"It shall bee published that hee is a man and a woeman”

October 29, 2020 12:11 PM

For Intersex Awareness Day, Colonial Williamsburg shares the story of Thomas or Thomasine Hall, an early Virginian settler who was brought to trial for refusing to identify as a man or a woman.
posted by showbiz_liz (9 comments total)

Wow! Fascinating! Thank you for the post!

I've never been to Colonial Williamsburg -- is this kind of work, celebrating queer Virginian history, likely to be welcomed by the visitor and donor base?

As a watercolor artist, I have made it a habit to speak the names and paint the people I research so that I can focus on the human behind the text. This helps me to honor their lives and keep their humanity in mind, even while reading the sometimes heartbreaking stories of their treatment by those around them.

<3 <3 <3
posted by brainwane at 12:48 PM on October 29, 2020 [5 favorites]

That was quite lovely. Thank you.
posted by reren at 12:51 PM on October 29, 2020 [5 favorites]

I've never been to Colonial Williamsburg -- is this kind of work, celebrating queer Virginian history, likely to be welcomed by the visitor and donor base?

I've never been either - I found this link on a friend's social media - but I just found this article suggesting that this is part of a recent broader push at Colonial Williamsburg to explore and publicize queer history.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

I live in VA and used to work at CW, it is not normal through the history of the organization, but shortly before I started working there (4 years ago) a new administration came into power. I got the impression that change like this was coming. This is in addition to the work they're doing highlighting black artistry while staying true to the reality of slavery.
posted by FirstMateKate at 2:13 PM on October 29, 2020 [11 favorites]

This is fantastic.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 1:11 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

Interesting! The article didn't mention if the court decision was based on any kind of law or if they just made stuff up as they went along back then? Any historians here?
posted by starfishprime at 2:58 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

I am so curious what Hall did when the indenture was over and whether it was voluntary or penal.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:34 PM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I’m reminded of court cases I’ve read about, of women in Victorian London who were arrested for dressing as men, their stated reason being to engage in higher-paid “men’s work.” In both these and Hall’s cases, it seems like part of the moral outrage was at the perception of someone trying to have it both ways. Gender essentialism sucks so hard.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:40 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting this, and putting Colonial Williamsburg on my "post-COVID and if the creek don't rise" list. Another piece by the author Ren Tolson.

When I read the court's decision “it shall bee published in the [plantation] where the said Hall lyveth that hee is a man and a woeman” I was looking forward to the court concluding "and the said Hall's neighbors are commanded to eff off about itt." Disappointed.
posted by away for regrooving at 11:25 PM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]