{"id":27403,"date":"2023-01-09T17:15:48","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/news\/opinion-was-louisa-may-alcott-a-transgender-man\/"},"modified":"2023-01-09T17:15:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:15:53","slug":"opinion-was-louisa-may-alcott-a-transgender-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/news\/opinion-was-louisa-may-alcott-a-transgender-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | Was Louisa May Alcott a Transgender Man?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Re \u201cDid the Mom of Younger Grownup Literature Determine as a Man?,\u201d by Peyton Thomas (Opinion visitor essay, nytimes.com, Dec. 24):<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Thomas argues that Louisa Might Alcott, the writer of \u201cLittle Girls,\u201d was trans as a result of she expressed dissatisfaction with being a girl, most popular the corporate of males and used \u201cLou\u201d as a nickname (quite common again then), amongst different factors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">What Nineteenth-century lady with genius and gumption wouldn\u2019t chafe at her restricted life and lengthy for the broad freedoms of manhood? The insipidity, conventionality and powerlessness of Victorian feminine life drove many a girl insane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sigmund Freud thought ladies envied males as a result of males had penises. As we speak we perceive it was the ability and privileges of manhood symbolized by the penis that ladies envied. It\u2019s unhappy that we appear to be going backward by seeing ladies eager for masculine freedoms and benefits as proof that they&#8217;re actually males!<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Katha Pollitt<br \/>New York<br \/><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">The author is a poet, essayist and critic who focuses on political and social points, together with feminism.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">You must belief Louisa Might Alcott, the real-life tomboy Jo March from \u201cLittle Girls,\u201d in how she understood herself: \u201cI&#8217;m a person\u2019s soul, put by some freak of nature into a girl\u2019s physique.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That assertion in its frank simplicity defines transgenderism. It\u2019s not about sexual orientation: Transgender individuals will be gay or heterosexual. It\u2019s a couple of spirit of self squeezed into the fallacious vessel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As a transgender acquaintance as soon as mentioned, it\u2019s like carrying footwear on the fallacious toes and discovering how a lot better it feels if you change the footwear round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kathy Groff<br \/>Allentown, Pa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Louisa Might Alcott did say she was \u201cgreater than half-persuaded\u201d that she was a \u201cman\u2019s soul.\u201d When she was then requested why, her reply was this: \u201c\u2018Nicely, for one factor,\u2019 and the blue-gray eyes sparkled with laughter, \u2018as a result of I&#8217;ve fallen in love in my life with so many fairly ladies, and by no means as soon as the least little bit with any man.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Simply earlier than this alternate, she had described how she used to assume she had the soul of a horse as a result of \u201cas a long-limbed youngster,\u201d she appreciated operating by way of fields. The quote, like different \u201cdetails\u201d cited by Peyton Thomas out of context, is unconvincing as a critical expression of gender id, relatively than one about sexuality or sexism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Not like James Barry or Albert Cashier, Louisa Might Alcott continued to reside as a girl when ladies weren&#8217;t granted fundamental human rights. This piece perpetuates the pernicious, false concept that supporting trans rights equates to believing that every one ladies naturally \u201ccare a lot for ladies\u2019 issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Deanna Daly<br \/>Somerville, Mass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Whereas I&#8217;ve no objection to contemplating that Louisa Might Alcott might have recognized as a person, as Peyton Thomas suggests, I feel there may be one other approach to interpret her writings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Alcott lived in a time when solely white males had been free. Maybe she was expressing her incapacity to reside the lifetime of a up to date lady, a life that the opposite ladies round her appeared able to embracing. Maybe, had ladies of the time been free to put on pants, journey, smoke, lower their hair, earn a residing exterior the house, not marry, play sports activities, drink whiskey, and extra, she might have been snug being a girl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As a younger woman studying the entire Alcott books within the Nineteen Sixties and \u201970s, I keep in mind figuring out with Alcott\u2019s sentiments and wishing I had been a boy. However that was not a want to develop into a person, however to have the person\u2019s freedom. Perhaps Alcott wished to be a person, or perhaps being a person was the one approach to get what she actually wished: freedom to be herself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Roxana Witter<br \/>Denver<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1bxm55 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7ecb986d\">Brazil\u2019s Riot, and Parallels to Jan. 6<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Re \u201cIn Brazil Capital, a Frenzied Mob Storms Congress\u201d (entrance web page, Jan. 9):<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If anybody wanted additional proof that the harmful, misguided claims of rigged elections by former President Donald Trump had horrific home and worldwide implications, they want look no additional than the rebellion that just lately befell at Brazil\u2019s authorities places of work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The parallels to the terrible occasions that occurred on Jan. 6 two years in the past are unmistakable. Each featured a democratically ousted president unwilling to just accept his loss and a subsequent rebellion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One of many hallmarks of america\u2019 democracy is the peaceable transition of energy between presidents. What occurred on Jan. 6 was horrible and ought to be referred to as out in no delicate phrases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The rebellion that befell at Brazil\u2019s authorities places of work proved that former President Trump\u2019s harmful technique of denying democratic elections lives on and poses a hazard to our democracy\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And if we wish to save democracy not solely in america but in addition internationally, we should reject and name out any election denying earlier than it&#8217;s too late.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kiran Bhatia<br \/>Brookline, Mass.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1bxm55 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-130cac75\">A Phrase From a Ghostwriter<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Re \u201cThe Ghosts within the Prose\u201d (Weekend Arts, Jan. 6):<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Because the co-author of 10 books \u2014 for authors starting from well-known people to unknown heroes \u2014 I feel your article about ghostwriting misses an necessary level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There\u2019s a very good motive that co-writers ought to have their names on the covers. As everybody with a byline in in the present day\u2019s paper is aware of, having your identify on one thing you\u2019ve written gives greater than ego gratification and one thing to your mother to clip out. It additionally conveys accountability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In case your identify is on it and one thing is fallacious, it\u2019s you who will get the blame \u2014 a concern that retains you sincere and cautious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When celebrities faux they\u2019ve written their tales with out assist they could be perpetrating the smallest of lies. However I wish to assume that when authors are sincere and up entrance about having co-authors, it permits the reader slightly extra religion in the remainder of the tales that they, and we, are telling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ghosts can\u2019t be seen. Writers ought to be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Philip Lerman<br \/>Madrid<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1bxm55 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-27e8d827\">Legislation College Rankings<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Re \u201cAfter Legislation Faculties Boycott, U.S. Information Will Change Its Influential Rating System\u201d (information article, Jan. 3):<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A few years in the past once I coached a university mock trial staff, a coach from one other school requested me the place I had gone to legislation college. I advised him the identify of the college (now generally known as U.C. Faculty of the Legislation, San Francisco) and he remarked that, like his personal college (U.C.L.A.), it was one of many 50 or so legislation faculties within the nation\u2019s prime 20.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His remark underscored the truth that the U.S. Information &amp; World Report legislation faculties rating system hadn\u2019t but cemented itself into the general public\u2019s consciousness because the arbiter of legislation faculties\u2019 price.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The current resolution by the \u201cprime\u201d legislation faculties to disclaim U.S. Information entry to knowledge is a constructive transfer and hopefully portends a future wherein candidates to legislation faculties depend on their very own judgment to choose a faculty to attend, relatively than depend on a phony rating system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Patrick Mattimore<br \/>Pattaya, Thailand<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1bxm55 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-149652a0\">Credit score for Resisting Temptation<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">To the Editor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cGive Me Credit score for All of the Dangerous Issues I Didn\u2019t Do,\u201d by Crispin Sartwell (Opinion visitor essay, Dec. 31), makes me want my scale would take this recommendation. Why can\u2019t I lose a pound for each dessert I forgo?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Felicia Nimue Ackerman<br \/>Windfall, R.I.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Supply: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/01\/09\/opinion\/letters\/louisa-may-alcott-transgender.html\">NY Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To the Editor: Re \u201cDid the Mom of Younger Grownup Literature Determine as a Man?,\u201d by Peyton Thomas (Opinion visitor essay, nytimes.com, Dec. 24): Mr. Thomas argues that Louisa Might Alcott, the writer of \u201cLittle Girls,\u201d was trans as a result of she expressed dissatisfaction with being a girl, most popular the corporate of males [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27403"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27404,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27403\/revisions\/27404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenmag.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}