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

This article explores the intersection of gender and the recognition of subjectivity in dementia. It challenges the prevalent discourse of "loss of self" in dementia and argues for the continued recognition of the person with dementia as a gendered subject. Using narratives from an interview study on intimacy and sexual relationships in couples affected by Alzheimer's disease, and the Swedish novel *Minns du?* [Do you remember?], the article demonstrates how reiterations of gender can sustain subjectivity. However, it also highlights how cultural tropes portraying individuals with dementia as strangers, children, or animals render them unrecognizable as gendered subjects. The novel offers an alternative perspective, where intersubjective recognition transcends cognitive function and binary gender.

Linn J Sandberg