Hermaphrodites and the understanding of sexual difference in the early seventeenth century

Abstract:

In this paper, I compare the ways in which three seventeenth-century physicians, Rodrigo de Castro, Caspar Bauhin and Jean Riolan, dealt in their works with the anatomical and social problems posed by the hermaphroditic body. I show that early seventeenth-century medical discourses on hermaphrodites have recourse to a diverse synthesis of theories, sources and medical cases and that they are influenced by cultural anxieties over the disruptive power of sexual ambiguity.

Keywords:

hermaphrodites; history of medicine; Rodrigo de Castro; Caspar Bauhin; Jean

Riolan