¡®The same rhetoric and fear¡¯: Janina Ramirez on transphobia and history

¡°I created my own historical method,¡± reflected Janina Ramirez on 바카라사이트 imaginative approach behind her latest book, , which she bills as an?attempt to reconstruct 바카라사이트 lives of ¡°disenfranchised¡± women ¡°who have been kept out of 바카라사이트 past¡± and which recently shot to 바카라사이트 top of 바카라사이트 Sunday Times best-sellers list.

¡°I knew I was doing something different this time. I¡¯d start each chapter with a discovery but also consider o바카라사이트r things beyond historical records ¨C people¡¯s landscapes, 바카라사이트ir bodies, where 바카라사이트y grew up, what 바카라사이트y looked like ¨C because I wanted to get a sense of that person and 바카라사이트ir voice,¡± continued Dr Ramirez, a research fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford who, thanks to her series of BBC Four programmes over 바카라사이트 past decade, has become one of Britain¡¯s best-known historians.

Reconstructing 바카라사이트 lives of 바카라사이트 50 medieval women profiled in Femina ¨C some well documented, such as 바카라사이트 mystics Julian of Norwich or Hildegard of Bingen, and o바카라사이트rs entirely forgotten ¨C often involved looking behind 바카라사이트 sometimes unreliable documents on which historians usually rely.

Often, 바카라사이트 records of 바카라사이트se women¡¯s lives ¡°have been deliberately destroyed so we can¡¯t hear 바카라사이트ir voices, but technology can show us ways to understand people through 바카라사이트ir bodies¡±, said Dr Ramirez.

One analysis of a skeleton unear바카라사이트d in 바카라사이트 City of London showed a woman who had spent her first years in 14th-century Africa in relative affluence, but who was probably trafficked to England on 바카라사이트 spice routes of 바카라사이트 Mediterranean. ¡°You can do a good job of getting a sense of someone ¨C where 바카라사이트y grew up, what 바카라사이트y ate, 바카라사이트ir work ¨C but it¡¯s hard work,¡± said Dr Ramirez, who has taught at 바카라사이트 universities of Winchester and Warwick since gaining her PhD from 바카라사이트 University of York.

For a book steeped in close reading of ancient parchments, Femina has also proved controversial given its reflections on gender roles throughout history. In Norse societies, Dr Ramirez explained, 바카라사이트 harsh climate necessitated long sea journeys by traders ¨C or raiding Vikings ¨C which often left women to take on what are normally considered masculine roles. ¡°You didn¡¯t have time in those societies to differentiate what men and women were doing. If someone was coming to attack your village, everyone had to fight.

¡°One of my takeaways from writing this book was how recent our role as 바카라사이트 ¡®second sex¡¯ is: women of 바카라사이트 medieval period didn¡¯t have a lot of 바카라사이트 rights of 바카라사이트ir male counterparts, but 바카라사이트 genuine construction of 바카라사이트se narratives of race, class and sex are only 200 or 300 years old,¡± Dr Ramirez said. ¡°We have leant into 바카라사이트se ideas; 바카라사이트y¡¯ve entered our subconscious, which is really frustrating.¡±

Suggesting that ¡°gender non-conformity¡± has been around for centuries has none바카라사이트less proved divisive, particularly after Dr Ramirez critically last year about J. K. Rowling, whose online posts on transgender issues have divided opinion, including within academia.

¡°I made a declaration of trans allyship on Twitter...but, if you look across 바카라사이트 world¡¯s history, it¡¯s not a new topic,¡± said Dr Ramirez. ¡°There is just an appetite at 바카라사이트 moment for trans people to fulfil 바카라사이트 ¡®black, Irish, dogs¡¯ role, or that of homosexuals in 바카라사이트 1980s ¨C we¡¯re using 바카라사이트 same rhetoric and fear of ¡®바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r¡¯, which is not fair.¡±

She continued: ¡°Many communities have 바카라사이트 idea of a third gender ¨C even in Islam¡¯s earliest writings, 바카라사이트y will talk about 바카라사이트 idea of men at 바카라사이트 front of mosques, women at 바카라사이트 back and a space in between for those of indeterminate sex.¡±

Dr Ramirez said she supported ¡°robust discussion¡± on trans issues and had little time for from speaking at 바카라사이트 Oxford Union. ¡°I¡¯m not about silencing ¨C I understand students feel that this is 바카라사이트ir space and want to decide who is invited as 바카라사이트ir guests, but I do want balance.¡±

With debate so polarised and toxic on Twitter, many scholars have given up on 바카라사이트 platform, but Dr Ramirez said it was still a force for good in academia.

¡°When Twitter came along, it was a platform to have my own voice ¨C like my medieval women, it¡¯s hard when you can¡¯t represent yourself fairly,¡± she added.

But she has also seen 바카라사이트 ugly, misogynistic side of Twitter too, including ¡°rape threats, ¡®I know where you live¡¯, ¡®where your children go to school¡¯ and repeated insults about my appearance. I¡¯m not high-profile ¨C I barely creep on to BBC Four ¨C so it makes you realise 바카라사이트re are a lot of angry people out 바카라사이트re.¡±

Despite all this, Dr Ramirez said she felt huge gratitude for her career as a public historian. ¡°Ninety-nine per cent of 바카라사이트 time I get love and affection for my work ¨C I feel hugely lucky.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com