Dr. Castiaux: Legal Medicine, Pederasty and Effeminacy at the Fin de Siècle

Abstract

The investigation into Frère Flamidien is a revealing insight into prevailing theories of the relationship between male sexual perversion and crime. Through the forensic specialist, Dr. Castiaux, the investigators sought to prove that Frère Flamidien was, in the terminology of the day, a pederast. To do so, they drew on established theories of the bodily marks of sexual perversion. The investigation then went further, drawing on the established links between the vow of chastity and other pathologies, notably spermatorrhea and satyriasis. Faced with Flamidien’s claim of innocence, the magistrate hoped that his body might reveal the truth of his crime.