Chris Coffman – författare

Working at the intersection of psychoanalytic, queer, and transgender theories, this book argues for the need to read Lacanian psychoanalysis through a queer and trans-positive framework. In so doing, it challenges the dimensions of fantasy at play in efforts to insist on the continued validity of the binary gender system. Targeting the Lacanian concept of “sexual difference” - that desire is structured through the difference between masculine and feminine - it argues that this idea is not transhistorical, as orthodox Lacanians claim, but rather a historically contingent fantasy. As such, it argues that psychoanalytic queer theorists need to go beyond this fantasy to register truly the full range of sexualities and modes of embodiment. Examining texts as diverse as films such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and literary texts such as Paul takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, the book enables a queer and trans- inclusive model of theorizing subjectivity in psychoanalysis, psychosocial studies and cultural studies.

Working at the intersection of psychoanalytic, queer, and transgender theories, this book argues for the need to read Lacanian psychoanalysis through a queer and trans-positive framework. In so doing, it challenges the dimensions of fantasy at play in efforts to insist on the continued validity of the binary gender system. Targeting the Lacanian concept of “sexual difference” - that desire is structured through the difference between masculine and feminine - it argues that this idea is not transhistorical, as orthodox Lacanians claim, but rather a historically contingent fantasy. As such, it argues that psychoanalytic queer theorists need to go beyond this fantasy to register truly the full range of sexualities and modes of embodiment. Examining texts as diverse as films such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and literary texts such as Paul takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, the book enables a queer and trans- inclusive model of theorizing subjectivity in psychoanalysis, psychosocial studies and cultural studies.

This book argues that Gertrude Stein's gender can best be described as 'transmasculine'. By reading written and visual artefacts of Gertrude Stein's life, this book argues that her gender was 'transmasculine'. Viewing Stein through the lens of transgender theory Chris Coffman reframes earlier scholarship that falsely assumes that Stein's masculinity was a manifestation of self-hatred and misogyny and affirms her masculinity as a vital force in her life rather than a form of false consciousness. In reading Stein's experimental writing, the book pays close attention to the ways Stein's masculinity was formed through her relationship with her feminine partner, Alice B. Toklas, and through what Chris Coffman calls Stein's 'masculine homosocial bonds' with other modernists in her network. This approach broadens out Eve Kosofky Sedgwick's account of 'male homosocial bonding' to include all masculine persons, regardless of physical sex and is used to assess the implications of Stein's relationship to Toklas; other masculine women such as Jane Heap; and men such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Van Vechten.

Argues that Gertrude Stein’s gender can best be described as 'transmasculine’This thoughtful and sophisticated book views Gertrude Stein’s life and writings through the lens of transgender theory.  Reframing earlier scholarship that falsely assumes that Stein’s masculinity was a misogynist manifestation of self-hatred, Chris Coffman argues that her gender was transmasculine and affirms her masculinity as a vital force in her life and work. This book uses Stein’s writings – and others’ literary and visual texts about her – to illuminate the ways her transmasculinity was formed through her relationship with her feminine partner, Alice B. Toklas, and through her masculine homosocial bonds with modernist figures such as Jane Heap, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Van Vechten.Key Features:Reads Stein’s experimental writing through transgender theoryApproaches Gertrude Stein’s masculinity and relationship with Alice B. Toklas through transgender theoryExamines Stein’s masculine homosocial bonds with male modernists such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Carl Van VechtenOffers new readings of materials from the Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas Papers at Yale University’s Beinecke Library