Herculine Barbin: A Different Story

Herculine Barbin by Michel Foucault tells the story of a hermaphrodite

who studied, lived, and worked in nineteenth century France. Published in
1980, Barbins story is complexnot only conveyed by memories of Barbin
herselfbut by the various reports and records of legal functionaries,
medical reporters, and curious observers. Her story is tragic and triumphant
all in the same breath, and an outstanding example of how the people in
charge came together to beat their beliefs into people whose bodies defied
the inflexible two-sex system. In this paper, I will be discussing Barbins story
as compared to two stories from Jill Ker Conways When Memory Speaks,
specifically from chapter seven, Different Stories. I want to talk about how
Barbins story should be considered a different story, using narratives from
Kate Millet and Martin Duberman as evidence to support my claim.
Born in 1838, Herculine Barbin was among one of the first people to be
diagnosed with hermaphroditism, but it was her extensive memoir that set
her aside from other stories. In leaving her memoirs, Barbin gave not only to
modern medicine and science, but nineteenth century literature as well. I
believe that Barbins story should be considered a different story because
like the narratives told in Ker Conways chapter, these accounts focus on
sexuality or gender identification that is outside of what is biological or
accepted during times when being different was only considered to be
wrong. the narrator doesnt expect growth, new perspectives on life, all
the usual accompaniments of adult life stages. Gay mens and lesbians life

stories, by contrast, contain all the usual reports of change and growth,
though what is reported as important experience tends to blur gender
categories (Conway Chapter 7). I believe that this passage from When
Memory Speaks assists the claim to Herculine Barbin being a different
story because much of Barbins story surrounds her speaking of events
being blurred by her being a hermaphrodite and generally unsure of whether
to refer to herself as a man or woman. This is just one instance of Barbins
story relating back to being a different story.
The first story I would like to compare Barbins to is that of Kate Millet,
whose book Flying, would treat the subject of lesbian relationships and their
connection to the movement for womens right with a degree of explicit
detail unimaginable for Sartons generation (Conway Chapter 7). In Millets
narrative we see feminists and gay rights people being very inspired by
Millet, similarly to how we see Michel Foucaults introduction to Herculine
Barbin being inspiring to many different doctors and scholars. While Barbins
notoriety came after her life had ended, Millets fame grew while she was still
trying to figure out what kind of an activist she wanted to be. She was
coming to terms with her own bisexual erotic and emotional life and
uncertain of whether her primary political commitments were to gay rights or
womens rights (Conway Chapter 7). This compares to Barbins story
because so much of Barbins story was spent trying to come to terms with
her gender and sexuality.

According to my civil status, I was henceforth to belong to that half of

the human race which is called the stronger sex. I, who had been
raised until the age of twenty-one in religious houses, among shy
female companions, was going to leave that whole delightful past far
behind me, like Achilles, and enter the lists, armed with my weakness
alone and my deep inexperience of men and things (Foucault 87).

This passage from Herculine Barbin comes during a time when Barbin
is told she will have to conform to being a female, which is that of her
stronger sex, which we can see is something she is deeply uncomfortable
with, similar to that of Kate Millet being forced to admit to her sexual
preferences. An interesting aspect of Barbins story, though, is that she does
not only align with that of the different stories for females, but males as well,
if not more being that Barbin ultimately identified with being a male.
Although Herculine Barbin is written under the context of Barbin being
female, we ultimately discover that she would rather be a male. However,
due to societys constant pressure on Barbin to be female, she is never truly
happy in her male skin. The amount of turmoil that this caused Barbin is
similar to that of Martin Duberman, who wrote Cures: A Gay Mans Odyssey.
Dubermans narrative is largely based around him being discriminated for
being a gay man. Its main theme is the authors struggle for a cure for his
erotic drives, which a punishing society, and in particular its medical and
psychiatric professions, defined as sickness (Conway Chapter 7). This

particular excerpt almost mirrors that of Barbins in that she is forced into a
girls home at a young age, and when she should be able to make a decision
of her gender, is forced into being female. In addition to this, the sadness
that both Duberman and Barbin carry is very evident. This leads me to
further believe in Barbins story being a different story because despite being
ridiculed and beat down, both Duberman and Barbin still tell their stories
from their own point of view, and document these moments in ways that are
meant to be meaningful, not entertaining.

This is an important aspect of

different stories because these narratives are meant to make the reader
consider things in ways that perhaps they never have, something I think that
everyone can agree to doing after reading Herculine Barbin.

After examining Herculine Barbin alongside the narratives of Kate Millet

and Martin Duberman in When Memory Speaks, I think it would be nave to
not consider Herculine Barbin to be another narrative that could fall under
the different story category. A different story is one that challenges the
reader, and one that presents questions to the society in which it takes
place. Barbins story is honest and more often than not, dismal. Not to ask
for pity, but to present the story as it should be presented. Considering these
points, Herculine Barbin is unequivocally not just any story, but a unique
narrative that should be placed under the category of different narratives.

Works Cited
Conway, Jill Ker. When Memory Speaks: Exploring the Art of Autobiography.
Kindle Edition. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 2011.

Foucault, Michel. Herculine Barbin. Kindle Edition. Knopf Doubleday

Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 2013.