Gender in Transition: Discourse and Practice in German-Speaking Europe 1750-1830

The late Enlightenment saw an acute transformation of gender definitions in the German cultural areas of Europe, leading to a “polarization” of the sexes. Where early modern cultural norms had once affirmed a multitude of differences within society, modernity was founded on an ideal of equality which, although embraced as universal, in practice applied only to white male citizens. The new dichotomies of gender, socioeconomic status, and race created by this disparity between rhetoric and practice held tremendous social implications for all Germans. Law and science inscribed a new set of morals with gendered virtues and social spheres. Masculinity and femininity came to be understood as opposites based in nature. The transformed gender system fueled an epochal social reordering. Gender in Transition recounts the innumerable ways in which this drama played out in German-speaking Europe during the transitional period between 1750 and 1830. A cast of accomplished scholars examine the effect of gender in numerous realms of German life, including law, urban politics, marriage, religion, literature, natural science, fashion, and personal relationships.