Gender iconoclast and pioneering intellectual

NOMINATED BY GABRIELLE STOREY

Christina, queen regnant of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654, was one of the most learned women of the 17th century. Her sexual identity and orientation have been the cause of much debate due to her cross dressing and self-declared disinterest in marriage, as well as her enthusiasm for activities such as hunting and swordplay, traditionally masculine hobbies.

From Christina’s birth in December 1626, her gender identity sparked discussion, as she was mistaken for a son due to her swollen genitals and being born with a caul (the amniotic membrane covering a fetus). Perhaps hoping for a son, Christina’s father ensured that his daughter had an education fit for a prince, which may have impacted Christina’s decision to engage in traditionally masculine hobbies. These two points led to the theory that Christina was intersex. However the 20th century exhumation of her remains has nullified this point.

Indeed, the terminology we use today to describe gender and sexuality did not exist in the 1600s, and it’s therefore complex to both define her and think of how she would have defined herself. Her refusal to marry and bear children, alongside the many scandalous rumours of her relationships with both men and women, have led to some proclamations of Christina as being lesbian or bisexual. Christina’s potential relationship with a lady-in-waiting, Ebba Sparre, has also been held as evidence of her interest in women. Without conclusive evidence, her sexuality cannot be defined: and even if such evidence survived, it would not be accurate to categorise her according to modern-day terminology.

Of Christina’s rule, we know much more. She amassed paintings, manuscripts, coins and scientific instruments in Stockholm and regularly corresponded with philosophers, authors and scholars. She pushed for peace during the European Wars of Religion, and her conversion to Catholicism in 1652 was one of the reasons behind her abdication.

Much of her later life was spent travelling around Europe engaged in scholarly pursuits.

Centuries on from her death in 1689, Christina’s gender and sexuality continue to enthral historians, biographers, novelists, filmmakers and everyone in between. Although we are no closer to an answer for her sexuality and identity, she continues to be a growing source of fascination and

exploration in LGBTQ history.

A contemporary portrait of Christina, Queen of Sweden, who remains a source of fascination in LGBTQ history Cecil Belfield Clarke, pictured at his surgery in 1949, was a pioneer within both the fields of medicine and civil rights