Paper short abstract:

This presentation examines how early 20th-century Brazilian proto-science fiction engaged with the beginnings of the science of hormones and glands, exploring how discoveries influenced literary narratives of bodily transformation, gender ambiguity, and the fluid boundaries between human and animal.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation explores the intersection of proto-science fiction and the emerging field of endocrinology in early 20th-century Brazilian literature. It examines how writers and readers of the time engaged with new scientific discoveries, particularly in endocrinology, to question the boundaries between animality and humanity, as well as the ambiguities surrounding gender. As endocrinology began to theorize the role of glands and hormones in shaping physical and subjective traits, it fueled imaginative narratives about bodily transformations, hybrid beings, and the blurring of gender lines. These proto-science fiction stories often depicted characters whose identities—human or otherwise—were marked by ambiguity, challenging conventional distinctions between gender and the human-animal divide. The influence of endocrinological concepts allowed authors to explore the malleability of the body, imagining how science could reshape the boundaries between the sexes and the species. This study argues that these early works were not only a response to scientific anxieties but also speculative spaces for questioning the limits of the human, sexuality, and the body. In doing so, they anticipated contemporary discussions about gender, taxonomy, and the scope of the human itself, positioning Brazilian proto-science fiction as a unique space for confronting the shifting biological and cultural borders of the time.