You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart radio and Grimm and Mild

from Erin Manky.

Lee Jamestown Virginia Courthouse was buzzing with gossip.

On April 8th of 1629, Thomasine Hall went on trial.

That day, the very nature of their identity was up for debate.

Thomasine had been stirring up whispers with the way they dressed and how they socialized.

Sometimes they wore dresses, other times they wore pants.

It was also rumored that Thomasine was courting and sleeping with both women and men in

the community.

Thomasine lived at a time when gender existed in a rigid binary, with the two in opposition

to each other.

Men had their clothes and their social scripts and women did too.

But the record tells us that Thomasine existed somewhat fluidly, changing their dress,

performance, and pronouns to suit the moment.

At the trial, Thomasine claimed to have both male and female gentalia, insisting that

they were both a man and a woman.

At Thomasine, underwent a number of exams and different inspectors drew different conclusions.

But what we now believe is that Thomasine was likely an intersects person.

Determining a single gender for Hall felt essential to the community.

But the court couldn't figure out a satisfying answer, so it came up with a solution.

Instead of forcing Thomasine to abide by a single set of gender norms, the court wouldn't

force a simultaneous performance of both.

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