“I was the Woman, he was the Man”: dementia, recognition, recognisability and gendered subjectivity

Abstract Subjectivity is a widely explored topic in dementia studies, both the humanities and social sciences. Persistent discourses of “a loss self” have been challenged by scholars, who argue for need continued recognition person with that subjectivity may be sustained. So far, however, there lack discussion about significance gender, how being recognised as subject overall closely intertwined gendered subject. This article explores gender matters to dementia. But it also position cognitive otherness impact upon disrupt performativity. The builds on narratives from an interview study intimacy sexual relationships among heterosexual couples living Alzheimer’s disease, well narrative Swedish autobiographical novel Minns du? [Do you remember?] (Beckman, 2019), which nonbinary transgender narrator Alice seeks recollect memories their partner AnnaBelle, memory-related illness. shows reiterations could significant sustaining cultural tropes persons strange(rs), children or animals them unintelligible thus unrecognisable subjects. novel, contrast, provides alternative form worldmaking intersubjective not dependent either function binary within matrix.