Female Husbands
Female husbands were a 19th and 20th century phenomenon, of biologically female people who lived as men, married to women.[1] They were extensively discussed in Anglo-American newspapers and books, and had a strong presence in the public sphere.[1]
Origins
Female husband emerged as a phrase and phenomenon in 1776.[1] They lived as men and married women, generally in small towns and large cities.[1]
The genre of stories around female husbands was popular by the beginning of the 19th century.[2] Stories focused on the 'extraordinary' elements of the lives rather than showing concerns over gender.[1]
Fielding, The Female Husband
Henry Fielding wrote a fictionalised narrative of Charles Hamilton, called The Female Husband in 1746.[3] The book was widely read. This is the first known example of the use of the term.[3]
Demise
Female Husbands disappeared from the public imagination before the beginning of the First World War.[1] It is possible that this was linked to the rise of sexology and with understandings that linked same-sex desire with cross-dressing.[1]
Examples
George Hamilton
George Hamilton was reported to their wife in 1796, who claimed to only have recently realised that her husband was biologically female.[1] They were sentenced to being publicly whipped.[1]
James Howe
James Howe was married to Mary Snapes for 34 years in the late 18th century.[1] Howe began living as a man when aged 16 in 1732.[4] The couple ran the White Horse Tavern in Poplar, East London.[1] Howe was blackmailed by a woman who they had known in childhood from 1750, who had known her as Mary East.[3] Mary and James knew one another from childhood.[1] After Snapes' death, Howe returned to living as a woman, and was recorded in their will as a widower in 1779.[4]
Howe became a famous example of Female Husbandry, with the story reaching the US.[1] Howe was also included in literature about exceptional women such as 1830 The Female's Encyclopedia of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge[1]
James Allen
James Allen was a female husband for over 21 years.[2] They became a subject of interest when killed by falling timber in 1829.[1] Medical students performing an autopsy declared Allen to be anatomically female.[5] The coroner continued to refer to Allen as 'he' nonetheless.[5] Abigail was subsequently questioned about her husband's sex.[1]
A publication, "An Authentic Narrative of the Extraordinary Career of James Allen, the Female Husband!", in 1828 focussed on Allen's life.[2]
Frank Dubois
Dubois came to prominence in 1883 after it was discovered that they had left their husband and 2 children for a wife.[3] Press including the New York Times wrote about the case in New York.[3]
Theories
The relationships of female husbands to masculinity are varied and complex.[1] Various understandings of Female Husbands have been given. In Female Husbands Jen Manion explores the possibility of these women as examples of transgender people in the past.[1] It is possible they lived as men to appropriate socio-economic power, or in order to have romantic and sexual relationships with women.[1]
Historians of Female Husbands have disagreed over the use of pronouns: Manion uses they and them, whilst others such as Rachel Mesch uses 'she'.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Manion, Jen (2020). Female Husbands. Cambridge University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "'Female Husbands' In The 19th Century". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lavery, Grace (2020-07-10). "Female Husbands by Jen Manion review – a trans history". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Female Husbands by Jen Manion book review - The TLS". TLS. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Marcus, Sharon (2021-06-17). "More Husband than Female". London Review of Books. 43 (12). ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
Female Husbands: A Trans History - YouTube
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