Unexpected Autobiography. Gender and Genre in Norma Mejía’s Works

Abstract

In the context of the trans autobiographies published in Spain at the beginning of the 21st century, Norma Mejía’s works stand out among those which focus on transsexualism experiences during the 1970s, the 80s and the 90s (Mérida Jiménez, 2018). Her essay Transgenerismos (2006), which comes from her PhD thesis, has a large amount of narrative matter which could also be read as an autobiography due to its textual traits. We can also find this kind of material in her novel Lorena mi amor (2004), in which autobiographical elements are converted into explicit fiction. This essay aims to provide a reading in dialogue with both texts in order to analyze the mechanisms she uses in her transition through different genres employing the same autobiographical material. Such strategy suggests how her need to express her identity, her gender is the trigger for her transition among different genres, making the reader unable to understand her works without comprehending her living conditions and her personal story.