Ambiguous gender in early modern Spain and Portugal : inquisitors, doctors and the transgression of gender norms / / by François Soyer.

• Author: Soyer, François.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World 47.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (344 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Introduction /; Gender Stereotypes and Sexual Transgressions in Early Modern Spain and Portugal /; Inquisitors and Hermaphrodites /; “A Woman Married as a Man”: The Trial of Francisco Roca (1649–1650) /; “Father Paula”: The Trial of Father Pedro Furtado (1698–1701) /; The “She-Man” of Ervedal: The Trial of Joseph “Josepha” Martins (1725) /; Sister Maria’s Secret Penis: The Trial of Maria Duran (1741–1744) /; Conclusion /; Appendix /; Bibliography /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 128360213X; 9786613914583; 9004232788
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by François Soyer.

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions conducted a number of trials against individuals accused by members of their communities of being of the other gender – men accused of being women and women accused of being men – or even hermaphrodites. Using new inquisitorial sources, this study examines the complexities revolving around transgenderism and the construction of gender identity in the early modern Iberian World. It throws light upon the manner in which the Inquisition, medical practitioners and the wider society in Spain and Portugal responded to transgenderism and on the self-perception of individuals whose behaviour, whether consciously or unconsciously, flouted these social and sexual conventions.