Mary Jones (1784-1864)

Welcome to #WonderWomxnWednesday! Today We'll be checking out the story of one of the earliest recorded stories of Trans Women, Ms. Mary Jones. These will be excerpts from various sited articles from across the internet. Enjoy!

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"One of the earliest recorded stories of a trans woman in America, Mary Jones was a black sex worker in New York. One night in 1836, Robert Haslem, a white mason worker, found her in an alley and decided to pay her for sex. But on his way back home, he discovered he was missing $99. Jones was brought to court for theft, and despite the constant jeers, she arrived in elegant women’s clothing each day. She testified that she always dressed that way in New Orleans and amongst other people of color. After days of insults and jokes at her expense, the court sentenced Jones to five years in prison. Adding insult to injury, Jones’ sentence was celebrated in a crude illustration that dubbed her “the man-monster.” Despite the discrimination she faced as a queer sex worker of color, though, Jones refused to give up her identity." - Gabrielle Bellot From HelloGiggles.com

"Among sex workers and black people, Jones had no immediate problems. She seemed to even get away with her “practical amalgamation” — a term used by the Herald, referring to sex between white and black people — via prosthetic. It wasn’t cross-dressing or sex work that led to her arrest, but pick-pocketing white men.

Keep in mind that New York had only completed the abolishment of slavery in 1827, less than a decade previous. Dehumanizing Mary Jones was easy because she was someone that white society feared: black, gender deviant, a sex worker, a criminal, and, probably worst of all, free. She served as a titillating, anti-abolitionist warning against the “social chaos” of free black people in white society, writes LGBT studies academic Tavia Amolo Ochieng’ Nyongó." - Michael Lyons from DailyXtra.com

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Excerpts From:

DailyXtra

HelloGiggles