The Notorious PUF: Lessons in American Transness
By Quinn Terry, Editor & Contributor, the Fem Word
Art by Etsy creator Shelley Shambles
1776. Washington has ordered the retreat of the Continental Army from Manhattan Island. New York City has been lost to the British. 189 miles north, The Wilkinson family pace their Cumberland, Rhode Island home. They are waiting for the eighth child, twenty four year old Jemima, to die of the fever that’s been raging in her for days. They got their wish. A person, wearing Jemima’s face, walks out of the room and calmly states that Jemima Wilkinson has died. The genderless prophet of the Lord, The Public Universal Friend, was born in her place.
2019. Violence against trans people, particularly black trans women, reaches epidemic proportions, according to the American Medical Association. Merriam-Webster chooses the word “they” as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun as the word of the year. “They” and “themself” are added to the dictionary as proper gender-neutral pronouns. Janet Mock, director of Pose, becomes the first trans woman to sign a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix.
1776. The Public Universal Friend, hereafter known as PUF, tells their family that Jemima died after receiving a vision of angels, who delivered a message: she must “assume the body which God has prepared for the spirit to dwell in.” PUF is born in the form of Jemima and eschews gender. A prophet has no need for such things. The name Jemimia Wilkinson is never used by PUF again. They present themselves in a truly androgynous fashion, wearing loose clerical robes that are specifically male whilst also wearing women’s shoes and keeping their hair long. PUF’s work begins immediately. They begin to preach in Cumberland and attend a meeting at the Smithfield Quaker Meeting to relate the story of their birth. They are repeatedly told to sit down and be quiet. A contemporary relates “her” response: “As it was the Lord who spoke by her, she could not be silent unless they applied hands to her mouth.”
2020. Sarah McBride is elected to the Delaware state senate, becoming the highest-ranking openly trans politician in the nation. Over 20 states have or introduce anti-trans legislation. The Trevor Project’s National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health shows that 52% of trans and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide. 40% reported physical threats or harm in their lifetime because of their identity. Gavin Grimm wins his lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the Gloucester County School Board for refusing his right to use the boy’s bathroom. The victory comes after six years of fighting.
1782. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States of America. The end of the Revolutionary War is on the horizon. PUF, their family, and their followers travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to preach. At this time, Philly is the cultural hub of the soon to be United States.
2021. The Human Rights Campaign names 2021 as the deadliest year on record for trans and nonbinary people. The numbers have been rising globally since 2019. This announcement follows the murder of Marquiisha Lawrence, a 28 year old Black transgender woman, who was shot in Greeneville, SC. In Oakland, CA, Arm the Girls raises tens of thousands of dollars for self-defense kits for trans folks across the country.
1783. The followers of PUF formalize themselves into the Society of Universal Friends. Following PUF’s dedication to celibacy, many female followers join together in the Faithful Sisterhood, embracing celibacy and refuting 18th century expectations to get married and have children. Local newspapers publish pieces on PUF - calling them a crazy “woman” and a “blasphemer.” Hecklers often appear at PUF’s sermons.
New Year’s Day, 2022. Amariey Lei, a young Black transgender woman, is found dead on Wood Street in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. She was shot. She is considered the first transgender woman to be killed in 2022. Amariey, also known as Myara, was a coach for Lady Diamonds, a local dance team that worked with young girls.
1787. An article in The Pennsylvania Gazette accuses “a number of Jemima Wilkinson’s deluded followers of murdering Mrs. Sarah Wilson in January last. Too many already have fallen victims, be reason of their opposition to the cause and interest of Jemima Wilkinson.” The Society of Friends and PUF themself persevere, despite such accusations. Shortly after, the house in which the Friends are staying is attacked by a rioting crowd. Bricks crash through the windows. Various thrown objects bounce off of the walls. PUF tells their followers that they must leave, head into the wilderness, and await the Second Coming of Christ.
2022. Tatiana Labelle’s body is found by sanitation workers in a garbage can in Chicago. Officials report that she was beaten to death. Her family reported her missing five days previously. She was a 33 year old Black trans woman who enjoyed Mariah Carey’s music and was a Chicago native. Fern Feather’s body is found on the side of the road in Morrisville, Vermont with a stab wound to the chest. She was a 29 year old white trans woman who loved birds and often had wildflowers in her hair. Kathryn (Katie) Newhouse is shot and killed by her father in their home in Canton, Georgia. He then kills himself. She was a 19 year old Filipino trans woman who enjoyed hiking. Cypress Ramos is found dead in a storage unit in Lubbock, Texas. She “died after being struck with a hard object.” She was a 21 year old Latina trans woman and drag performer. The list goes on.
1819. PUF and the Society of Universal Friends have inhabited the wilderness of western New York - a veritable frontier at the time - since the late 1780s. The settlement has fallen into chaos. PUF has been charged with blasphemy in the court by two of their former followers. The case is thrown out, but the defectors manage to take the 14,000 acres of land the Society has settled on because PUF refuses to use the legal name Jemima Wilkinson on any documents. The law does not recognize them as a full person. After coping with congestive heart failure for months, PUF takes their final breath on July 1, 1819. After their loss, the Society of Universal Friends slowly falls apart.
As of March 2022, 238 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQIA bills have been proposed in the United States. The focus of these bills range from preventing children gender affirming medical care, limiting trans individual’s ability to use the correct bathroom, barring trans youth from participating in sports as themselves, and heavily limiting educating the youth of the country about any identity that is not heteronormative. Republican Governor Spencer Cox of Utah frequently calls the bills unnecessary, stating that trans youth are “just trying to stay alive.”
Image courtesy of Futility Closet.
Paul Moyer, author of one of the most thorough accounts of PUF’s life, argues that the “story of the Public Universal Friend [...] shows that common folk, especially those like Jemima Wilkinson who did uncommon things, helped to make the Revolution revolutionary.” The history of transness in the United States is a complicated one, with highs and extreme lows. The gender revolution in the United States, and around the world, has never stopped. The gender binary, male and female, that so permeates our culture is obnoxiously new in our history - and is a direct remnant of colonialism. Indigenous gender-expansive individuals existed long before such restrictions, and will continue to do so. Two-Spirit, Muxe, Māhū, Hijra, Fa’afafine, the list goes on. The queer community thanks you for your lives and your truths. We mourn every trans and gender-nonconforming person whose lives have been viciously taken from the earth for simply existing.
Jemima Wilkinson died in October of 1776. She never left that bed. But the Public Universal Friend sure as hell did - and they made the folks around them listen. Even those who found PUF a blasphemer or delusional listened. They frequently showed up at their sermons - to heckle, but they were there. PUF caused a strong reaction from those they met. They persevered through it all, sure in their beliefs until the end. They never used pronouns again, simply signing their documents as “The Friend,” or “PUF.” Their followers only ever referred to them with he/him/his pronouns. They lived their life unapologetically. They faced down angry mobs, inspired their followers, and eventually sought a peaceful existence in the wilderness when the world became too much. Many modern day queer folks can relate.
It is easy to look at a person like the Public Universal Friend and be hopeful - surely it’s gotten better since then, right?! But we look around, and trans folks are still fighting for the right to be. Just like the one and only PUF, at the birth of this country. We are all still fighting. The war never stopped. Still, I’ll leave you with a bit of hope. Here’s an absolutely breathtaking interaction between the PUF and a heckler in Philly:
The year is 1783. The Society of Universal Friends has been in Philadelphia for a year, and PUF is delivering a sermon. An angry crowd gathers, but this is nothing new. PUF has been dealing with angry locals for months. An ignorant question from the crowd cuts through the sermon: “What are you!?”
PUF calmly replies: “There is nothing indecent or improper in my dress or appearance. I am not accountable to mortals.”
“I am that I am.”
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