In colonial America, people who didn't fit into the the male/female binary were pretty much ignored as long as they kept any anomalies to themselves and dressed and lived as one consistent gender. In other words, if you were intersex, you were expected to "choose a side" and stick with it. To mark Intersex Awareness Day (which was October 26), Colonial Williamsburg looked at the case of Thomas/ine Hall, an indentured servant in the Virginia settlement of Warrosquyoacke who was reported to dress as a man on some occasions, and as a woman on others. When asked, Hall replied they were both male and female. When examined, conclusions varied, so the case was sent to the General Court in Jamestown.
The clerk of the court documented the attempts by the members of the Warrosquyoacke community to gender Hall by examining their body. He also recorded Hall’s own narrative history and description of their body, which Hall described as ambiguous and having both male and female anatomy. Statements recorded by the clerk document that Hall was born and christened as a girl going by the name Thomasine in England. At the age of 22 they “cut of his heire and Changed his apparel into the fashion of man” to join the military and serve under the name Thomas after their brother was pressed into service. Hall fought with or for their brother as an English soldier at the Isle of Rhe, considered to be the opening conflict of the Anglo-French War of 1627-1629. When they returned from their military service, they resumed feminine life as Thomasine before immigrating to Virginia and entering into an indenture contract as a man under the name Thomas again. While living in Virginia, they were noted for alternatively dressing in men’s and women’s clothing, something that went directly against English social norms.
While it is unclear exactly what the charges were, the court handed down a punishment, which may have been regarded as benevolent at the time, but still restricted Hall's freedom. Read about the case and what the conclusion was at Colonial Williamsburg. -via Metafilter