Happy 2020 to all our listeners! We’re kicking the new year off with the intriguing story of a non-binary spiritual leader. The Public Universal Friend defied the standards of gender identity centuries before the modern day genderqueer movement began. They broke down barriers in a variety of ways, but especially in their role as founder of a new American religion. Join us as we dive into the incredible journey of P.U.F. and the community of Universal Friends. Today we tell the story of the first OUT queer person to form a religion in America. And they also happened to be one of the first openly non-binary people in our budding nation. So let’s head back to America in the mid 1700’s. The colonies were quickly heading towards a clash with their rulers. After settlers had wrought a bloody massacre on the east coastal Indigenous people, they suddenly turned on their British masters. Of course we cannot ignore the audacity of white settlers to slaughter and enslave the natives of the land and then cry for freedom from their own chains. But this story isn’t about the abhorrence of colonialism. Instead we chose a lighter subject and decided to go with the completely uncontroversial topic of religion. Truly though, the American colonies were bursting at the seams as immigrants poured onto the newly controlled territory. By the 1750’s over 1 million colonizers had settled on U.S. soil, which was 1/6th the size of Britain’s population. An incredible statistic for such a young and newly populated colony. The promise of wealth and adventure was definitely a draw for early white explorers. But soon the focus shifted to a different motivation as immigrants realized the possibility of religious freedom in the colonies. The mid 1700s to late 1800’s was an especially fertile time for new religion in America. Around 1730 the first Great Awakening took place. This was a series of religious revivals that swept the nation for the next 40 years. Changing much of American lifestyle at the time and setting the stage for the Evangelical leanings of today.  So it should be no surprise that an individual born into this era would grow up having such strong religious ties. On November 29, 1752 in Cumberland, Rhode Island the Wilkinson family had a baby. The assigned the baby female and gave them the name Jemima. The infant was the eighth child born to the family and would eventually become one of twelve. The large family was part of the Society of Friends; known most commonly today as Quakers. Jemima’s father Jeremiah had long been a member of the Smithfield sect. Traditions and beliefs of the Society have varied and changed throughout the years and from group to group. In the first American settlements, women held high positions in Quaker culture. Which was almost unheard of in any other white towns and settlements The Quaker women preached and held authority on public councils. It wasn’t until the 1670’s when some men became so upset about feminine leadership that the Society suffered a major split. Half of the Quakers followed a strictly male dominated leadership and half continued to value and respect women.  But it was through this Quaker influence that Jemima felt emboldened to explore their identity and power. When they were around 13 their mother Amy died after giving birth to the families 12th child. Jemima stepped up and helped with family chores, being especially impartial to animals. Their love for horses would remain throughout their life. Jemima was an exceptional horse rider and enjoyed the challenges of taming and caring for the animals.There are conflicting reports from different biographers of Wilkinson. Concerning their gender expression during Jemima’s younger years. One author claimed that Jemima preferred feminine clothing and finer things.