Transgender and Cross-Dressing Narratives in Mid-Century American Pulp Fiction and Memoir, 1950–1968

Transgender Cross-Dressing Pulp Novels

First Edition

Engstrand, Stuart and Lafayette, Richard/Rachel archive documents early literary and quasi-autobiographical treatments of cross-dressing and transgender identity in American and translated pulp publishing between 1950 and 1968, when gender variance was framed through psychological, medical, and moral discourse. Produced during a period of heightened scrutiny of sexuality and identity under mid-century social norms, these works present narratives of gender nonconformity that oscillate between sympathetic portrayal and sensational framing. The archive captures evolving terminology and conceptualization of “transsexualism” prior to its wider clinical and cultural recognition, supporting research in transgender history, LGBTQ print culture, and the intersection of literature and medical discourse.

Engstrand, Stuart. The Sling and the Arrow. New York: Signet Books / New American Library, 1950. First Signet printing, abridged from the 1947 edition. Lafayette, Richard/Rachel. The Transexual: The True Story of a Man Turned Woman!. Canoga Park, California: Viceroy Books, 1968. First edition. Two volumes, standard mass-market paperback format. The Sling and the Arrow presents a narrative centered on a married man whose engagement with cross-dressing produces psychological conflict and social alienation, offering an early fictional treatment of gender variance within domestic life. The Transexual adopts a confessional framework, presenting a first-person account of gender transition while incorporating medicalized language and explanatory framing through translation and editorial introduction. Both works employ pulp conventions of provocative titling and marketing, while addressing themes of identity, embodiment, and social constraint.

These publications emerged within a cultural and legal framework shaped by obscenity restrictions and the legacy of the Comstock Laws, as well as mid-century psychiatric classification systems that pathologized gender nonconformity. By the late 1960s, increasing visibility of transgender narratives and shifting medical discourse began to alter public understanding, coinciding with broader transformations in LGBTQ activism leading into the Stonewall Riots. Light wear consistent with age; overall good to very good condition. A focused pairing illustrating early literary and popular representations of transgender experience and cross-dressing in mid-20th century print culture.

Item #22788

Price: $880.00