#transmasculinity throughout time

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Lou Alcott

Yes, you heard me. There is substantial evidence that the author of Little Women was in fact a transgender man! He actually didn’t go by the name that Little Women was published under, with family and friends he would go by Lou, Louy, or LM. His children called him “papa” and “father” and his father, Bronson Alcott, called him his son. He said in 1882, “I am more than half persuaded that I am a man’s soul, put by some freak of nature into a woman’s body.” As a child, he said in a journal, “I don’t care much for girls things. People think I’m wild and queer.” He would pass as a man at masked parties for fun, and delighted in people’s reactions. For his entire life, he expressed this identification as a man, and the character of Jo in Little Women was in part a self insert character based on this. So why don’t we hear about him as a trans man? Well, it’s just not convenient for most people to believe that a beloved book about girls becoming women was written by a man.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Amelio Robles Ávila

Amelio Robles Ávila was an openly transgender colonel in the Mexican Revolution. He was born in 1889 and lived as a man from the age of 24 to his death in 1984. From a young age, he was interested in masculine activities like marksmanship and horse taming. He received military awards for his service in the revolution and his male identity was recognized by the government. If anyone misgendered him, he would threaten to shoot them, and once he had to kill two men in self defense when a group attacked him because of his gender. After his death, there is a mixed consensus on his recognition- his tombstone misgenders him, but there is a school named after him with the masculine version of his name. Historians generally agree that he was a trans man.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Transgender Vikings

This is the burial of a very high ranking viking warrior from the 10th century. It contains high quality weaponry, two horses, and even a gaming set! The clothing found on the site suggests that this viking was a cavalry commander, and he was buried in a location that would be visible from the sea. Unlike burials for viking women (which existed!), there is no evidence that this warrior identified as a woman or had any of the grave items associated with women. There is nothing to suggest he was anyone rather than a high ranking male warrior. He was assumed unquestioningly to be male since his discovery, until his remains were tested in 2017 to reveal that he was “genetically female.” Quite possibly, he was a transgender man or transmasculine viking.

There was a great amount of confusions among archeologists after this finding, with many doubting the results of the study because they did not understand how he could have been given such a burial. In a 2019 follow up paper, it was argued that he could have been transgender, but we have no way of knowing now. He is referred to with she/her pronouns in many articles despite having been simply categorized as a male viking before being tested genetically. When using any modern pronouns for historical people who wouldn’t be able to advocate for themselves today, we tend to make assumptions: I use he/him pronouns for this viking and that has the same legitimacy as anyone who choses to use she/her, neither of us know surely how he would be referred to then - if it makes you uncomfortable for me to call him he, then maybe ask the same question of articles calling him she! Both archeology and written sources actually indicate that viking gender existed in complex ways that are not fully known to us now.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Greek Mythology

This is a relief of Caeneus from Greek Mythology getting beaten into the ground by centaurs with trees. He is one of three trans men in Greek myths that I will be discussing! Not only am I looking at actual historical trans men, but examples of transmasculine figures in myths and stories too. The next one will be FtM crossdressing and transmasculine longings written in Shakespeare - I am still wondering though, what other examples of transmasculinity in fictional myths and stories are out there?

Reiterating, I am not any kind of authority on history and am getting my information from accessible internet resources- if you want a source on something specific, ask - many sources are slightly to very problematic in how they talk about gender and transmasculinity so I prefer to not post them directly but will give them in the comments on request if you want to look into something. For this post, I am just going off of Wikipedia. Anyways, anything I post in Transmasculinity Throughout Time is my own opinions, I will talk casually and formally (I don’t really distinguish formality due to autism), and I will use the pronouns of my best judgement. If you don’t like this series for any reason, cool, don’t interact. If you like it and want to give suggestions, cool. I would like to bring transmasculine histories to light in my own way, and welcome a curious and open minded discussion.

In Greek myths, there are three trans men who are known of: Caeneus, Iphis, and Leucippus. If you read the following about Caeneus, please be aware of the content: specifically, TW for SA. Skip to Iphis and Leucippus after the break if you’d prefer to avoid it.

Caeneus was the child of Elatus and Hippea. He was born a girl, but was transformed into an invulnerable man after being raped by Poseidon. In some accounts, he asked to be transformed to avoid pregnancy. In others, it is simply so he doesn’t suffer the same thing again. This narrative is very interesting to me. Some modern sanism and queerphobia manifests as the idea of transmasculinity, lesbianism, or queerness of any kind as a response to sexual trauma. But Caeneus wasn’t a one dimensional victim turned oppressor. He was the strongest warrior of his day after he was transformed, and became king of the Lapiths. Somehow, he angered the gods, exactly how is unclear - it is suggested that it could have been worshipping or encouraging others to worship a spear instead of the gods. As punishment, they sent centaurs after him.

The most popular story involving Caeneus is actually his battle with the centaurs, not his gender transformation. It was called centauromachy, a battle between Lapiths and centaurs. Because he was invulnerable, none of the centaurs weapons worked on him, and he was difficult to defeat - to kill him, they had to actually bury him in the earth by beating him down with stones and uprooted trees. These centaurs were transphobic too. They said:

“Shall I put up with one like you, O Caeneus?

For you are still a woman in my sight.

Have you forgot your birth or that disgrace

by which you won reward—at what a price

you got the false resemblance to a man?!

Consider both your birth, and what you have

submitted to! Take up a distaff, and

wool basket! Twist your threads with practiced thumb!

Leave warfare to your men!” (Ovid, Metamorphoses).

“Transandrophobia isn’t real” “trans men have no historical presence” Meanwhile greek mythology be like… anyways.. So .. Then.. the centaurs were defeated by him! He was invulnerable. But they could still beat him into the ground with uprooted trees. It is described in Races’ translation of Argonautica, Apollonius of Rhodes: “They rallied against him, but were not strong enough to push him back nor to kill him, so instead, unbroken and unbending, he sank beneath the earth, hammered by the downward force of mighty pine trees.” This makes me think about how transmasculinity is buried in history.. Onto the next myths!

Iphis and Leucippus both have very similar stories. Iphis was born of Ligdus and Telethusa. Ligdus only wanted a son, and said he would only let the child live if it was male. The goddess Isis asked Telethusa to keep the child regardless of how it is born, and promised her aid in the future. Iphis grew up raised as a boy, and was “officially” transformed by Isis before marrying a girl, Ianthe. From Ovid, Metamorphoses:

“Her face seemed of a darker hue, her strength seemed greater, and her features were more stern. Her hair once long, was unadorned and short. There is more vigor in her than she showed in her girl ways. For in the name of truth, Iphis, who was a girl, is now a man!”

Leucippus’ tale is almost the same, he was born of Lamprus and Galatea, Lamprus would only accept a male child, and Galatea concealed Leucippus’ birth sex from her husband, giving him a masculine name and referring to him as her son. Upon puberty, he was changed physically into a man by the goddess Leto. This story actually inspired a male rite of passage in Phaistos dedicated to Leto, and inspired a wedding custom where brides would lie next to an image or statue of Leucippus before weddings. Two customs in an ancient greek city being inspired by a story about a trans man is an important and cool fact methinks.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Hatshepsut

Kicking off this first post in what I hope to be a long series by saying that I am just a guy who likes obsessively researching things and I am absolutely not a historical expert, and in this case, not an Egyptologist. My perspectives and interpretations are my own. You are welcome to have other ones.

Hatshepsut is known as Egypt’s first and only female pharaoh, and is discussed as such throughout almost all material about them. I will be nonetheless using they/them pronouns to refer to them, but during their life they used both masculine and feminine pronouns. The tendency to project modern ideas onto historical figures is common. Especially in the case of people who exhibited signs of transmasculinity, it is common for their entire lives to be reduced to “women who cosplayed as men for power” which is problematic for obvious reasons. Cis men coveting masculinity for the pursuit of power in a patriarchal society is never a reason they are actually women, yet it is okay to do this with historical transmasculine people in the name of feminism? There is a clear double standard. So, I will be using gender neutral pronouns because we can’t really know if Hatshepsut was alive today whether they would identify as a woman, trans man, nonbinary or as none of those identities. I am simply going to be discussing the history and some of my interpretations.

In the context of ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was a living embodiment of the masculine god Horus. Hatshepsut embraced this role after coming to power, ascending from the position of queen regent alongside a child king once their former husband Thutmose II had passed, to “his majesty the king herself.” As their rule progressed, they were depicted as more and more masculine in statues and reliefs, using the same ceremonial fake beard as male pharaohs, muscles, and other masculine signifiers. They didn’t stop wearing makeup and jewelry when presenting as a male king though, which some historians take as evidence to support a female gender identity - it could mean that, but it could also just mean they liked to be fashionable and didn’t subscribe to restrictive gender roles!

Like kings before them, Hatshepsut emphasized their connection to the gods by telling a story to justify their rule. However, the story they told had to be exceptional - and it was. Hatshepsut’s throne name, Maatkare, translated to “truth is the soul of the sun god.” This demonstrated a connection to the sun god, Amun or Ra, and to Maat, the tradition of maintaining harmony in ancient Egypt. The story was that Amun had appeared to their mother who had conceived Hatshepsut for the purpose of being king, commanded by the god of creation Khnum, to “fashion [them] better than all gods” with “the great dignity of a king.” In carvings, Khnum created Hatshepsut as a little boy. This explanation for their lineage is especially interesting because it emphasizes their connection both to their mother’s bloodlines and to being the child of Amun, not ruling as just a queen regent, but as a king.

During their rule of 20 years, Egypt’s trade flourished and there was an immense period of construction during which countless buildings and statues were created, and temples renovated. Unfortunately after their death, extreme measures were taken by Thutmose III to erase all records of Hatshepsut from existence in order to preserve the line of male kings. These efforts were primarily successful, and much of their history has been lost to time. There are many things about Hatshepsut that we will never know.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Antonio de Erauso

Alright everyone, fasten your seatbelts. This historical trans man had a wild and complicated life! Be warned that this history deals with violence, war and colonialism as it is set in 1600s Spain and South America. Also, if you are reading this post looking for a hero to look up to, you will not find one. Read a different post.

Historians aren’t sure if Antonio was born in 1585 or 1592, but we do know he was born in Spain, and from an early age, showed an interest in traditionally masculine things, like the art of warfare. He was confined to a convent as a nun, much to his distaste, from the ages of (we think) 4 to 15, after which, in 1600, he escaped and started passing as a man.

He became a fugitive, first going to Vitoria and staying with a distant in law who did not recognize him as a boy. The man he was staying with began abusing him, so he left again, and this time went to Valladolid and became a page for the king’s secretary. He worked there for seven months. One day, his father came in to ask about his missing “daughter” to him while he was working there, and did not recognize him! After that, he left and went to Bilbao. There, he got into a rock fight after a group of boys started harassing him, and he spent a month in jail. So, he went to Estella, and became a page again for a lord for two years. After that time, he went back to his home town of San Sebastian and continued life as a man, regularly interacting with people who he was related to and knew before - they all didn’t recognize him.

Then he set off to travel to the Americas in search of wealth (yikes..). He began as a cabin boy on a ship destined for the new world. He headed to Venezuela and confronted a Dutch pirate ship, emerging victorious. Later he killed his own uncle and stole 500 pesos from him, lying to the crew about it. The journeys continued until a strong wind destroyed the ship and only Erauso and his master survived. They went to Zana together and acquired a home. They also bought slaves (yikes again…).

He got into another fight and this time cut the guys face entirely off. A deal was made for him to marry a specific girl to avoid another prison sentence, but he refused to marry her and simply moved again, to Trujillo. The guy who got his face cut off came to challenge him again, bringing company this time. He won the fight again and killed someone, and went to jail again, and his master paid the bail. He got a letter of recommendation to become a shop manager in Lima. After nine months of working there he got fired for inappropriate relations with a woman (his master’s wife’s sister). He got recruited by a company trying to conquer Chile, became a llama driver and then a soldier.

The secretary of the governor in Chile was his own brother, who did not recognize him. They got into a fight (likely over a girl) and he was banished to Paicabi, where he gained a reputation for being skilled with weapons. There he was promoted to captain. He was not promoted any higher than this because he was too violent, even by the standards of other Spanish colonizers, so in retaliation, he started killing people indiscriminately, burning crops, vandalizing places, and generally being an extremely dangerous individual. He killed the chief auditor of the city of Concepción which led to him being locked up in a church for six months. After he got out, he killed his own brother in a duel (who still didn’t recognize him). That got him eight more months. Then, he fled again, and was briefly taken in by a villager in Tucamán but left again after promising marriage to two girls - ditching both of them. He kept their gifts though, including money and fine clothing.

After that he became a soldier again and killed even more people. He got accused of a crime but this time, he actually was innocent. Shocker. He still got tortured though, but they never found out he was trans. Then he started smuggling wheat and cattle, and also killed another guy. He was sentenced to death, but released at the last minute. He stayed in the church to have sanctuary, after he got into a duel with a jealous husband. He got sentenced to death again in La Paz, but he fled again to Peru.

In 1623 he was arrested in Peru because of a dispute. He was again on trial for execution. In his defense, he confessed to being assigned female and a virgin and was spared for these reasons and sent to Spain. He died in 1650 and a statue of him is on display in Mexico, with his birth name.

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Transmasculinity Throughout Time: Dr James Barry

Part 2! Here we go. James Barry was the first European doctor to successfully perform a C section where both the mother and child survived, which is cool to me because I was born via C section. He was born in 1789, but lied that he was younger on documents in order to pass - people described him as young looking and soft featured with a boyish voice, but never questioned in his gender. Despite adamantly stating he was a man for his whole adult life and only being revealed as transgender after death, he is still referred to as a “a woman ahead of her time” in the Guardian in 2016 and argued to have only presented as a man to enter the male-dominated medical field. In his wikipedia page, he is only referred to by his last name, not he/him pronouns. This is another example of the transmasculine erasure done by cis feminist historians that I mentioned in my last post in this series. Instead of doing this, cis feminists, here is what you can do: accept and include transmasculine experiences as a part of feminist narratives, not in contradiction to them, and if you can’t do that, at least actually do some research on the women who were practicing medicine at the time, and acknowledge their accomplishments instead of stealing and erasing transmasculine history! To all students of history, and especially anyone who cares about queer/trans history: stop erasing trans men (and all trans and nonbinary people) and explaining us away. Come face to face with our existence. Can you do that?

Alright.

Barry was a British imperial surgeon. When he was 19, he expressed longing to be a soldier, and he later joined the British army. Eeh, I know. His official title quickly ascended to Colonel Medical Inspector. If it wasn’t for his privilege, his gender transgression would likely have not been so easily forgiven and explained away through infantilization and feminist narratives during and after his life. However, he still faced great challenges.

In his profession, he was unlike others because he spent time around and advocated for the most marginalized in society - prisoners, mentally ill, lepers, poor people, and enslaved people. He did this even though it made him vulnerable and eccentric to those around him. His bluntness and need to make change made him extremely challenged and unpopular among his fellow officers, and he survived on his professionalism and bravado alone, enduring an accusation of “conduct unbecoming of the character of an Officer and a Gentleman” for a clash with another surgeon, of which he was acquitted thereafter. He also got into a pistol duel and won against Captain Josias Cloete of the 21st Light Dragoons. Generally, he was described as both rude and unafraid to speak his mind, as well as sometimes overly polite, with a good bedside manner. People were confused by him because he didn’t fit into society, and they constantly speculated on his life and tried to diminish him and the advocacy that he did.

He was first appointed to his position and was able to keep it despite challenges to his authority because of his “close friendship” with the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset (we all know what close friendship means when historians say it). In 1824, he was slandered, put on trial, and investigated when someone said that they “detected Lord Charles buggering Dr Barry.” James Barry is an important historical example of transhomophobia. Unlike what TEHMs and their ilk believe, queer trans men in fact have been experiencing homophobia all this time. James Barry experienced the same homophobia as a cis gay man would at the time, with the additional pressure of being a trans man who had to pass as a cis man to live as himself: transhomophobia. As a queer trans man, thinking about what he must have gone through makes my stomach hurt.

In 1857, he was appointed to be the Inspector of Hospitals in Canada, and he made significant improvements to sanitation and care for prisoners and lepers during his short time in that position. He was forcibly resigned against his will after only two years, because of his supposed poor health.

Before he died of dysentery in 1865, he asked for his person to not be examined at all. His wishes were disobeyed. He was outed as trans and subsequently, his life was either erased or stolen from him and written as that of a woman. To avoid a scandal, all army records of him were locked for 100 years, until in 1958, a biography of him was written by a cis woman historian, who wrote about him as a woman pretending to be a man and erased his transness. Barry’s own doctor said after his death that “it was none of my business whether Dr. Barry was a male or a female” and suggested that he might have been intersex.

Interestingly, he was also known for an incident in which he scolded Florence Nightingale for poor sanitary practices, which she complained about after he died, saying he was “the most hardened creature I had ever met.”

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If you like my transmasculinity throughout time series please feel free to send me more trans men and mascs in history you want me to cover! Also it helps so much for anyone to interact with my posts and reblog, thank you so much if you’re doing this