"Was I not a girl I would be a Soldier!" - Highlighting Dr. James Barry for National LGBT Health Awareness Week

As part of National LGBT Health Awareness Week, we're honoring Dr. James Barry, the ground-breaking Irish surgeon whose contributions to medicine and social reform improved living conditions for society's most marginalized people.

source: public domain

James was born in Cork in the 1790's under a different name, and was quoted at 19 as saying, "Was I not a girl I would be a Soldier!" He eventually took the name James Barry from his maternal uncle and began his medical education in 1809 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. In typical trans masc fashion, James wore an overcoat at all times, regardless of weather, proving once again that trans people - and our Dysphoria Hoodies - have been here the whole time.

After SERVING in that coat (i'm so sorry), Dr. Barry served in the British Army from 1813 to 1859. In stark contrast to the rest of the British Army, Dr. Barry was well-known for IMPROVING the lives of people in the British colonies where he was posted. He consistently fought for - and won - better conditions for the most marginalized people in his locality, demanding more nutritious food, sanitation, better drinking water systems, and proper medical care for everyone, regardless of race, status, or gender.

source: public domain

His unyielding compassion for marginalized people was paired with a hot temper, resulting in MULTIPLE arrests and demotions throughout his career. Despite being punished for his efforts, Dr. Barry continued his work and eventually gained the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals - the second-highest medical office in the British Army. Dr. Barry only stopped practicing medicine when he was forced to retire in his sixties due to ill health and old age.

Dr. Barry was also infamously close to Lord Charles Somerset, eventually moving into a private apartment at Charles's residence while Charles was governor of Cape Town, South Africa. Both were investigated and Dr. Barry was court-martialed after some homophobic troll hung a poster claiming Charles was "buggering Dr. Barry". They were both exonerated, possibly on the "just guys being dudes" defense. In 1828, Dr. Barry went AWOL from his post in (what is now) the Republic of Mauritius to return to England after Charles suffered a stroke. James cared for Charles for three years, until Charles's death in 1831.

source: Them

When James died in 1865, the woman who prepared his body for burial disregarded the instructions in his will and attempted to blackmail James's own physician, Major D.R. McKinnon, with her claims that James had previously given birth. When Major McKinnon told her to kick rocks, she outed James as a trans man to the press. When George Graham of the General Register Office wrote to Major McKinnon regarding the woman's claims, Major McKinnon proved himself an ally - and a Normal Human Being - once again. His reponse to Graham points out that he had been called to identify the body of a person he knew for almost a decade, and therefore, had no reason to examine Dr. Barry's genitals. In Major McKinnon's words, emphasis mine:

"I informed [the blackmailing woman] that it was none of my business whether Dr Barry was a male or a female...whether Dr Barry was male, [or] female...I do not know, nor had I any purpose in making the discovery as I could positively swear to the identity of the body as being that of a person whom I had been acquainted with as Inspector General of Hospitals for a period of eight or nine years."

Other Cool Facts about Dr. Barry:
- performed first recorded Caesarean birth in the British "Empire" where both parent and baby survived
- had a poodle named Psyche
- amazing bedside manner
- was once severely reprimanded for sitting in the Clergy Section at church (no idea why he did this, i just think it's hilarious)
- was in a duel where he shot the peak of the other's guy's hat off

Read more about Dr. James Barry with Notes of a Gentleman's list of affirming articles and podcasts here.