Pope Joan

Hi all apologies for the delay. I’ve been unwell for a couple of weeks, and am only just bouncing back now. This week, on what was originally planned for Transgender Day of Remembrance (two weeks ago) we continue my annual Trans history episode. In 2022 I started this series replying to a foolish claim Trans people were a recent phenomenon. My take, there have always been people we’d now recognise as Trans. 

My list of examples veered from groups, like the Galli, to individuals - like Eleanor Rykener. 

Society once had places for Trans people - more often than not religious orders - but the church dismantled a lot of this at the Council of Nicaea. 

Or at least they did so for Trans women. How did the church react to history’s Trans men? Today, with a little help from a couple of historical Trans cowboys and a few others, we take a look. 

Sources Include: 

The last six or seven minutes of this episode owes a huge debt to Nate Hale’s The Conspirators episode ‘The Secret Life of Pope Joan.’ Nate does this way better than I do, and in much greater detail. Go check his episode out. 

Susan Stryker’s ‘Transgender History’ was invaluable.
I used this English Heritage. Org article to fact check the Galli.
This American Battlefields article on Albert Cashier 
This NY Times article on Charley Parkhurst
And this National Women’s History Museum article on Deborah Sampson, written by Debra Michals.

I’ll add a handful of other articles later. Much of this episode was put together from leftover notes from the TDOR 2022 episode. 

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