Female Husbands: A Trans History
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- Create Date：2021-06-05 09:19:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Jen Manion
- ISBN：1108718272
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Summary
Long before people identified as transgender or lesbian， there were female husbands and the women who loved them。 Female husbands - people assigned female who transed gender， lived as men， and married women - were true queer pioneers。 Moving deftly from the colonial era to just before the First World War， Jen Manion uncovers the riveting and very personal stories of ordinary people who lived as men despite tremendous risk， danger， violence， and threat of punishment。 Female Husbands weaves the story of their lives in relation to broader social， economic， and political developments in the United States and the United Kingdom while also exploring how attitudes towards female husbands shifted in relation to transformations in gender politics and women's rights， ultimately leading to the demise of the category of 'female husband' in the early twentieth century。 Groundbreaking and influential， Female Husbands offers a dynamic， varied， and complex history of the LGBTQ past。
Reviews
Kim
，
readingwomen #23Interesting look at a history of trans men and societies treatment of them as well as the marriages they entered into and the women they married。It is easy to imagine that trans gendering is a new modern thing， a social occurrence of the now only， when really it has existed probably forever and provably （in this book） since the mid 1800s。I found this book very interesting but I do think that if you are going to have a book set largely in England be narrated， the narrator should b readingwomen #23Interesting look at a history of trans men and societies treatment of them as well as the marriages they entered into and the women they married。It is easy to imagine that trans gendering is a new modern thing， a social occurrence of the now only， when really it has existed probably forever and provably （in this book） since the mid 1800s。I found this book very interesting but I do think that if you are going to have a book set largely in England be narrated， the narrator should be able to pronounce English words correctly - the 'shire' in so many of the place names beat the narrator entirely。 。。。more
Madeline
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The format of the book - being a series of case studies was a little bland for me。 I liked certain pieces more than others。 Glad I read it， but also glad I’m done with it too。
Steph
，
3。5 as Content could be a little dry at times for non-history buffs， but very meaningful， important， and unfortunately unique/rare content。 I appreciated the comparisons between different races。
Tansy
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Really interesting book that shows something I was not aware of。 Also as research for a novel。
Michael Hevel
，
A really fascinating and powerful work。 Illustrates that people transimg genders has a long history。
Julia
，
If you at all are interested in the history of people assigned female at birth and how they bent gender before our modern ideas of what it means to be trans or queer you should read this book。 It tells the stories of these people with a rich nuance and complexity that may have not been afforded to them when they lived。 If you are a feminist read this book。 If you are trans masc read this book。 If you are a lesbian read this book。 If you are non-binary read this book。 This is a shared history tha If you at all are interested in the history of people assigned female at birth and how they bent gender before our modern ideas of what it means to be trans or queer you should read this book。 It tells the stories of these people with a rich nuance and complexity that may have not been afforded to them when they lived。 If you are a feminist read this book。 If you are trans masc read this book。 If you are a lesbian read this book。 If you are non-binary read this book。 This is a shared history that belongs to all these groups and it can bring them together and remind us of our shared community。 Let us honor our forebearers and learn their stories。 。。。more
Miriam
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[My loan for the audiobook expired when I was almost finished with this and I'd like to go back and finish it but I'm marking it done for now。]-This was really interesting but sometimes I wondered if ideas were being shaped by the author's experiences in modern-day queer culture a bit more than I'd expect in a book about history。 -I liked the audiobook narration [My loan for the audiobook expired when I was almost finished with this and I'd like to go back and finish it but I'm marking it done for now。]-This was really interesting but sometimes I wondered if ideas were being shaped by the author's experiences in modern-day queer culture a bit more than I'd expect in a book about history。 -I liked the audiobook narration 。。。more
Erin Franklin
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3。5 starsrtc
Adam James
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Some really interesting history within， but slightly disappointing on a few counts。 First， and this one's on me， I assumed it would be about early modern England as I knew that was where the label "Female Husbands" originated - instead， the book jumps from there to the US up to 1917。 Second， I'm not sure how I feel about "trans" being used as a verb in here; maybe it's more in use like that in American activism and academia， but to me it felt jarring and a bit disrespectful。 Third， and most impo Some really interesting history within， but slightly disappointing on a few counts。 First， and this one's on me， I assumed it would be about early modern England as I knew that was where the label "Female Husbands" originated - instead， the book jumps from there to the US up to 1917。 Second， I'm not sure how I feel about "trans" being used as a verb in here; maybe it's more in use like that in American activism and academia， but to me it felt jarring and a bit disrespectful。 Third， and most importantly for anyone picking this up to know: this is not a trans history 。 Not as anyone glancing at the title is going to understand it anyway; it seems to mean trans history with "trans" meaning the verb （crossing gender boundaries， especially through clothing） rather than meaning transgender as an identity。 The book contains a mix of women dressing as men for simple economic opportunities， women dressing as men to marry women who they love， and people who were assigned female at birth but identify and live as men。 It does not contain a single trans-woman。 As the people in question were often unable to leave narratives themselves， outed under duress with testimonies extracted by police or court， it is impossible for a historian to sort the half-truths and lies from the realities of their experience， and so focuses on what the people around them thought （the press， the community， their wives） - which may also be disappointing to readers taking the title at face value。 A final criticism is that I felt that the book could have been structured better to make it flow a bit more。 Still， as I said， the history within is interesting and well explored。 We see people who "transed" living long and happy marriages， respected in their communities， seen as hard working and manly thanks to their marriages， their behaviour， and their dress。 In such cases， it seems their masculinity was only doubted and prodded at in hindsight by the press- their voice reflected on as too high， their chin too bare， their frame slight， etc; seemingly to reassure the readers that such a person would not fool them - after they were forcibly outed by a chance encounter。 Often， as there was no laws against women dressing as men until the late 19th century， the people outed this way could escape legal punishment by presenting as their birth gender （perhaps a humiliating punishment in itself， depending on why they "transed"）。 Some women who seem not to be transgender （though again， it is impossible for a historian to fully understand their experiences and identity） were even lauded for their crossdressing when they did it to be soldiers， and were able to gain pensions after coming home and reverting to presentation as women。 Tl;dr: Interesting history with some fascinating biographies within to reflect on， but with some serious limitations and disappointing mismarketing。 。。。more
S。C。 Gregory
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Unfortunately， there is no way to put a half star on here or I would have put 3。5 stars。 The topic of the book was interesting and enlightening。 However， the way it was written made reading it a little bit of a chore。 There was repetitive information， the same details but written in a slightly different way。 I found this taxing。 It felt like this was a tactic used in order to bulk out the word count。 Or perhaps it's just my preference not to read the same information over and over。 The book did Unfortunately， there is no way to put a half star on here or I would have put 3。5 stars。 The topic of the book was interesting and enlightening。 However， the way it was written made reading it a little bit of a chore。 There was repetitive information， the same details but written in a slightly different way。 I found this taxing。 It felt like this was a tactic used in order to bulk out the word count。 Or perhaps it's just my preference not to read the same information over and over。 The book did give me the opportunity to gain insight on the way those who wished to transition were viewed within the time periods discussed in the book。 。。。more
Logan
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To be honest。。。 I didn’t finish。 I got about 30 pages in and then skipped ahead to see if it got any better and realized it didn’t。 The title is misleading。 Maybe “Female Husband: A Queer History” or “Female Husband: What women had to do to get ahead” or “Female Husband: History of Breaking gender norms”The use of They/Them pronouns is only because the author cannot assume how these people preferred as there seems to be nothing she found from the perspective of her topic of research。 It seems sh To be honest。。。 I didn’t finish。 I got about 30 pages in and then skipped ahead to see if it got any better and realized it didn’t。 The title is misleading。 Maybe “Female Husband: A Queer History” or “Female Husband: What women had to do to get ahead” or “Female Husband: History of Breaking gender norms”The use of They/Them pronouns is only because the author cannot assume how these people preferred as there seems to be nothing she found from the perspective of her topic of research。 It seems she only found outsider （wives， in laws， courts， media） but nothing directly from a “female husband”。 Which。。。。 is a term that makes my blood boil as a trans man （and husband）。 I understand it was a term coined in THE LATE 1700s but。。。。 we are centuries past that time now。。。 there’s got to be something better。This read like a college thesis: a lot of “in this book/section/chapter I will discuss 。。。。” “here’s kind of a thing but we’ll get to that later in the book/I’ll discuss further later” so if you like that sort of thing， dig in， college lectures were not my cup of tea。I found it to be more about how females felt the only way they could get ahead was to “pretend” to be male。 There is no evidence in the sections I read （and I skipped around quite a bit to check） that says any of these people were actually transgender （as would be implied by the title of the book）。 Just， as the author says， “transing genders” to get what they want， which is not the same and paints a very bad picture for real transgender people。 If you want to learn about actual transgender history。。。 look elsewhere。 。。。more
a。d。 lewis
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loved this book。 i especially loved prof。 manion's decisions re: pronouns， names， and historical praxis。 loved this book。 i especially loved prof。 manion's decisions re: pronouns， names， and historical praxis。 。。。more
Rachel
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Having recently read an older， and perhaps less kind book towards LGBTQ of past， on women in the navy， including those that transed in order to enlist （and some eventually marrying women - those of which are spoken about in this book）。 I was delighted to find this book！ Jen Manion's approach felt apt， there's only so much we can summarise from news clippings or other third person sources。 As stated in the book。 （And sometimes they're of course twisted to fit an agenda。） While the reasons for why Having recently read an older， and perhaps less kind book towards LGBTQ of past， on women in the navy， including those that transed in order to enlist （and some eventually marrying women - those of which are spoken about in this book）。 I was delighted to find this book！ Jen Manion's approach felt apt， there's only so much we can summarise from news clippings or other third person sources。 As stated in the book。 （And sometimes they're of course twisted to fit an agenda。） While the reasons for why these female husbands lived their lives as men will remain ambiguous without first hand accounts， it was still wonderful to read their stories。Admittedly I'm not hugely familiar with trans history， or even LGBT history as a whole （part of my 2020 resolutions was to educate myself on my own history） but this was a real gem to read。 。。。more
Kathy
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Unfortunately this get regulated to the DNF pile。 I tried to get into the history， one of the reason that I picked up the book to begin with。 However the writer made this feel like I was reading a text book， making it tedious。 I'm shelving it， however going to recommend it to someone who wanted to know what I think。 It has potential to answer questions you may have。 And I am disappointed that I was unable to engage with the message in the book。 Unfortunately this get regulated to the DNF pile。 I tried to get into the history， one of the reason that I picked up the book to begin with。 However the writer made this feel like I was reading a text book， making it tedious。 I'm shelving it， however going to recommend it to someone who wanted to know what I think。 It has potential to answer questions you may have。 And I am disappointed that I was unable to engage with the message in the book。 。。。more
Francesca Calarco
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Jen Manion’s Female Husbands: A Trans History is truly a great piece of research on a too underexplored part of history。 Focusing on cases of individuals who were born as women and then lived as men in England and the United States throughout the 1700s to the early 1900s， there is a great deal of content to unpack。Expressions of gender and sexuality in the 1700s were something altogether different from gender and sexuality in each subsequent century。 This reality in and of itself makes it challe Jen Manion’s Female Husbands: A Trans History is truly a great piece of research on a too underexplored part of history。 Focusing on cases of individuals who were born as women and then lived as men in England and the United States throughout the 1700s to the early 1900s， there is a great deal of content to unpack。Expressions of gender and sexuality in the 1700s were something altogether different from gender and sexuality in each subsequent century。 This reality in and of itself makes it challenging to ascertain motivations for trans-ing gender， let alone what past individuals’ identities actually were。 A woman （or someone assigned as a woman at birth） could dress and live as a man for so many reasons beyond gender affirmation。 This includes seeking economic autonomy and mobility， wanting to marry a woman in peace， and even simply not wanting to marry a man。 For so much of history， a woman’s entire livelihood was linked to the man she was married to， and the circumstances of a marriage were more often an imposition than a clear choice that women were privileged enough to get to make on their own。 So for so many reasons， you could see women living as men。 Manion does great work that is respectful of these vague circumstances， delves into the complicated context of these choices， and does not rely on baseless speculation。 Overall， this is a great book filled with fascinating stories， and I definitely recommend it if this is a topic you want to know more about。 。。。more
Charlotte Sefton
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Very compelling。 Must come back to this before beginning MA in September。
Sven Van den Bossche
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A most important piece of historical research
Christen
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This book is an important work; it collects all the known stories of female husbands， women who dressed to became a man and married as a man to another woman in the eyes of the public。 No one was wiser until something happened， and the truth came out， and depending on the time and place， that would be death or acceptance。 I found the book a bit repetitive， especially after each example， as the author was trying to justify their existence and what could have been the actual story。 Also， labeling This book is an important work; it collects all the known stories of female husbands， women who dressed to became a man and married as a man to another woman in the eyes of the public。 No one was wiser until something happened， and the truth came out， and depending on the time and place， that would be death or acceptance。 I found the book a bit repetitive， especially after each example， as the author was trying to justify their existence and what could have been the actual story。 Also， labeling them "they，" which I understand because we don't know how they would have preferred to be called。 Lastly， most of the info is secondary information， not much original works happening， so there is already a bias in the stories。 They are an exciting and scandalous topic， so writers added salacious untrue details to their stories。 Most of these stories were about women who wanted to live a life better than they had， or left that gendering themselves as a man was a better option during a time in history that being a man was everything。 But I understand why， I thought， the author struggled， because we are so ingrained with gender norms and fluidity is hard to wrap around in the words we have。 No matter who we try， it comes off clinical， impersonal， and hard。I also an ARC， so perhaps all my issues were fixed during the final book。 I received an ARC from Netgalley and Cambridge for an honest review。 。。。more
Chris Foster
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A very interesting and deep dive into the term 'female husband' and what it meant to trans gender in the modem era。 A very interesting and deep dive into the term 'female husband' and what it meant to trans gender in the modem era。 。。。more
Isaac R。 Fellman
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I disagree with many of Manion’s basic choices surrounding how to present the gender and pronouns of their subjects， as well as many of their decisions about when to believe a 19th-century press account and when not to。 It seems to me that they often project their own identity and conception of gender onto the past， under the guise of doing the opposite。 I recognize that the universal use of “they” is intended as a respectful distancing tactic， to acknowledge that these people did not and could I disagree with many of Manion’s basic choices surrounding how to present the gender and pronouns of their subjects， as well as many of their decisions about when to believe a 19th-century press account and when not to。 It seems to me that they often project their own identity and conception of gender onto the past， under the guise of doing the opposite。 I recognize that the universal use of “they” is intended as a respectful distancing tactic， to acknowledge that these people did not and could not identify as transmasculine before the idea had a name。 However， Manion seems to have no trouble claiming people as nonbinary — both explicitly and implicitly， through the use of that universal “they。” And it is shocking to me to also impose the “they” on a modern figure like Alan Hart， who was very clear about how he identified， and lived as a man despite great inconvenience， professional risk， and full awareness of the fact that lesbians exist。Having said all that， it’s a well-researched work of history which contributes to the field。 I would never call it a bad book， and I learned a good deal from it。 My frustration stems from its efforts to default on a concept of each pre-20th-century individual’s gender variance as complex， unknowable， and singular。 I recognize that we all struggle to imagine a time before there was a name for people like us， and that I am showing a good deal of bias as a binary trans person。 At the same time， this book appears to argue that its is unsafe to imagine that there were AFAB people who confidently identified as men before we medicalized and codified transition — or even during that codification， as in the case of Hart。 Saying “we can’t know， so I’ll default on modern nonbinary pronouns which generally signal that someone actively doesn’t identify as a man” doesn’t feel theoretically different to me than saying “we can’t know， so I’ll default on the pronouns they were assigned at birth，” or “we can’t know， so I’ll default on the pronouns they used during each given phase of their adulthood。” I don’t even think that either of the latter options is the right choice to tell these stories， or that there is any perfect option， given the genuine ambiguity at the heart of many of these stories。 I just know that I don’t like this one。 I don’t want anyone to “they” me when I die， and some of these people did not call themselves men any less explicitly than I do。 。。。more
Jacinda Literature Babe
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An excellent， well researched history of the early trans pioneers。 This is their story of life as men， and the women who loved them。Told with raw emotion from archival materials， and from horrid newspaper articles back in the day， author Jen Manion weaves their stories into a timeline collection for today's reader。 Many female husbands became "outed" unfortunately when they fell ill or became injured， their wives and widows receiving the brunt of ignorant persecution by societal norms of the tim An excellent， well researched history of the early trans pioneers。 This is their story of life as men， and the women who loved them。Told with raw emotion from archival materials， and from horrid newspaper articles back in the day， author Jen Manion weaves their stories into a timeline collection for today's reader。 Many female husbands became "outed" unfortunately when they fell ill or became injured， their wives and widows receiving the brunt of ignorant persecution by societal norms of the times。Unbiased and non- judgmental， these stories are emotional and tragic， many without their happy ever after。。。4⭐Thank you NetGalley， Cambridge University Press and the author， Ms。 Jen Manion， for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "Female Husbands"。 The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone。 。。。more
Ari McManus
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I really enjoyed this book。 Manion did a nice job of breaking down their approach to research and reasons behind word choice while presenting different stories throughout the 18th and 19th C。 There were moments where as an educator， I have failed a lot of people by incorrectly recapping the stories of some of the historical figures covered in this book。 But hey that means I can only get better especially as I start to consider future content for a project in working on。
Ryan Margiotta
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As someone new to reading gender studies and about LGBTQ history I think this is a great book。 It is easy to read， full of stories about people I never heard of， and made me want to continue learning about this very important history。 For someone who has spent a lot of time studying gender issues and LGBTQ history there may not be a lot of new information for you。
Miles Smith
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Manion provides a nuanced view of the wide category of experiences falling under the "female husband" umbrella in the 18th-early 20th centuries。 The choice to use they/them pronouns to refer to each of the female husbands covered makes room for the variable experiences these people might have had。 They might have been seeking romantic relationships with women by passing as male， or they might have wished to live as men in their own right， and it limits the possibilities of their lives to retroac Manion provides a nuanced view of the wide category of experiences falling under the "female husband" umbrella in the 18th-early 20th centuries。 The choice to use they/them pronouns to refer to each of the female husbands covered makes room for the variable experiences these people might have had。 They might have been seeking romantic relationships with women by passing as male， or they might have wished to live as men in their own right， and it limits the possibilities of their lives to retroactively claim them as definitively men or definitively women when often their lives reflect an experience that doesn't fit neatly in these categories。Manion covers the context for each female husband in detail， and acknowledges the circumstances surrounding the conversation。 Race， social status， colonialism， movements for women's rights， etc。， all impact the changing discourse surrounding these female husbands， and Manion acknowledges the matrix of identity and privilege that comes into play in these cases rather than ignoring it as many others often do。 Overall， this book provides a really well-rounded history of people assigned female at birth who lived， at least for a time， as men， and the nuance makes it a much more enjoyable and informative experience than other pieces of scholarship on similar subjects that I've read。 。。。more
Lecy Beth
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I enjoyed this book more than I had anticipated。 I wanted to read it for the education， not because I thought it would be entertaining， but I was pleasantly surprised。 This is the history of people who were assigned the female gender at birth but lived their lives as men and married women。 "Female husbands" was the term that was used in the 18th and 19th centuries that pre-dated the labels "transgender" and even "lesbian。" Manion is a historian by profession and has an interesting take on gender I enjoyed this book more than I had anticipated。 I wanted to read it for the education， not because I thought it would be entertaining， but I was pleasantly surprised。 This is the history of people who were assigned the female gender at birth but lived their lives as men and married women。 "Female husbands" was the term that was used in the 18th and 19th centuries that pre-dated the labels "transgender" and even "lesbian。" Manion is a historian by profession and has an interesting take on gender and its relationship to sexuality。 The book is very academic， but if you have an interest in LGBTQ+ history， this would be a great addition to your library。 *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Arin
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*eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review* Content warnings: period typical homophobia and transphobia， public outing， mentions of whippings and other corporal punishments， discussions of "checking one's gender" by looking at genitaliaI enjoyed this book and found it a nice look at different profiles of so called female husbands or other women who presented as men for one reason or another during different points in their lives。 The reason I didn't give this *eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review* Content warnings: period typical homophobia and transphobia， public outing， mentions of whippings and other corporal punishments， discussions of "checking one's gender" by looking at genitaliaI enjoyed this book and found it a nice look at different profiles of so called female husbands or other women who presented as men for one reason or another during different points in their lives。 The reason I didn't give this a four or five star rating is because of both how Western centric it was （the book only discusses these cases in the UK and early US） and because of how much it focused on other people's reactions instead of on these female husbands lives。 The title and summary made it out like this would follow the lives of these people， but it ended up essentially talking about them for around a half page then dedicated the rest to how everyone reacted to them。 That being said， it was a very well written and thought provoking read and if anyone is interested in this topic， I would recommend it。 。。。more
Andi
，
"Female husband" is a historical term used to describe AFAB people who lived as men and married women。 This nonfiction book explores - through personalized histories steeped in broader context - the presence and lives of female husbands in the United States and the UK。 Long before we had the language of transgender， these people existed。 This book adds valuable insight into the pre-20th century LGBTQ history。**I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。** "Female husband" is a historical term used to describe AFAB people who lived as men and married women。 This nonfiction book explores - through personalized histories steeped in broader context - the presence and lives of female husbands in the United States and the UK。 Long before we had the language of transgender， these people existed。 This book adds valuable insight into the pre-20th century LGBTQ history。**I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。** 。。。more
Susan
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I was disappointed by this book。 Yes， it is a history of female husbands; however， I had hoped for more insight into the husbands themselves instead of second hand external views of them。 Story after story were about how they were viewed in court trials， by newspapers， and sometimes by individuals around them。 Never by the female husband themselves。 The author states at one point that "We are left to read between the lines and draw conclusions。" Later she states that she chose to focus "on the p I was disappointed by this book。 Yes， it is a history of female husbands; however， I had hoped for more insight into the husbands themselves instead of second hand external views of them。 Story after story were about how they were viewed in court trials， by newspapers， and sometimes by individuals around them。 Never by the female husband themselves。 The author states at one point that "We are left to read between the lines and draw conclusions。" Later she states that she chose to focus "on the perceptions and views of others" regarding female husbands。 Ms。 Manion states she did that because gender is constituted by those around them。 I disagree。 I would rather have empowered them and known how they felt and their motivation。 Additionally， I finished the book feeling that these people assigned as females at birth but presenting as males were doing so more for economic reasons rather than a gender disparity。 I can not recall anyone in the book stating they were born the wrong gender。 A lot of assumptions were made in this book like a lot of assumptions are made now。 I was hoping for something more。Thanks to NetGalley and Cambridge University Press for a copy of the book。 This review is my own opinion。 。。。more
Josh Hedgepeth
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I was provided a an e-ARC of this book by NetGalley for a fair and honest review。This book is not for me。 It is a very detailed account of people in history who challenge preconceived assumptions on gender。 This isn't what I was expecting as a trans history， but it is not my place as cisgender man to decide what that classification is。 My issue with this book isn't what it has to say， but with how it is said。 This is a very dense and dry book。 I think it is probably a great academic reference， I was provided a an e-ARC of this book by NetGalley for a fair and honest review。This book is not for me。 It is a very detailed account of people in history who challenge preconceived assumptions on gender。 This isn't what I was expecting as a trans history， but it is not my place as cisgender man to decide what that classification is。 My issue with this book isn't what it has to say， but with how it is said。 This is a very dense and dry book。 I think it is probably a great academic reference， but it it is not a good book for me。 I have DNFed this book at 45%。 I normally would make a point to push through a book that has been provided for review， but it just wasn't worth it because I wasn't retaining the information。 It is clear by the other reviews， that it works great for plenty of other people， so you may still get something out of it！I also don't consider this read a complete waste。 Upon reading other reviews， there were a few other books of similar subject that I will be looking into。 。。。more
Kristine
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