n sixteenth-century Spain, Elena/o de Céspedes exerted so much heat during childbirth that she grew a penis and became a man. Two hundred years later, a decorated French war hero who previously had been the official ambassador to the Russian court, turned into a woman when (s)he lived in London. These remarkable stories, which were long hidden in the archives, show the longevity of gender-discussions.

In this episode of Radio Vinternational, historian Mónica Morado Vázquez elaborates on the historical and societal dimensions of sex, gender, and identity. She elaborates on how the scientific development of medicine influenced the binary division between male and female, and why some societies were much more accepting of gender-ambiguous people than others.

Recommendation of the week 


Mónica’s passion for gender studies started by reading work from Anne Fausto-Sterling - and it really kick-started her academic endeavours in the field. However, her ‘official’ recommendation of the week is the movie ‘Una Mujer Fantastica, directed by Sebastián Lelio’. It is a Chilean movie that won the 2018 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The success was used as a point of discussion for Chilean LBGTQ activists in passing a gender identity bill! As a last tip, she also mentions the (very accessible) Netflix-show ‘The principles of Pleasure.

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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!