Joseph Lobdell 1829-1912

Born in 1829 to a working-class family in upstate New York, Joseph Lobdell, a skilled marksman, moved to the frontier, married a woman, and bucked 19th-century gender expectations. Joseph was eventually incarcerated in an asylum, locked away from his beloved for insisting he was a man.

In an all too common example of mis-gendering, 20th-century scholars have labeled Lobdell a lesbian, but a recent book incorporating queer theory and Lobdell’s own writings makes the argument that Lobdell was indeed a transgender man. Read an interview with the author of A Strange Sort of Being: The Transgender Life of Lucy Ann/Joseph Israel Lobdell, 1829-1912.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Joseph Lobdell is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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