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Fencing Match between Monsieur de Saint-George et Mademoiselle La
Chevalière d'Éon de Beaumont at Carlton House on 9 April 1787. Engraving by Victor Marie Picot |
By Sally
Chevalier d'Éon (Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont) was a French soldier, diplomat and spy who publicly lived as a woman in 18th-century London.
Chevalier d'Éon (Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont) was a French soldier, diplomat and spy who publicly lived as a woman in 18th-century London.
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| Portrait by Thomas Stewart |
The Chevalier d'Éon claimed to be assigned female at birth, and demanded recognition by the government as such.
King Louis XVI complied, but required in turn that d'Éon dress appropriately in women's clothing. When the king's offer included funds for a new wardrobe of women's clothes, d'Éon agreed.
King Louis XVI complied, but required in turn that d'Éon dress appropriately in women's clothing. When the king's offer included funds for a new wardrobe of women's clothes, d'Éon agreed.
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| Engraving by J.B. Bradel |
Praised by feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft, the Chevalier (or Chevalière, referring to a female knight) remained well known long after death.
British sexologist Havelock Ellis coined "Eonism" to refer to transgender behaviour (Ellis lost the lexicographical battle to Magnus Hirschfeld's "transvestism"), and the Beaumont Society for help and support for the transgender community took its name from d’Eon.
Sources: Wikipedia and The Guardian.
Originally published on my tumblr blog.
Vern L. and Bonnie Bullough have included an interesting quote by Eon in their book Crossdressing, Sex, and Gender:
ReplyDelete"I am sufficiently mortified at being what nature has made me, and that the coolness of m natural temperament, having never led me into pleasureseeking, should induce my friends to imagine in their innocence, in France as much as in Russia and in England, that I am of the female sex. The malice of my enemies have confirmed all this...If the Great Master of the Universe has not endowed me with all the exterior vigour of manhood, He has amply made amends by giving me head and heart... I am what the hands of God have made me; satisfied with my weakness, I would not change it... even if that was in my power."
The Bolloughs argue that one of the reasons d'Eon was not harassed more for his/her gender variance than s/he was, was the fact that people believe the Chevalier was a female to male crossdresser and not the other way around.