Uranian: Difference between revisions
Added section on classification, and made some general fixes to article. (It feels like it's almost in a good state now, at least to me!)
imported>Armorica Online m (Added note to editors (This wiki is not the place for the Uranian poets!) and minor introduction fixes) |
imported>Armorica Online (Added section on classification, and made some general fixes to article. (It feels like it's almost in a good state now, at least to me!)) |
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{{disclaimer|This article contains terminology from the 19th and 20th centuries which some may consider outdated, insensitive, and/or offensive depending on their context or usage.}}{{notice|text='''Note to editors:''' Uranian is often used as an umbrella term, and can relate to many different groups of people during different eras. In order to keep the wiki accurate to the lived experiences of nonbinary people, attention should be paid to keeping this article within the | {{disclaimer|This article contains terminology from the 19th and 20th centuries which some may consider outdated, insensitive, and/or offensive depending on their context or usage.}}{{notice|text='''Note to editors:''' Uranian is often used as an umbrella term, and can relate to many different groups of people during different eras. In order to keep the wiki accurate to the lived experiences of nonbinary people, attention should be paid to keeping this article (and those mentioned in it) within the scope of gender identity, rather than sexuality.}}{{Personal story | ||
| quote = I am a complete Weibling. I prefer to do female handicrafts, and if it was possible, I would also dress feminine... To the world however, I have to show myself in the customs of men. | | quote = I am a complete Weibling. I prefer to do female handicrafts, and if it was possible, I would also dress feminine... To the world however, I have to show myself in the customs of men. | ||
| name = Unknown | | name = Unknown | ||
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|ref=<ref>Original untranslated quote: ''"Ich bin vollkommen Weibling. Am liebsten beschäfftige ich mich mit weiblichen Handarbeiten. Ginge es nur an, so würde ich mich weiblich auch kleiden... Der Welt gegenüber muss ich mich ja in den Gebräuchen der Männer zeigen."'' from {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tZ9kAAAAcAAJ|title=Prometheus|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|publisher=Serbe'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung|year=1870|volume=10|location=Leipzig|pages=14|language=de}}</ref>}} | |ref=<ref>Original untranslated quote: ''"Ich bin vollkommen Weibling. Am liebsten beschäfftige ich mich mit weiblichen Handarbeiten. Ginge es nur an, so würde ich mich weiblich auch kleiden... Der Welt gegenüber muss ich mich ja in den Gebräuchen der Männer zeigen."'' from {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tZ9kAAAAcAAJ|title=Prometheus|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|publisher=Serbe'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung|year=1870|volume=10|location=Leipzig|pages=14|language=de}}</ref>}} | ||
'''Uranian''', or '''Urning''', | '''Uranian''', or '''Urning''', is a term used during the 19th and early-20th Centuries referring to gender and sexual identities, originally with ''Mannling'' Uranians generally describing effeminate homosexual men, and ''Weibling'' Uranians describing people who were not [[Sexes|assigned female at birth]] but whose gender identity and expression is female.<ref name="Ulrichs1">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_bAkQAAAAYAAJ|title=Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|date=|publisher=C. Hübscher'sche Buchhandlung (Hugo Heyn)|others=|year=1868|location=Leipzig|pages=10}}</ref> | ||
Although | Although the distinction between ''Mannling'' and ''Weibling'' Uranians originally existed, by the early-20th century the original sub-classifications of the term were rarely used, and Uranian on its own had broadened into an umbrella term for homosexual men, third gender people,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-3d4PKb3_NkC&newbks=0&redir_esc=y|title=Studies in the Psychology of Sex: Sexual Inversion|last=Ellis|first=Havelock|publisher=F. A. Davis Company|year=1901|location=Philadelphia|pages=227-231|language=en}}</ref> nonbinary people, among others. | ||
In Karl Heinrich Ulrichs' work where he first uses the term Urning (a German word from which the English "Uranian" is said to have derived), the separate term [[Urningin]] | In Karl Heinrich Ulrichs' work where he first uses the term ''Urning'' (a German word from which the English "Uranian" is said to have derived), the separate term [[Urningin]] is proposed for homosexual, assigned female at birth people who identify and express themselves in a generally-masculine way.<ref name="Ulrichs2">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_bAkQAAAAYAAJ|title=Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|date=|publisher=C. Hübscher'sche Buchhandlung (Hugo Heyn)|others=|year=1868|location=Leipzig|pages=6}}</ref> Urningin was rarely used however, and its meaning was (by the early-20th century) generally considered to fall within the range of meanings of Uranian on its own. | ||
By the 1920s or 1930s, the term Uranian had fallen out of common usage, most likely due to | By the 1920s or 1930s, the term Uranian had fallen out of common usage, most likely due to a lack of definition, general impreciseness, and the rise of other terms. | ||
In the modern day, the term Uranian has seen a slight revival in use by some members of the LGBT community in reference to the term's use in explaining sexual identity. It does not seem as though there have been any uses of the term in the sense of gender identity however, not at least since its original decline almost a century ago. | |||
==Terminology== | ==Terminology== | ||
Uranian is believed to be an English adaptation of the German word ''Urning'', which was first published by activist [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] (1825–95) in a series of five booklets (1864–65) that were collected under the title ''Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe'' ("Research into the Riddle of Man-Male Love" | Uranian is believed to be an English adaptation of the German word ''Urning'', which was first published by activist [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] (1825–95) in a series of five booklets (1864–65) that were collected under the title ''Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe'' ("Research into the Riddle of Man-Male Love"). | ||
The word | The word ''Urning'' was derived by Ulrichs from the Greek goddess Aphrodite Urania, who was created out of the god Uranus' testicles; it stood for homosexuality, while Aphrodite Dionea (''Dioning'') represented heterosexuality.<ref>[http://www.mmkaylor.com Michael Matthew Kaylor, ''Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde'' (Brno, CZ: Masaryk University Press, 2006)]</ref> | ||
Ulrichs divided the term Uranian into two sub-classifications, the originally-written definitions of which are below: | Although Uranian is generally treated as an English translation of the German ''Urning'', the term "Urning" (sometimes written uncapitalized as "urning"), taken directly from the original term in German, is occasionally used in English. | ||
Ulrichs divided the term Uranian into two main sub-classifications pertaining to gender, the originally-written definitions of which are below: | |||
{{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=| | {{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=| | ||
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b) '''Weibling:''' [Womanling] all of the above-mentioned aspects are female; and (one is) masculine therefore only the in the sex of the body. | b) '''Weibling:''' [Womanling] all of the above-mentioned aspects are female; and (one is) masculine therefore only the in the sex of the body. | ||
}} | }} | ||
Later in his work, Ulrichs provides supposed specific homosexual preferences to which (according to him) all ''Mannling'' and ''Weibling'' Uranians are said to adhere. It must be remembered however, that at the time of Ulrichs' coining of the term "''Urning''", the word "homosexual" did not yet exist, with it first appearing in 1869 within a pamphlet published anonymously by Karl-Maria Kertbeny (1824–82). Because Ulrichs' work predated the term he resorted to using terms at his disposal, which in his case, were terms he himself created, leading to generalizations such as these. Aside from ''Mannling'' and ''Weibling'' though, both of which could be used in the sense of gender identity, Ulrichs also defined several more sub-classifications of Uranians purely related to sexuality.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_bAkQAAAAYAAJ|title=Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|date=|publisher=C. Hübscher'sche Buchhandlung (Hugo Heyn)|others=|year=1868|location=Leipzig|pages=18}}</ref> | |||
Some authors such as Havelock Ellis took issue with Ulrichs' terminology, only accepting Uranian as a term to describe third sex people and specific groups of homosexual men.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
</ | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
=== | ===Society=== | ||
Although significant work and literature regarding Uranians was done in Germany, laws criminalizing homosexuality (specifically under Paragraph 175 of the German legal code) caused the punishment of significant numbers of people identifying as Uranian throughout the entire time period during which the term was used. German legal author Ludwig Frey protested against these regulations, writing in his 1898 book ''Die Männer des Rätsels und der Paragraph 175 des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches'' ("The Men of Riddles and Paragraph 175 of the German Imperial Criminal Code") that the state should stop punishing Uranians on account of their gender and sexuality:<ref name="Frey">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/DieMaennerDesRaetselsUndDerParagraph175DesDeutschen|title=Die Männer des Rätsels und der Paragraph 175 des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches|last=Frey|pages=216|first=Ludwig|publisher=Verlag von Max Spohr|year=1898|location=Leipzig}}</ref> | According to Ellis' interpretation of Ulrichs' works, social conditions leading to the concentration of men (schools, prisons, ships, etc.) lead to the emergence of Uranian "passions". These passions, are (at least more so) accepted by society solely because there is the expectation (through flawed logic) that upon the sight of women, these feelings will disappear. Because of the natural origin by which Uranian feelings exist, those feelings simply being downplayed and combated against in general society, Ulrichs states that societal acceptance of Uranians would do much more societal good than harm.<ref name=":3" /> | ||
Although significant work and literature regarding Uranians was done in Germany, laws criminalizing homosexuality (specifically under Paragraph 175 of the German legal code) caused the punishment of significant numbers of people identifying as Uranian throughout the entire time period during which the term was used. German legal author Prof. Ludwig Frey protested against these regulations, writing in his 1898 book ''Die Männer des Rätsels und der Paragraph 175 des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches'' ("The Men of Riddles and Paragraph 175 of the German Imperial Criminal Code") that the state should stop punishing Uranians on account of their gender and sexuality:<ref name="Frey">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/DieMaennerDesRaetselsUndDerParagraph175DesDeutschen|title=Die Männer des Rätsels und der Paragraph 175 des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches|last=Frey|pages=216|first=Ludwig|publisher=Verlag von Max Spohr|year=1898|location=Leipzig}}</ref> | |||
{{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=|Das Los des Urnings wird dann immer noch kein beneidenswertes sein. Derselbe wird sich nie seines Daseins wie der Normalgeschlechtliche freuen können... | {{Verse translation|lang=de|italicsoff=|Das Los des Urnings wird dann immer noch kein beneidenswertes sein. Derselbe wird sich nie seines Daseins wie der Normalgeschlechtliche freuen können... | ||
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|The (life of the) lot of the Urnings will still not be an enviable one, as they will never be able enjoy existence as one of the normal sex does... | |The (life of the) lot of the Urnings will still not be an enviable one, as they will never be able enjoy existence as one of the normal sex does... | ||
But one thing, under all circumstances, can be humanely done for them: one can free them from the inexpressibly tormenting fear that has pursued their lives to today; one can remove them from the danger from which the blackmail system, legitimized by law, threatens them. | But one thing, under all circumstances, can be humanely done for them: one can free them from the inexpressibly tormenting fear that has pursued their lives to today; one can remove them from the danger from which the blackmail system, legitimized by law, threatens them... | ||
This can be made possible by declaring Urning love to be free from punishment, punished no more and no less than any case of general love.}} | This can be made possible by declaring Urning love to be free from punishment, punished no more and no less than any case of general love.}} | ||
Lesbian activist [[Anna Rueling]] used the term in a 1904 speech, "What Interest Does the Women's Movement Have in Solving the Homosexual Problem?"<ref name="Meem">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAny0qfa6qsC&pg=PA79|title=Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies|first1=Deborah T.|last1=Meem|first2=Michelle|last2=Gibson|first3=Michelle A.|last3=Gibson|first4=Jonathan|last4=Alexander|date=28 May 2018|publisher=SAGE|via=Google Books|isbn=9781412938655}}</ref> | |||
=== Classification === | |||
Due to most people rejecting the legitimacy of Uranians' gender identity, very little scholarly work was conducted after Ulrichs' original work on the subject. In Prof. Frey's work regarding the legal challenges Uranians face, he created his own system of gender classification in order to explain their position between binary men and women. His classification puts human gender identity upon a spectrum, with Uranians encompassing an area between muliebrity (female attributes and identity) and virility (male attributes and identity).<ref name="Frey" /> Within the Uranian section of the spectrum, Ulrichs' sub-classifications could then be placed, solely on gender identity rather than sexuality. Prof. Frey's work, although extremely progressive for 1898, seems to interpret "Uranian" very broadly, almost in a sense similar to how nonbinary is used today.<gallery widths="260" heights="170"> | |||
File:Ludwig Frey charts - original.png|Three charts featured at the end of an 1898 book written by Prof. Ludwig Frey. The middle chart, Schema II., depicts the "Position of the Uranians within the sequence of sexes" (''Stellung des Urningtums in der Geschlechtsreihe'') | |||
File:Ludwig Frey charts - translated.png|Translated and digitally-restored versions of Frey's charts, which (as the German did) use the terms "muliebrity" to refer to female attributes and identity, while "virility" refers to male ones. | |||
</gallery> | |||
===Individuals=== | ===Individuals=== | ||
==== | ====Adolf==== | ||
[[File:Uranian drawing.PNG|thumb|311x311px|A drawing made by Adolf, a schizophrenia patient who identified himself as Uranian, when explaining his gender identity to the psychoanalyst Dudley Ward Fay in 1922.]] | [[File:Uranian drawing.PNG|thumb|311x311px|A drawing made by Adolf, a schizophrenia patient who identified himself as Uranian, when explaining his gender identity to the psychoanalyst Dudley Ward Fay in 1922.]] | ||
In 1922, Dudley Ward Fay, a psychoanalyst, visited a hospital for mental illnesses where he came into contact with a person, diagnosed with schizophrenia, who identified himself as a Uranian. (Fay uses he/him pronouns in his work to refer to the individual.) As part of an agreement reached concerning publication, Fay refers to the individual as Adolf, withholding his true identity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=67BIAAAAYAAJ|title=The Psychoanalytic Review|date=1922|publisher=National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis|year=1922|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=267|language=en|volume=9}}</ref> There was no correlation between Adolf's schizophrenia diagnosis and his gender identity, with both relating to Adolf simply being a coincidence. Both before experiencing any symptoms of schizophrenia, and being released from the hospital, Adolf is reported to have made remarks and conducted himself in ways not traditionally seen as completely masculine. | In 1922, Dudley Ward Fay, a psychoanalyst, visited a hospital for mental illnesses where he came into contact with a person, diagnosed with schizophrenia, who identified himself as a Uranian. (Fay uses he/him pronouns in his work to refer to the individual.) As part of an agreement reached concerning publication, Fay refers to the individual as Adolf, withholding his true identity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=67BIAAAAYAAJ|title=The Psychoanalytic Review|date=1922|publisher=National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis|year=1922|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=267|language=en|volume=9}}</ref> There was no correlation between Adolf's schizophrenia diagnosis and his gender identity, with both relating to Adolf simply being a coincidence. Both before experiencing any symptoms of schizophrenia, and being released from the hospital, Adolf is reported to have made remarks and conducted himself in ways not traditionally seen as completely masculine. | ||