Introduction

Abstract

AbstractThis introduction outlines the central argument of the book and also suggests its relevance for contemporary discussions in LGBTQI+ politics and theory. It opens with a dispute about the language to use on a plaque celebrating the life of Anne Lister in which different versions used the terms “gender nonconforming” and “lesbian” to show how nineteenth-century figures such as Lister can be embroiled in current controversies such as the increasingly tense opposition between transgender activists and gender critical feminists. Such disputes illustrate a continuing tension between models of identity that are primarily based on sexual preference and those focused on gender identity, suggesting tensions within the broad LGBTQI+ coalition that recent developments such as “LGB alliances” also document. As such, the introduction suggests that we return to the nineteenth century in a spirit of humility, not assuming that we have solved past problems but instead being open to learning from earlier theories, models, and experiences.