I Am--and Remain--a Girl: An Early Advocate for LGBTQIA+ Rights

I AM –and Remain—a Girl

Name: Numa Numantius [born Karl Heinrich Ulrichs] Date: 1825 - 1895 Region: Hannover [modern Germany] Citation: Inclusa ¶ 97

 

I was given a man’s beard,

A man’s limbs,

A man’s body.

And although I am trapped within them,

I am

And remain

A girl.

Sunt mihi barba maris, artus, corpusque virile

His inclusa quidem: sed sum maneoque puella.

Numa Numantius [Karl Heinrich Ulrichs; 1825 – 1895, modern Germany], was an early advocate for the decriminalization of relationships between consenting adult same-sex couples in Hannover.  In a series of pamphlets written under the pen name Numa Numantius, the author used primary sources from the Greco-Roman world to undo the erasure of queer voices from modern society. Numa was also one of the first advocates to link the high level of suicides of gay men to the bigotry and violence that they faced in society.