Female Sexuality on Trial: A Queer and Intersectional Analysis of 19th Century Scottish Court Records

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Understandings of female sexuality in 19th century Britain remain predetermined by binary notions identifying the bourgeois 'Angel of the House' and the working-class prostitute as contrasting categories. This project utilises a new queer methodology to trouble assumptions around 'normative' and 'transgressive' sexualities, employing nuanced understandings of same-sex intimacy, sex work, and more. An analysis of Scottish court records will explore the literal legal definitions of 'normative' sexualities while providing insight into life outside the courtroom through depositions. The resulting project will represent a departure from existing literature which searches for 'queer subjects' and retains a focus on the English experience.