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By IRENE JAVORS (https://glreview.org/author/glreview30436/)

 

(https://www.boulderbookstore.net/aff/The GLR/book/9780262038973)Butch

Heroes (https://www.boulderbookstore.net/aff/The

GLR/book/9780262038973)

by Ria Brodell

MIT Press. 96 pages, $24.95

 

UPON �rst looking into this small volume, I had no idea what really big ideas and

treasures were to be found within its 96 pages. Artist and educator Ria Brodell has given us a celebration

of “butch heroes”—individuals throughout history who were designated female at birth but who identi�ed

as male later in life. Many were involved in lesbian relationships along the way. Most are long forgotten.

Brodell �lls in these gaps by providing one-page biographies for each subject, which appear on the page

opposite her illustrations. These are extraordinarily detailed miniatures of the person under discussion,

dressed and manicured according to the (male) styles of the day.

         Just as the subjects of Brodell’s paintings led transgressive lives, Brodell engages in a subversive act

by using the template of Catholic prayer cards as the model for the paintings. Instead of depicting

Catholic saints, these panels present gender-nonconforming martyrs suffering at the hands of hostile

social norms and laws. These stylized gouache portraits are rendered in strong, bold colors and offer a

glimpse into lives overlooked by history.

         Some of the personages depicted came to tragic ends. In 15th-century Germany, one Katherina

Hetzeldorfer was sentenced to death by drowning for seducing women. In 1777, Ann Marrow was

sentenced to three months in prison and the pillory for wearing men’s clothing and impersonating a man.

But not all of the stories end in beheadings, hangings, or other horri�c outcomes. A Native American

named Sitting in the Water Grizzly was hailed as a hero, a healer, and an otherworldly being. Petra Ruiz,

who in 1913 enlisted to �ght in the Mexican Revolution, was known for protecting women from rape by

her own troops.

Limited Edition Issue

Blog

(https://glreview.org/issue/issue-137/

(https://www.powells.com/book/�

island-9781950691609)

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Ria Brodell. Sitting in the Water Grizzly, 2011

https%3A%2F%2Fglreview.org%2Farticle%2Fgender- Warriors%20of%20Yore)

     Brodell is to be commended for the extensive research

she’s done for each subject. Her methods of inquiry included

poring through old newspapers, archival material, journals,

photos, drawings, and maps. And her efforts paid off. These

stories reveal the lives of gender non-conforming individuals

from many eras in history who stayed true to themselves

despite living under the narrowly de�ned rules and roles

governing gender in their particular culture. The Davis

Museum at Wellesley College has recently acquired fourteen

portraits from the “Butch Heroes” series. These inspiring and

important works will serve to introduce museum attendees

to the stories of butch lives that were previously ignored or

erased.

_______________________________________

___

Irene Javors is a frequent contributor to this magazine.

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