Marc-André Raffalovich's Uranism and Unisexuality A Study of Different Manifestations of the Sexual Instinct

by Erber, Nancy; Peniston, William A.; Healy, Philip; Roden, Frederick S.

• ISBN13: 9781137451385
• ISBN10: 1137451386
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-11-19
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Marc-André Raffalovich's Uranism and Unisexuality is a unique work of early sexology written in French by a gentleman scholar, poet, self-styled scientist of sexuality, and Catholic convert. Never before translated into English, this landmark 1896 study argues for the rights of homosexuals in society and its responsibility to them. Raffalovich draws on history, literature, philosophy, and theology to assert that not only is homosexual orientation morally neutral, it can in fact serve an ethical good.

Raffalovich, an acquaintance of Oscar Wilde who famously rescued John ('Dorian') Gray when the writer tired of him, was himself a homosexual who bravely transformed his voice to speak publicly at a time when same-sex acts were criminal. He corresponded with all the major specialists of his day and published in scientific venues. This edition provides an introduction, biographical note, and contextualizations for Raffalovich's many references.

Author Biography

Nancy Erber is Professor Emerita of Modern Language at City University of New York, USA. A specialist in fin-de-siècle literature, she edited an anthology with George Robb, Disorder in the Court: Trials and Sexual Conflict at the Turn of the Century. She also translated and edited Queer Lives: Men's Autobiographies from Nineteenth-Century France and Bougres de vies: huit homosexuels se racontent with William A. Peniston.

William A. Peniston is Librarian and Archivist at the Newark Museum, USA, and the author of Pederasts and Others: Urban Culture and Sexual Identity in Nineteenth-Century Paris.

Philip Healy is Emeritus Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford University, UK. From 2000 to 2010, he was Director of Public Programmes at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. He has edited John Gray's novella, Park: A Fantastic Story, and is currently working on an edition of the correspondence of André Raffalovich and John Gray.

Frederick S. Roden is Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, USA. He is author of Same-Sex Desire in Victorian Religious Culture and editor of Palgrave Advances: Oscar Wilde Studies, Catholic Figures, Queer Narratives, and Jewish/Christian/Queer: Crossroads and Identities.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Frederick S. Roden
Note on the Text
Biographical Note; Philip Healy
Uranism and Unisexuality