The Public Universal Friend — Genderless Religious Leader
After recovering from a severe fever in 1776, Jemima Wilkinson declared that they had died and been reborn as a genderless evangelist called the 'Public Universal Friend.' The Friend rejected all gendered names and pronouns, dressed in a style that was neither conventionally male nor female, and preached across the northeastern United States for over 40 years. The Friend founded a religious community in western New York and insisted on being referred to without any gendered language.
Impact & Significance
The Public Universal Friend is one of the earliest documented Americans to reject gender entirely, and is now recognised as an important figure in the history of non-binary identity.
Reference Record
- Date
- October 1776
- Era
- 1800s
- Sources
- 1
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