an illustration of the Public Universal Friend from the 18th century in a yellow monochrome color pallette
Community
The 250-Year-Old “Fad”: The Public Universal Friend and Gender Nonconformity Then and Now

1776 was a chaotic year: so hectic that barely anyone noticed that a young woman named Jemima Wilkinson lay dying. The person who awoke the next morning bore a different name and a different purpose: The Public Universal Friend was born.

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