Trans-Forming Bodies: Trangender and Transhumanism in Jeanette Winterson's Frankissstein

Abstract

In Jeanette Winteron’s novel Frankissstein (2019), she discusses technological advances and the ethical boundaries in those, but she also uses technology to give gender a new dimension. Thus, she presents a transgender character, Ry, who is non-binary; Ry was born female, has a male appearance, got a mastectomy, and kept the female genitals, but most importantly, is comfortable with the doubleness in his body. Furthermore, in the novel Winterson links the trans* body with transhumanism. Despite presenting only one of the multiple realities of the transgender being —given that every experience is unique and, thus, it would be impossible to do so—, and referring mostly to the physical aspects of the transgender reality, Jeanette Winterson presents a character that represents the trans* part of the LGBTQ+ community, which had only been briefly mentioned in her previous novels. Through Winterson’s narrative in Frankissstein, this article will aim at analysing her view of the trans* reality in a contemporary setting through the lens of transgender academic studies in order to put Winterson’s thought in context.