The Criminal Case of Juana Aguilar: Adjudicating Gender in Colonial Central America

In 1792 in rural San Salvador, Juana Aguilar was accused of committing what the authorities called a “heinous” crime. Aguilar was suspected of being a “hermaphrodite,” and while this in and of itself was not a crime, determining Aguilar’s sex would resolve whether the relationships Aguilar had with women were criminal. Aguilar’s possessions were confiscated, the accused was placed in jail, and a long criminal case ensued. Over the course of this case, almost a dozen medical experts examined...