Mary East

Mary East swore to forever remain single after the man that she loved was ripped away from her. She sought comfort from another young girl that had also sworn off men, and they found that comfort in each other. The two connected on a deep level, and they decided to live out the rest of their lives together; they knew it would be impossible as they were both young women, so they decided to change that. After flipping a coin, it was decided that 16-year-old Mary would begin a new life as James How. She dressed and lived as James, and the couple generated an honest living. The pair never let people into their house, “they never kept either maid or boy, but Mary East, the late James How, always used to draw beer, serve, fetch in and carry out pots always herself, so peculiar were they in each particular.” This was difficult, but it allowed them to live the way that they truly wanted. Unfortunately, James was later extorted by a woman named Mrs. B. This woman had known James when he still publicly identified himself as Mary, and she used this to her advantage. Mrs. B. claimed that she would not expose James’ secret if he provided her with a sum of money; he panicked and did as she asked of him. However, Mrs. B. saw that this worked and continued blackmailing James until he finally refused. Mrs. B. sent two thugs to convince James. After a series of intimidation tactics, James was forced to tell his secret to a neighbor, Mr. Williams, to protect himself. The extortion plan was foiled, and one of the thugs escaped. Mrs. B. and the other man were brought to court, which “Mr. Williams attended with James How, dress’d in the proper habit of her sex; now again under here real name of Mary East; the alteration of her dress from that of a man to that of a woman appeared so great, that together with her awkward behaviour in her new assumed habit, caused great diversion to all.” After the ordeal, James went back to living as Mary. Her partner had died, her secret had been discovered. She was left to live her life as she wished with all the money that she had earned while living as a man. 

In my opinion, Mary East was an absolute badass. She knew she couldn't do everything that she wanted as a woman, so she just became a man and made it work. Then, when she was found out, she had made enough money to move to the country and live happily. I wish that Mary didn't have to do what she did, but I'm glad that she was such a revolutionary feminist.