#RiaBrodell

[harvardfineartslib]

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.

Queer holdings : a survey of the Leslie-Lohman Museum collection Edited by Gonzalo Casals and Noam Parness. Munich : Hirmer Verlag, 2019 HOLLIS number: 99154382110903941

#LGBTQHistoryMonth #LGBTQHistory #LGBTQ #Butch #ButchHeroes #ButchHistory #Queer #NonBinary #NonBinaryTrans #NonBinaryArtist #RiaBrodell #HarvardFineArtsLibrary #Fineartslibrary #Harvard #HarvardLibrary

[antidee]

#KaúxumaNúpika or ‘Gone To The Spirits’ was from the Ktunaxa Nation, travelled throughout the Pacific Northwest, was respected as a healer, & prophet. Enslaved in her first marriage to a Canadian man then returning to her tribe claiming his superpowers changed her sex to a man, wore men’s clothing, carried weapons, & took a wife. Kaúxuma name changed to #QánqonKámekKlaúla or ‘Sitting In The Water Grizzly’ after crouching in a stream to avoid being outed. 🎨Artwork & 📕Book: “Butch Heroes” by @riabrodell https://www.instagram.com/p/CBCxaw_DG8S/?igshid=1pzsluwq1ekin

#kaúxumanúpika #qánqonkámekklaúla

[bgsqd]

#butchheroes a book of portraits by @riabrodell now @bgsqd #queerhistory #butchhistory (at Bureau of General Services-Queer Division) https://www.instagram.com/bgsqd/p/BwU5HwslLvO/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qswdnblmfm8i

#butchheroes #queerhistory #butchhistory