Examine what the life of the Publick Universal Friend reveals about American culture and society in the Revolutionary and Early Republic periods using video, discussion questions, teaching tips and an independent student activity. We might think that living outside the male-female gender binary is a thoroughly modern phenomenon, or that religious groups have not always supported gender diversity. On both counts, the example of the Publick Universal Friend proves otherwise. In late 18th and early 19th century America, during a period of individual and collective redefinition, the Publick Universal Friend modeled a viable alternative to normative gender identity and opened up the American imagination to new possibilities of being in the world. 

For more resources like this, see the rest of the Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators collection.