Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, may have been transgender, a New York Times (NYT) article suggests, drawing criticism from a political strategist who described it as “historical vandalism.”
The article is titled “Did the Mother of Young Adult Literature Identify as a Man?” The NYT article suggests that the famous author may have been transgender or nonbinary.
Peyton Thomas, the author of the story, identifies as transgender and writes that Alcott may have been transgender.
According to the head of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the famed author probably did not identify as a woman when she wrote the semi-autobiographical book in 1868. Dr. Gregory Eiselein, who was quoted by the media outlet, is “certain” that the author of the well-known work identified as non-binary and never fit into “a binary sex-gender model.”
Political writer, strategist, and politician Natasha Chart contended in a statement to Breitbart News that it is “historical vandalism to say that past women of achievement, who chafed at being told they couldn't do anything besides take on a caregiver role in society, are being rewritten as men.”
Chart also added, “Sexist gender activists not only want to falsify their own vital public records, but everyone's public records.”
She also pointed out: “This is the logical endpoint of saying that a man who likes traditionally feminine things is a woman,” arguing that “if that's the definition of being a woman then women who don't feel drawn to those things are at risk of being written out of our own sex category.”
Thomas cites journal entries by Alcott, which include “I long to be a man” and “I was born with a boy’s nature,” “a boy’s spirit,” and “a boy’s wrath.” Thomas also cites the following quote: “I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man’s soul, put by some freak of nature into a woman’s body.”
Others believe Alcott could have been a lesbian, with the author stating, “I have fallen in love in my life with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.”
An article in the Daily Mail asserted: “Many have rightly agreed that a woman in that era wanting to be a ‘man' is more likely them desiring to be taken more seriously in terms of rank, opportunity, and education—rather than a want to change gender.” For instance, the novel focuses on one character who aims to earn her own money and concentrate on her work instead of getting married.
