Claude Cahun: The Third Sex

This paper is an applied analysis of a relatively little known French Surrealist photographer, Claude Cahun. It not only examines the life and work of this fascinating artist in the context of Paris between the wars, the Surrealist movement, and psychoanalysis; it also investigates the psychological motivation for the creation of an oeuvre consisting primarily of self-portraits that alternate between, and combine, male and female personae. Concepts of the mirror, mask, masquerade, double, uncanny, and performativity are addressed with the aid of traditional as well as postmodern and feminist understanding.