- [Narrator] No matter what your Aunt Ida thinks
queer people weren't invented in the 1980s.
They've literally always existed.
Hello and welcome to an episode
of Historical Icons Who Weren't Actually Straight.
Today we'll be talking about the amazing Chevalier d'Eon,
a French spy, diplomat, soldier,
and person of trans experience.
Up first,
♪ Some fast facts ♪
In 1728, the Chevalier d'Eon was born
Charles-Genevieve-Louis-Auguste-Andre-Timothee
d'Eon de Beaumont,
and somehow having the longest name in human history
isn't what she's famous for.
She was a whiz kid at school,
and by the time d'Eon turned 35,
she obtained a law degree, published books,
became a renowned fencer, got knighted,
and probably made everyone around her feel like
a huge underachiever.
D'Eon had a public career as a diplomat
to Russia and England,
but secretly she also worked
for the most covert spy service in France,
known as Le Secret du Roi, or the King's Secret.
During this time she successfully infiltrated
the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia
by presenting as a woman,
though she wouldn't transition until many years later.
At 32, as a French ambassador and as a military captain,
d'Eon fought in the Seven Years War
and was present to mediate the Peace of Paris Treaty
that ended it.
(soldiers cheering)
She helped end a dang war.
Granted, the war did not go well for France,
but for her contributions, d'Eon was awarded
one of France's highest honors by King Louis XV,
the Order of Saint Louis.
This is when she officially took the title of Chevalier,
which means knight.
So she and the king seemed like they were on good terms,
but a year later in 1764, the king booted her out
of her diplomatic liaison job.
To get back at him, and throw some shade,
she published a satirical and popular book
of state secrets that she had collected as a spy.
(people laughing)
Yeah, we get it, d'Eon. You're good at everything!
And she was also very clever.
She held back some of the most damaging secrets
of the crown,
so even though the book caused her to be exiled from France,
she was able to blackmail the king
who kept her on his payroll until his death in 1774.
Pretty smart.
But like many good stories, this one has a tragic ending.
D'Eon was jailed for debt in 1804.
Despite an advance from a publisher to write a final memoir,
the Chevalier d'Eon spent her last years bedridden
in poverty until her death in 1810, aged 81.
♪ Now onto the queer stuff ♪
D'Eon presented publicly as a man until she was 49,
after which she presented as a woman.
She had already made an impressive mark on society
before transitioning in 1777,
but d'Eon's identity as a woman
brought her even greater fame and celebrity status.
In England, she mingled with the rich and the famous
and performed popular demonstrations as a master fencer,
often while wearing a striking black gown
blinged out with her military metals.
So high fashion.
Perhaps not surprisingly, her transition inspired
an ongoing widespread bet about her gender.
So people being weirdly and rudely obsessed
with other people's identities
has an unfortunately long standing history.
According to some historians, d'Eon would challenge anyone
who would bet on her gender identity to a duel.
We should definitely keep this tradition alive.
In 1778, a rumor started that d'Eon had actually been
assigned female at birth,
but she had been brought up as a man
in order to receive a family inheritance.
Although after her death,
a surgeon claimed d'Eon's biological sex was male,
but in d'Eon's unpublished autobiography,
she herself claimed to have been born female,
but was instead raised as a man by, as she put it,
"A father desperate for a son."
So how did d'Eon transition during a time
when it seemed like people were executed
for just thinking queer thoughts?
Well, at the time there were women who, just like Mulan,
dressed up like men to join the army.
So d'Eon being a military man
who later revealed herself to be a woman
was not as unusual as you might think,
and her transition was generally accepted.
Besides now being a famous fencer,
d'Eon was also held in high regard
by innovative feminists at the time
as a specimen of shining female fortitude
to which English women might look up to.
One of these feminist philosophers was Mary Wollstonecraft,
a fascinating woman in her own right,
who's actually Mary Shelley's mother.
Yes, that Mary Shelley,
you know, the 20-year-old author of "Frankenstein."
(upbeat music)
♪ In conclusion ♪
Both during her life and for centuries after,
the brilliant and the daring Chevalier d'Eon
has sparked conversation and controversy.
To some she was a trickster and even a monster;
to others a fascinating celebrity
full of talent and intrigue.
We still see her influence
across all kinds of popular culture today:
in the animated series "Le Chevalier d'Eon,"
as the subject of a "Doctor Who" audio drama,
and even as a character you can duel
in "Assassin's Creed Unity."
D'Eon is a hero of the LGBTQ+ community
because she lived as her authentic self
over 200 years ago during a time period
in which trans people were not understood.
Also because she fenced in a dress
and looked awesome doing it.
Take that, Aunt Ida.
(upbeat music)
Make sure to check out the next episode
of Historical Icons Who Weren't Actually Straight
right here.