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True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Emily Skidmore

4.07 · Rating details · 87 ratings · 29 reviews

The incredible stories of how trans men assimilated into mainstream communities in the late 1800s. In 1883, Frank Dubois gained national attention for his life in Waupun, Wisconsin. There he was known as a hard-working man, married to a young woman named Gertrude Fuller. What drew national attention to his seemingly unremarkable life was that he was revealed to be anatomi ...more

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Hardcover, 272 pages

Published September 19th 2017 by New York University Press

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Jun 05, 2020 Sleepless Dreamer rated it really liked it

This book is just very cool. Even if it's written a little too densely, it's just so fascinating that the writing style doesn't matter that much. True Sex describes the lives of trans men in the 19-20th centuries. Skidmore digs deep into newspapers from all across the country in order to tell their story. And let me tell you, their lives were absolutely fascinating.

This book is split into 5 chapters. The first two chapters discuss trans men in rural areas. Skidmore suggests that trans men assi ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Lexxi Kitty rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt, lgbt-nonfiction, lgbt-transgender, subject-history, lgbt-ftm, nonfiction, 04-x-and-half-stars, reviewed, netgalley, arc2017

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and New York University Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is a nonfiction book that attempts to examine the history of a segment of the LGBT rainbow that tends to get ignored, lumped in with other things, and/or assumed to ‘match up’ with ‘the rest’ of the found history. Specifically this is an examination of the T in LGBT. Though it is entirely fixated on FtM without even a hint that MtF exists – unlike L and G, which at least get a mentio ...more

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Jan 04, 2018 Morgan M. Page rated it it was amazing

There's nothing I love more than historical stories about trans men running afoul of the law, courting beautiful women into doomed marriages, and living their lives openly as men, and Emily Skidmore's True Sex gives these to you in spades. Skidmore analyses local and national newspaper coverage of over sixty trans men between the 1870s and 1940s, providing a fascinating look at a handful of these men's lives and the often surprising ways they were covered by various media outlets. In doing so, S ...more

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Sep 06, 2017 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, ebooks, reviewed

True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at The Turn of the Twentieth Century is a fascinating and tantalizing exploration of women passing as men in American society from the 1870’s-1930’s. Authored by Dr. Emily Skidmore, assistant professor of History and Gender Studies at Texas Tech University, this impressive book unfolds like a novel. There were 65 true life stories studied, recorded from historical local and national newspapers with extensive social and cultural research included.

It was totally s True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at The Turn of the Twentieth Century is a fascinating and tantalizing exploration of women passing as men in American society from the 1870’s-1930’s. Authored by Dr. Emily Skidmore, assistant professor of History and Gender Studies at Texas Tech University, this impressive book unfolds like a novel. There were 65 true life stories studied, recorded from historical local and national newspapers with extensive social and cultural research included.

It was totally surprising to learn that American “transmen” ( women we recognize today that identified as men) during this time period were not hidden, closeted, low profiled, rejected and scorned by their families, communities, and society. In fact, they were usually highly respected contributing members of their local communities. Many transmen had wives, children, and family responsibilities. They worked hard, voted, owned property, businesses, attended church and to civic duties. If their “true sex” was actually publically recognized, it was typically discovered and disclosed at the time of death, or as in the (1902) case of Harry Gorman, 32, of Buffalo, N.Y., when he was hospitalized from a fall that broke both his legs!
Due in part to the American Civil War (1861-65) there was a shortage of marriageable men. The rates of unmarried women rose steadily throughout the 19th century. An 1880’s era NYT article suggested that same sex marriage or the “female husband” was a suitable option to the problem. Although not all marriages during this time were legal or registered, marriage was the ticket not only to legitimacy, but provided respectable status and stability for transmen.
German Sexologist R. von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902) studied patterns of homosexuality and labeled his findings as “sexual inversions”. Women in the Victorian era were believed to be asexual and incapable of sexual passion, lesbianism was also unheard of. Newspapers were forbidden to print explicit or details of any sexual behavior/practice, though hints and suggestions could be briefly implied. Medical authorities were occasionally cited as experts in news articles: Dr. P.M. Wise (Alienist/Neurologist) published “A Case of Sexual Perversion” after Reverend Joseph Lobdell’s admission to the Willard Asylum for the Insane (1880). The concern wasn’t that the reverend was presenting as male, but rather he was identified as a nuisance for public preaching (religious excitement was diagnosed as a mental derangement), he was also unable to provide shelter for his wife, and considered a vagrant.

There were many interesting facts that Dr. Skidmore presented in her book, for example the “myth” that that small town life was a hostile environment for transmen, and the benefits of “white privilege” in a male dominated capitalist society. The newspapers were a reflection of society, and although the right for women to vote was largely supported, much bias and stigma against women remained. Frank Woodhill was admitted to the U.S. from Ellis Island (1908). It wasn’t an issue that Woodhill cross-dressed and falsified his “true sex” on the ships manifest. The newspaper’s praised his work ethic, he was ideal for law abiding citizenship, and also unlikely to become pregnant and request public aid or services. Women immigrants were more likely to be denied entry over men. Chinese women in particular were viewed as a risk for prostitution. Passing as white, if possible, was the preferred option for minority and non-white transmen. Facing terrible discrimination, they were often deemed unfit for personhood.

With the recent proposal of President Donald J. Trump’s ban on transgender citizens for military service (2017), this book couldn’t have come at a better time. “True Sex” raises awareness and encourages us to examine LGBT history and compare what we know today to the 19th and 20th century cultural and societal norms and attitudes when less knowledge and factual information was available. Great photo's included!
**With much appreciation and thanks to New York University Press via NetGalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review. ...more

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Aug 28, 2019 Isaac R. Fellman rated it it was amazing

A landmark work, important not only for its revelation of the lives of early modern trans men, but for its exploration of how media portrayals of these men - which were always complex, sometimes cruel, sometimes neutral or positive - played on American political anxieties about citizenship, race, marriage, family, and the urban/rural divide. Also a key look at the weird phenomenon of the public perceiving early modern trans men as, basically, plucky gals; you can actually watch the birth and gro ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Isaiah rated it really liked it

I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.

I am a huge nerd when it comes to queer anything. I am sadly lacking in my knowledge of FtM and transman history as it doesn't seem to be the topic of choice ever. When I saw this book up for grabs I freaked out. Finally a book that focused on my history. I wasn't going to be just a footnote in a book that is supposedly about trans people, but focuses on MtF people for 99% of the book.

The book was easy to follow, but a bit dense. It was cl I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.

I am a huge nerd when it comes to queer anything. I am sadly lacking in my knowledge of FtM and transman history as it doesn't seem to be the topic of choice ever. When I saw this book up for grabs I freaked out. Finally a book that focused on my history. I wasn't going to be just a footnote in a book that is supposedly about trans people, but focuses on MtF people for 99% of the book.

The book was easy to follow, but a bit dense. It was clearly an academic piece. It was written at a level where it was just slightly above the reading level that I can tear through. It took me two sessions to finish, instead of my customary one when it comes to queer books. I was expecting more of a Transgender Warriors, but I was very happy with the book.

The book followed the lives of transmen as they were outed in the media in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The author used the local and national newspapers to piece together the stories of the lives of the men and to match up to current theories around gender, race, and identity. I appreciated the note that author had about terminology, but I hate the term "true sex". The implications are pretty nasty. If the author hadn't put it in quotation marks every time it was used, I would have abandoned the book assuming that it was transphobic. Thankfully the author made the language clear up front and showed a great deal of respect for the men she was discussing. My favorite sign of her respect was she constantly referred to the men as he and as men. She never took away their dignity. She had none of the issues I generally have with academic work done by someone who isn't trans (maybe she is trans, I don't know. I have not asked). Don't get me started on my issues with psychology research!

The book taught me a great deal and made me reevaluate the way I see smaller cities. This book gave me validation in my views of port cities (did I ever mention how much I hated living in the SF area despite the large queer presence?). I much prefer the smaller cities or towns. According to this book I might just be following the footsteps of many transmen. I doubt the academic work was meant to make me feel less alone, but somehow this book did just that.

4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book.

To see more reviews check out mibookreviews.wordpress.com ...more

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May 31, 2020 April rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

3.5
I really liked this book overall, though a few things felt off.

First, the author does not identify as a trans man yet neither does she devote any discussion to her positionality in studying for and writing this book. As a huge proponent of #ownvoices work, I think that kind of positioning is vital if you’re going to study and discuss the history and lived experiences of a marginalized group that is not your own.

As far as the application of an intersectional lens to the work, I appreciated t ...more

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May 01, 2018 Lauren Kim rated it did not like it

Historical revisionism of the worst kind. The author refuses to touch on the fact that these so-called 'trans men' might simply have been lesbian women who felt unable to come out and live safely as homosexual women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time period women could not work jobs to feed their partner/family, and faced extreme censure if their sexual identity was discovered, making it very difficult to live as lesbian women, and easier to dress as men and disguise their id ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Andrea rated it really liked it

I received a ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

It is an interesting book to read since it is real history. It is interestingly written teaches something about trans history. I don't think many people know about this part of history anyhow influential it is to the trans community now. Everybody who want to understand the trans community better or is interested in history should read this book. ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Susie Dumond rated it it was amazing

Fantastic! This was a thorough and fascinating study of trans men/gender deviance at the turn of the 20th century. I really appreciated all of Skidmore's areas of focus and theses. The book does a great job of applying recent queer theory to historical perspectives and includes a lot of new concepts as well. This is a great read for anyone interested in LGBT history or gender studies.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC! ...more

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Jun 30, 2017 CrazyUnicorn rated it really liked it

Shelves: received-for-review, netgalley, z-2017, non-fiction, arcs-read, history

What made me want to read this book was that it's part of history that I know nothing about. It's a part of history that's not talked about. I think most people do not know about this part of history. I think it's a book that can educate people on the transgender history. I really enjoyed reading this book and it made me aware of this part of history.

I received a ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ...more

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Nov 12, 2020 Julian rated it liked it

I expected much more from this scholarship. First, props to this scholar for using newly scanned local newspapers to identify people who were assigned female at birth and passed as or lived as men. I'm grateful to have access to these articles even in an edited account.

I should have known that someone who sidelines Foucault wouldn't be up my alley. I still expected more queer theory to emerge from this trove of information about people who passed as men and then were "found out" mostly by law e I expected much more from this scholarship. First, props to this scholar for using newly scanned local newspapers to identify people who were assigned female at birth and passed as or lived as men. I'm grateful to have access to these articles even in an edited account.

I should have known that someone who sidelines Foucault wouldn't be up my alley. I still expected more queer theory to emerge from this trove of information about people who passed as men and then were "found out" mostly by law enforcement.

One issue I had with the scholar's approach was in their decision to use the phrase "trans men" (with a space) and he/him pronouns to refer to all 65 subjects. Actually, I was open to hearing a perspective on rejecting a butch lesbian/masculine woman framing that other historians have offered to pre-lesbian people and romantic/sexual relationships between people of similar genders. And in some cases, there are interview quotes where the subjects do articulate their dysphoria specifically around clothing, and identify as men. But lots of other cases were open ended. The male or trans men identification opened up interesting avenues of thought on male privilege in the form of voting, whiteness, citizenship, economic mobility, economic independence. But I think that accessing male privilege itself would have been an interesting take.

Isn't there a way to proliferate queernesses and genders without relying on contemporary lenses of transness, passing politics, or homosexuality?

I wanted to see a historical project tackled with Butler, Halberstam, Menon, Ahmed to produce new queer theory. But I got a reductive assessment that flowed like a bunch of index cards stapled together with clumsy sentences.

My favorite parts were the ones that reminded me of "The Invention of Heterosexuality." The parts about the Lazy Husband law and eugenics. The parts that strayed from the almost pathological treatment of the subjects (esp. the words 'anatomy' and 'masculine parts' seemed transphobic) to using these accounts to examine the development of marriage as a tool of the state to produce normative subjects who contribute to the economy and criminalize deviance of non-procreative sex, singlehood, hobohood, disability, immigration, etc.

Finally, I want to agree with one of the other reviewers that I'm skeptical of the author's positionality because they don't reflect on their queerness, cis status, rural resident, etc. Are they trans or nonbinary? Is their partner? What lived experience do they have with queer embodiment? Without this crucial piece, I have that feeling that, yet again, 'queer' history is being produced with a power imbalance, preventing a transgender guy or afab nonbinary person from doing this scholarship. This is likely respectability politics at a Texas university, but still. ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Bryan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Although I do not completely agree with all the author's premises, I do agree with the main premise, i.e. that the existence of queer individuals (trans men, in this case) in rural areas in the late 19th and early 20th century was probably greater than most historians have previously assumed. That queer individuals routinely sought out urban enclaves where they could associate with other queers may well be true, but not for all queers. Some of them seem to have been successful at establishing th Although I do not completely agree with all the author's premises, I do agree with the main premise, i.e. that the existence of queer individuals (trans men, in this case) in rural areas in the late 19th and early 20th century was probably greater than most historians have previously assumed. That queer individuals routinely sought out urban enclaves where they could associate with other queers may well be true, but not for all queers. Some of them seem to have been successful at establishing themselves in rural communities and achieved a relatively healthy acceptance by the members of those communities.

What surprised me were the number of trans men that not only successfully passed as men but who also married women. I had always assumed that same-sex marriage was always taboo, and especially so in rural and small town areas. Some of the trans men covered in this book not only married, but some, even after their "true sex" was exposed, continued to live in those communities with almost no negative consequences, even in some cases staying with their spouses. Where this seemed especially the case, it appears that the local community assumed that the couple were not sexually involved, which somehow gave them a pass.

It is interesting to note that the majority of the trans men covered in this book say that the reason they presented themselves as men was dso they could financially support themselves, as the better jobs at that time were only available to men. By their own accounting, very few of these trans men seem to be saying they present themselves as male gendered because they perceive that gender to be more true to themselves. This may be because such a concept had not yet been articulated by psychologoists and sexologists. At the time, such women would have been viewed by sexologists as lesbian, what today might be called "butch" lesbians, and would have been seen as having a psychological pathology. Interestingly, very little of that thinking seemed to have entered the press at that time when stories of these trans men became public, although the national press sometimes did present these cases as examples of sexual perversion. ...more

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Apr 28, 2018 Alison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, history, gender

The history in this book is fascinating, as Skidmore uses newspaper accounts to reconstruct information about trans men living in the 19th/20th Century crossover period. Our interpretation of the present will always inform the past, and as for many years these experiences were understood as women attempting to earn a living in a deeply sexist time, with the visibility of trans men, today's reading looks to a deeper experience of lived gender. Skidmore groups the experiences into themes, looking ...more

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Oct 28, 2020 Alix rated it it was ok

Shelves: biography-memoir, history-us, queer, read-2020

I remained slightly off-put through reading the reading of this. I think it would have been an interesting series of short biographies about trans men but her theory is really lackluster. A keyword search through newspaper archives does not a cohesive thesis make.

My first and most important issue is that until trans men are allowed to research and write our own histories and have them taken seriously, others profiting off our history will always feel disingenuous and awkward.
While Skidmore doe ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

"True Sex" deals with a very interesting subject matter and the case studies were all well-researched.

I liked learning more about the lives of trans men during the era and it was fascinating to see how liberal the rural ears these men occupied were for the most part.

Unfortunately, the arguments got rather repetitive, especially towards the end, and, for me at least, this study lacked supporting statistics. The author's arguments are mostly based on her case studies, but she makes claims for th ...more

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Apr 22, 2019 Wendy Rouse rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbtq-history

True Sex helps fill in important gaps in our understanding of trans history by uncovering significant individual stories of the lives of trans men in the early twentieth century. This book addresses important issues and challenges some of the standard interpretations of LGBTQ history. The focus on the lives of trans men in the rural United States challenges the narrow focus on urban queer communities. Skidmore employs a unique research method in analyzing media coverage of individual stories as ...more

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Sep 14, 2017 Jen Juenke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

I was a little hesitant to begin to read this book. As soon as I began to read, I was hooked! I could not put this book down. The author did an amazing job of describing the sexual norms, the newspaper coverage, and the general lives of the transmen that she wrote about. I, like many people, believed that trans people would only be found in urban areas at the turn of the 1900's. Yet the author demonstrates that this was not the case. Some transmen would be found in rural areas, leading "normal l ...more

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Dec 31, 2020 James rated it it was amazing

I can't rate this book highly enough. Not because it's perfect - frankly, I don't feel that I can be objective there - but because I feel as though it gave me my history. I always assumed cases of historical transmasculinity were covert and isolated; if you asked me, I could name Alan Hart and almost nobody else. In True Sex, Skidmore exposes a rich history of assigned female individuals living as men in the rural US. She also details her (painstaking) methodology clearly enough that I was able ...more

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Jan 25, 2021 Wes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, trans, history

Absolutely fantastic. This book explores a topic I've never seen done before, and it's very well done and readable. It explores the relationship between rural communities and queer (especially trans) folks very well, as well as taking a look into how white supremacy and colorism allow some trans bodies to be glossed over, and some to be policed. Fascinating to see how early modern trans thought differs from trans thought today. Definitely recommend. ...more

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Jul 23, 2018 Ashley Simpson rated it really liked it

Interesting and unexpected history of transsexual men in America from the 1850s through the 1950s. The author takes a non-traditional approach to her research which lends itself nicely to the stories she highlights throughout. Also a wonderful source of information on the social standards of heterosexual women of the time as well as examining how male patriarchy and male driven political society was either reinforced or threatened by trans men of the era. All in all, interesting read!

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May 27, 2018 Caitlin Conlon rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction-owned-read

A very informative dip into the lives of trans men in America at the turn of the 20th century. The organization of this book was impeccable. If you’re looking for an “enjoyable” read this probably won’t suit you — its purpose is to be informative & that’s reflected in the writing. But if you’re wondering where to start with trans history, or are looking for a zoomed in look at trans men in America at this time, this book would likely be a good fit for you!

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Oct 04, 2017 Karoliina rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer, history, netgalley

I was a little bit worried about how the book was going to talk about Frank Dubois because the title is a little sensationalist, but actually I really enjoyed this. The book is respectful towards the men it talks about. The author gives you enough information for this to have legitimacy as an academic text, but it is also very readable and accessible to people who don't have an academic background.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

...more

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Sep 23, 2018 H-Grace rated it it was ok

Too wordy when making a point. Perhaps this book was written as a doctoral, scholarly dissertation and that could explain its lack of serious editing. Whatever the reason, it’s convolutions in language resulted in a book that was not a comfortable read.

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Aug 28, 2017 Cat rated it really liked it

So interesting! I never would have thought that so many women could pass as men. The stories of these 18 "men" are fascinating. They lived ordinary lives in small towns, married...passed as men. Who knew? I wasn't really aware of transmen until this book. Worth a read; it's really eye opening. ...more

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Feb 13, 2021 Jared rated it really liked it

Interesting research and people of history.
It does read like a super long research paper instead of like a novel of stories. Still worth the read though.

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Jun 24, 2020 Sean Bradford rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020_queue

well researched, my greatest takeaway was the overturning of the idea that queerness was centered always in urban areas. rural America has been queer just as long.

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About Emily Skidmore

Emily Skidmore

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Emily Skidmore's research interests are U.S. women's and gender history, cultural history, and queer studies. Her book, True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, will be published by NYU Press in the fall of 2017. She has presented her research at numerous national conferences, including the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, the National Women's St ...more

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