The Cercle Hermaphroditos was the first known informal

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

advocacy organisation in the United States, founded in 1895 in New York City "to unite for defense against the world’s bitter persecution". The group first met at

Paresis Hall Columbia Hall, commonly known as Paresis Hall, was a brothel, gay bar & meeting spot for "Sexual inversion (sexology), inverts" located on 392 Bowery in Manhattan, New York City, in the 1890s. Located near Cooper Union, the Hall was owned by the ...

, also called Columbia Hall or simply "the Hall," which was a center of homosexual nightlife in New York City. There, male sex workers would solicit men under an effeminate persona. In a time when

cross dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

was socially unacceptable and a punishable crime, places like Paresis Hall provided a place where self-described "instinctive female-impersonators,"

androgynes Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often re ...

queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

, or

Uranians The Uranians were a late-19th-century and early-20th-century clandestine group of up to several dozen male homosexual poets and prose writers who principally wrote on the subject of the love of (or by) adolescent boys. In a strict definition they ...

could gather and feel more free to express themselves and socialize with similar people. These were

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and

Edwardian era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

words – with their own nuances of meaning – for people who were born male, felt they were at least partly women in mind or spirit, and preferred having sex with men; people who today might call themselves

transgender women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

people, or feminine gay men, in the language of today's LGBT communities. The nature of Paresis Hall during this period is known to historians today from a variety of sources. However, the Cercle Hermaphroditos is more apocryphal, known chiefly from the autobiography of an "instinctive female-impersonator," Jennie June, who provides the main surviving description of it. June says all the group's members knew one another only by

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s, for reasons of safety.Jonathan Ned Katz
"Earl Lind: The Cercle Hermaphroditos, c. 1895"
''OutHistory.'' Retrieved April 21, 2021. Additionally, June also stated that the majority of the group were Ultra-Androgyne, & would always clothe themselves as female in their daily lives if the law permitted it. The group was led by pseudonymous Roland Reeves. Little evidence of the Cercle's existence is known to survive today, outside of June's autobiography. If it issued any pamphlets, none are yet known to historians. For this reason, some historians have raised questions about whether the Cercle existed at all. The Cercle is noted by transgender historian

Susan Stryker Susan O'Neal Stryker (born 1961) is an American professor, historian, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality. She is a professor of Gender and Women's Studies, former director of the Institute for LGBT St ...

as "the first known informal organization in the United States to concern itself with what we might now call transgender social justice issues".

June-Werther's Descriptions

Of the current knowledge we have, most is derived from the writings of activist Jennie June/Ralph Werther, concerning itself with recollections of conversations, happenings, activism, communion, current science of the time, & more. Speaking of the membership, J-W notes: "The hermaphroditoi numbered about a score. All were highly cultured ultra-androgynes varying in age from eighteen to forty." "Cultured" meaning those who took great care to avoid being caught.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Cercle Hermaphroditos, ''circa'' 1895
Transgender organizations in the United States 1895 establishments in New York City Transgender history in the United States Organizations established in 1895 19th century in LGBTQ history Defunct LGBTQ organizations based in New York City {{LGBT-org-stub