I'm an American in the US (see username), and I saw this book on display at the local public library. I figured I'd probably have some disagreements with it re: gender and transgender issues, but I was not expecting to find out that disguising yourself as a man, to go to war in 1781, made you "queer."
Deborah Sampson was a woman during the American Revolution who disguised herself as a man to go fight the British. She's one of those figures that lots of little girls find inspiring when they learn about the Revolutionary War in American schools. So, here's this book, talking about Deborah Sampson:
"When it came to gender and relationships, many of America's founding fathers and mothers behaved in ways that were outside the mainstream. As we've seen, gender and sexuality are not the same. After serving in the army as a man, Deborah Sampson married a man and had children and lived as a woman. There is no evidence that she had homosexual relationships.
"The terms we use for LGBTQ people did not exist back in 1781. If we had to choose a word to describe Deborah Sampson, we might choose 'queer.' This term is used today with pride as an umbrella term for anyone who does not fit into mainstream rules about sexuality or gender.
"Deborah Sampson never heard the word 'queer' used that way, nor did anyone else at the time. However, there is value in using it to describe her, because it helps us understand that throughout history there have been people who did not fit into the molds society tried to force them into. Deborah Sampson was one of those people, and in that sense, she was certainly queer."
Talk about trying to force someone into a mold! This is clearly a woman who considered herself a woman, but no, now she's got to be queer, because other women all fit into mainstream rules about sexuality or gender. Other women all fit into the molds society tries to force them into. You can be a female stereotype, or you can be queer. These are the rules, apparently.
I know American soldiers in the Revolution might not be high on the list of people whose historical reputations Mumsnetters care about, but this was the most likely-to-be-sympathetic forum I could think of in which to rant.