"A Woman Was Arrested"

Transcription:

A YOUNG WOMAN was arrested a day or two ago in New York City charged with the offense of being dressed in male attire. She had worn her disguise for fifteen months, during which time she had been clerk in a large and popular restaurant and in a dry goods store. There is no accusation that she had behaved improp-erly or that she was immodest or incom-petent. She had dressed in male costume in order to secure better pay than she could as a woman. By her disguise she was enabled to earn nine dollars per week, which was about double what she could have hoped to secure as a woman. For this offense she was arraigned as a cul-prit in a police court, and the papers speak of it as "startling" that she could have so long concealed her sex. It is a striking commentary upon the relative status of men and women, that a woman can only secure the same pay which would be given a man for similar work, by concealing her identity in pantaloons. The moment her sex is discovered, no matter how sati[s]factory her services have heretofore been, she is immediately ta-booed--and her pay greatly reduced, if allowed to retain her situation at all. Is it any wonder so many young women deliberately sell their souls to the devil? It is about the only fair and square mar-ket which is offered them.

From the St. Paul Daily Globe, February 20th, 1882. Courtesy of the Digital Transgender Archive.

Last updated: January 12th, 2026.