#nonbinarytrans

Ria Brodell’s “Butch Heroes” series offers portraits of heroic figures whose stories are seldom told. They are individuals who were assigned female at birth but whose gender presentation was more masculine than feminine, who did not want to enter into heterosexual marriage, and who often faced dire punishment for being themselves. Brodell (they/them) is a non-binary trans artist based in Boston.

Here’s one example from Brodell’s “Butch Heroes” series.

Image: D. Catalina “Antonio” de Erauso, 1592-1650, New Spain, 2011 Gouache on paper, text, 11 x 7 in.

Biography of Catalina de Erauso (Edited version)

Catalina de Erauso was born in San Sebastián, Spain, to a noble Basque family and was raised in a convent from an early age. Before taking her vows, she fled dressed in men’s clothes and assumed the name Francisco de Loyola. Francisco worked as a page for a few years before deciding to seek adventure in the New World, sailing to Panama as a cabin boy. After arriving in New Spain, Francisco enlisted in the Spanish army under the name Alonso Díaz Ramírez de Guzmán and became a successful soldier. However, Alonso got embroiled in much trouble, including trouble with women. After deserting the army, Alonso was pursued by authorities for various offenses and eventually wounded in a duel. On the verge of death, Alonso revealed that he was a woman. Alonso recovered and was examined by midwives who confirmed that she was a woman and a virgin. Eventually, Catalina de Erauso became a celebrity known as the “Lieutenant Nun.” She petitioned King Philip IV for a military pension and visited Pope Urban VIII with a request to be allowed to continue to dress as a man. She was granted both requests. Drauso returned to New Spain as Antonio de Erauso and retired as a mule driver and merchant.

Every time I travel and meet with hotel or resort employees, team members at workshops, or simply local people with whom I come into contact as a customer, guest or tourist, I can't but think about how they will accept me and what I’ll have to face.

After all, people are so different and many of them have never even heard of the existence of non-binary people. For almost all new people I meet on trips, I am the first androgyne in their life. Or at least the first one to introduce myself this way and speak openly on the topic. Each time, they ask lots of questions with genuine interest, without hostility and aggression, about what it means and how to treat me properly. They’re ordinary people who aren’t really passionate about gender issues. However, I’ve never seen any alarm or disgust in their faces. They can’t fully understand me. It’s easier for them to think that I’m a boy. But this is simply because they aren’t used to such concepts and it's still difficult for them to get a hang of the idea and settle into it.

So far, I've only traveled around Ukraine. And I’ve almost never met anyone who would treat me negatively or wouldn’t be ready to work together with me. Maybe I was lucky to only meet nice, calm, friendly people. Perhaps a lot depends on the way you present yourself: how open and self-confident you are, how ready you are to appear and be as friendly as possible, creating a positive image of a sociable person who feels at ease with other people and is not ashamed of being themselves.

I don’t know what they say behind my back. Many of the people I thought were my friends ended up spreading hurtful rumors and accusations once they’ve had a chance to sling mud at me. And seemingly upstanding LGBTIQ+ allies and even activists can do heinous things no matter how positive and nice you act. So, their studied friendliness is no guarantee of sincerity. Therefore, I don’t care so much about what people think or feel about me. They have the right to do this just like any other person. All that matters for me is that their prejudices don't affect affect our cooperation and its results. Let their smiles be fake. Let them get their head full of different ideas and information regarding non-binary people in a month or two. Yet let them not spoil my mood at the moment, let them fulfill their part of the deal, and let us part in good health and with possibly fond memories.