipped into her friend's room at night and was sometimes punished for that. However, her studies were successful and in 1856, at the age of seventeen she was sent to Le Chateau to study to become a teacher. There she fell in love with one of the teachers.
Although Barbin was in puberty, she had not begun to menstruate
and remained flat chested. She would trim the hairs on her her upper lip and cheeks which only made the hair thicker and more noticeable.
In 1857 Barbin received a post of an assistant teacher in a girl's school. She fell in love with another teacher, Sara, and Barbin demanded that only she should dress her. Her ministrations turned into caresses and they became lovers. Eventually rumors about their affair began to circulate.
Barbin, although sick her whole life, began to suffer excruciating pains. When a doctor examined her, he was shocked and asked that she should be sent away from the school, but she stayed.
Eventually, the devoutly Catholic Barbin confessed to Jean-François-Anne Landriot
, the Bishop of La Rochelle. He asked her permission to break the confessional silence in order to send for a doctor to examine her. When Dr. Chesnet did so in 1860, he discovered that even if Barbin had a small vagina
, she was bodily masculine and had a very small penis and testicles inside her body. In modern terms, she had "male pseudohermaphroditism".
A later legal decision declared official that Barbin was male. He left his lover and his job, changed his name to Abel Barbin and was briefly mentioned in the press. He moved to Paris where he lived in poverty and wrote his memoirs, reputedly as a part of therapy.
In February 1868, the concierge
of Barbin's house in rue de l'École-de-Médecine found him dead in his home. He had committed suicide by inhaling gas from his coal gas stove
. His memoirs were found beside his bed.
, who published excerpts as "Histoire et souvenirs d'Alexina B." ("The Story and Memoirs of Alexina B.") in his book Question médico-légale de l'identité dans ses rapport avec les vices de conformation des organes sexuels, contenant les souvenirs et impressions d'un individu dont le sexe avait été méconnu ("Forensics of Identity Involving Deformities of the Sexual Organs, Along With the Memoirs and Impressions of an Individual Whose Sex Was Misidentified") (Paris: J.-B. Ballière et Fils, 1872). The excerpts were translated to English in 1980.
Michel Foucault
discovered the memoirs in the French Department of Public Hygiene. He had the journals republished with his commentary in Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite
. It inspired the French film The Mystery of Alexina
. Judith Butler
refers to the Foucault's work and the journals in Gender Trouble
, and Jeffrey Eugenides
in his book Middlesex
treats concurrent themes, as does Virginia Woolf
in her book, Orlando: A Biography
.
Barbin appears as a character in the play A Mouthful of Birds
by Caryl Churchill
and David Lan
. Barbin also appears as a character in the play Hidden: A Gender by Kate Bornstein
. Herculine, a full length play based on the memoirs of Barbin, is by Garrett Heater.
Herculine Barbin. Hermafroditismo y condena.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
person who was treated as a female at birth but was later redesignated a male after an affair and physical examination.
Biography
Most of what we know about Barbin comes from her later memoirs. Herculine Adélaîde Barbin was born in Saint-Jean-d'AngélySaint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély.-Royal abbey:...
in France in 1838. She was regarded as a girl and raised as such; her family referred to her as Alexina. Her family was poor but she gained a charity scholarship to study in the school of an Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
convent.
According to her account, she had a crush on an aristocratic female friend in school. She regarded herself as unattractive but sometimes slipped into her friend's room at night and was sometimes punished for that. However, her studies were successful and in 1856, at the age of seventeen she was sent to Le Chateau to study to become a teacher. There she fell in love with one of the teachers.
Although Barbin was in puberty, she had not begun to menstruate
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
and remained flat chested. She would trim the hairs on her her upper lip and cheeks which only made the hair thicker and more noticeable.
In 1857 Barbin received a post of an assistant teacher in a girl's school. She fell in love with another teacher, Sara, and Barbin demanded that only she should dress her. Her ministrations turned into caresses and they became lovers. Eventually rumors about their affair began to circulate.
Barbin, although sick her whole life, began to suffer excruciating pains. When a doctor examined her, he was shocked and asked that she should be sent away from the school, but she stayed.
Eventually, the devoutly Catholic Barbin confessed to Jean-François-Anne Landriot
Jean-François-Anne Landriot
Jean-François-Anne Landriot was a French bishop, Ordained in 1839 from the seminary of Autun, he became, after a few years spent at the cathedral, successively superior of the seminary, 1842; vicar-general 1850; Bishop of La Rochelle, 1856, and Archbishop of Reims, 1867.-Life:During his ten years...
, the Bishop of La Rochelle. He asked her permission to break the confessional silence in order to send for a doctor to examine her. When Dr. Chesnet did so in 1860, he discovered that even if Barbin had a small vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, she was bodily masculine and had a very small penis and testicles inside her body. In modern terms, she had "male pseudohermaphroditism".
A later legal decision declared official that Barbin was male. He left his lover and his job, changed his name to Abel Barbin and was briefly mentioned in the press. He moved to Paris where he lived in poverty and wrote his memoirs, reputedly as a part of therapy.
In February 1868, the concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
of Barbin's house in rue de l'École-de-Médecine found him dead in his home. He had committed suicide by inhaling gas from his coal gas stove
Gas stove
In cooking, a gas stove is a cooker which uses natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas as a fuel source.-History:...
. His memoirs were found beside his bed.
Memoirs and modern commentaries
Dr. Regnier reported the death, recovered the memoirs and performed an autopsy. Later he gave the memoirs to Auguste Ambroise TardieuAuguste Ambroise Tardieu
Auguste Ambroise Tardieu was a French medical doctor and the pre-eminent forensic medical scientist of the mid-19th century.Tardieu's specialties were forensic medicine and toxicology...
, who published excerpts as "Histoire et souvenirs d'Alexina B." ("The Story and Memoirs of Alexina B.") in his book Question médico-légale de l'identité dans ses rapport avec les vices de conformation des organes sexuels, contenant les souvenirs et impressions d'un individu dont le sexe avait été méconnu ("Forensics of Identity Involving Deformities of the Sexual Organs, Along With the Memoirs and Impressions of an Individual Whose Sex Was Misidentified") (Paris: J.-B. Ballière et Fils, 1872). The excerpts were translated to English in 1980.
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
discovered the memoirs in the French Department of Public Hygiene. He had the journals republished with his commentary in Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite
Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite
Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite is a 1980 English-language translation of Herculine Barbin's nineteenth-century memoirs, which were originally written in French. The book contains an introduction by Michel Foucault, which only...
. It inspired the French film The Mystery of Alexina
The Mystery of Alexina
The Mystery of Alexina is a 1985 French drama film directed by René Féret. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Philippe Vuillemin - Alexina Barbin / Camille Barbin* Valérie Stroh - Sara...
. Judith Butler
Judith Butler
Judith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler received her Ph.D...
refers to the Foucault's work and the journals in Gender Trouble
Gender Trouble
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler is a highly influential book in academic feminism and queer theory. It is also the book credited with creating the seminal notion of gender performativity. It is considered to be one of the canonical texts of queer theory and postmodern/poststructural feminism.-...
, and Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Kent Eugenides is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and short story writer. Eugenides is most known for his first two novels, The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex . His novel The Marriage Plot was published in October, 2011.-Life and career:Eugenides was born in Detroit, Michigan,...
in his book Middlesex
Middlesex (novel)
Middlesex is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Jeffrey Eugenides published in 2002. The book is a bestseller, with more than three million copies sold as of May 2011. Its characters and events are loosely based on aspects of Eugenides' life and observations of his Greek heritage. It is...
treats concurrent themes, as does Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
in her book, Orlando: A Biography
Orlando: A Biography
Orlando: A Biography is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. A semi-biographical novel based in part on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West, it is generally considered one of Woolf's most accessible novels...
.
Barbin appears as a character in the play A Mouthful of Birds
A Mouthful of Birds
A Mouthful of Birds is a 1986 play with dance by Caryl Churchill and David Lan, with choreography by Ian Spink. Drawing its themes from The Bacchae of Euripides, it is a meditation on possession, madness and female violence.-Synopsis:...
by Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist known for her use of non-naturalistic techniques and feminist themes, the abuses of power, and sexual politics. She is acknowledged as a major playwright in the English language and a leading female writer...
and David Lan
David Lan
David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker and theatre director.Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1952, he emigrated to London in 1972. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London's South Bank.-Career:...
. Barbin also appears as a character in the play Hidden: A Gender by Kate Bornstein
Kate Bornstein
Kate Bornstein is a Jewish-American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist.-Biography:Born in Neptune City, New Jersey, Bornstein studied Theater Arts with John Emigh and Jim Barnhill at Brown University . Bornstein joined the Church of Scientology but later became...
. Herculine, a full length play based on the memoirs of Barbin, is by Garrett Heater.
External links
Adelaïde-Herculine Barbin, Mes-souvenirs.Herculine Barbin. Hermafroditismo y condena.