The LGBTQ2S+ Community Throughout History - Article Two

 THE LGBTQ2S+ COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT HISTORY

 - ARTICLE TWO

By: Devon Afquir

In my last article, we learned about the B in LGBTQ2S+ and one of the founding fathers of the USA - Alexander Hamilton- experience with being bisexual. In this article, I will be sharing a story about the T (Trans). Before I get started I’d like to mention that Trans is an umbrella term for many gender identities including transgender, intersex, non-binary, genderfluid, and many, many more, people identifying under this umbrella term are people who feel their gender identity doesn’t align with the one they were born with.

The Mystery around James Barry’s Gender Identity

James Miranda Steuart Barry (Most likely born Margaret Ann Bulkley) was a military surgeon and physician, who reformed medical standards in the British army. His highest - and final - ranking position was an inspector-general of military hospitals in Canada throughout the late 1850s. When James passed away and his body was examined it was discovered he was born a female/had anatomy similar to that of a woman. This sparked a huge debate about his identity in the community of historians that continues to this day.

James first appears on record in 1809 shortly before enrolling at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland where he studied medicine. It is believed he was born Margaret Ann Bulkley In Ireland around 1789 because Margaret disappeared from records shortly before Barry appeared on record, as well as the fact a handwriting analysis of letters written under the two names suggested a match. 

His vague and conflicting statements about his childhood also raised questions about his sex, he would also often make inconsistent references to his birthdate. 

When James began his studies at the University of Edinburgh only men could be admitted, which is one of the suspected reasons he took on a male identity. He graduated with a doctor of medicine in 1812 and his final thesis was on femoral hernias (a less common type of hernia often found in older women). After university, he returned to London and took more courses in surgery and anatomy, which were relatively new in the medical field at the time. Barry was admitted into the Royal College of Surgeons (London) in early 1813. 

James passed the army medical board oral exam in July of 1813. He began as an assistant in military hospitals in Chelsea and Plymouth, England. After two years he received his first overseas posting in the Cape Colony (Now known as South Africa) This began his long distinguished and sometimes intense career across the British Empire. Wherever Barry was posted he’d fight to improve and reform hygiene and sanitation. 

Over the course of 12 years, James worked his way up from assistant surgeon and physician to the governor's household to an inspector in many public institutions. He improved the treatment of prisoners, those with leprosy, and patients in asylums. His push for reform and his short temper ultimately lead to his demise. He was demoted, arrested, and fought a duel with an army captain. After South Africa, he took up posting in Mauritius and then Jamaica. His reforms in Jamaica dropped the number of deaths in the military camps. 

His first front-line action was during the great slave revolt (1831-1832) the next posting was as a principal medical officer (PMO) in St. Helena. During his 2 years on the island, he was arrested twice (not related to his gender) and found not guilty in a court-martial (Military trial).

During the Crimean War, he organized a hospital for soldiers in Corfu (a Greek island). 

On November 3rd, 1857 Barry arrived at his post in Montreal, Canada. He attained the highest rank for medical officers in the military. At this point, he was most likely in his mid sixties. After spending 45 years of his career in hot climates Barry noted that it was “To Cool myself after such a long residence in the tropics and hot countries” This was a nod to the trouble he would often find himself in as a result of his hot temper. 

James oversaw barracks and Hospitals in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and Kingston. As he’d done in other postings, he began to reform and improve health care standards. 

Barry wintered in Montreal during his time in Canada. He was known for traveling through the city wrapped in furs on a red sleigh with silver bells. He became a member of the St. James Club (An elite Montreal gentlemen’s club). Barry fell ill with Bronchitis and/or the flu in 1858 and took a temporary leave from work in April of 1859 then returned to England that May. 

When he returned, the medical board declared him unfit for service because of the state of his health, he argued for reinstatement but failed to succeed. He returned to Jamaica to visit friends and lived the last years of his life in London. He died on the 25th of July 1865. 

James had asked to be buried in the clothes he died in, without further inspection of his body. However,  unfortunately, his corpse was prepared by a burial servant who disregarded this information. 

Shortly after his burial, the servant approached the army claiming Barry had “A perfect female body” and stretch marks indicating Barry may have given birth at some point in his life. The doctor that signed James’ death certificate - and had known him for years - had not examined Barry’s body after death as he’d been able to identify the body without doing so. When the servant insisted that James was female the doctor had thought he may have been a hermaphrodite (now an outdated and often offensive term for an intersex person). 

The story was first published in a Dublin newspaper on August 14th, 1865. The story had been picked up by a few Britain newspapers and quickly spread worldwide. At this point, several people who had known Barry claimed they had speculated James’s birth gender. Others claimed they had known but kept it under wraps per his request. 

This story has left historians with many theories such as, Barry was a woman disguised as a man to pursue a medical career in a time when women couldn’t, he was intersex and chose to live as a male. The theory that James could have simply been a transgender male has become popular but most historians have ignored the idea, another result of the inherent transphobia we as a modern world to this day have yet to disregard.

            - Devon (They/He/She)

Written Mar 13th, 2023 Edited Jan 16, 2026