Sexism or honest confusion?

[lookforthewoman]

Was Dr. James Barry actually a woman in disguise? Or was he "inter-sexed"? Or is the proposition of "inter-sex" a patriarchal sexist explanation for a "mere woman" becoming a successful doctor?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Barry_%28surgeon%29 Leave a comment

Comments

[astrocrabpuff]

Seems like Dr. Barry was an accomplished surgeon (i.e. a "hands on" medic, a station that at the time was considered lower than that of a doctor (aka physician)).

Inter-sex does sound like some pathetic patriarchal compromise based upon speculation; it isn't even confirmed that the doctor was born female. The doctor's chosen gender was male so I'll go with the chosen gender, same as I do for RuPaul. :P So there's some question of the Dr. Barry's sex but part of me thinks that if people don't know in this day and age that either sex can become accomplished in any field, then they need to catch-up to the 20th century, before moving into in the 21st.

[loftwyr]

I'm thinking that due to the lack of any proof that s/he was even any of the above, there is room in the articles for all three theories.

Unless s/he gets exhumed, we'll never really know.