When you think of “10 incredible things” accomplished by women, the first images that spring to mind are often those of trailblazers who broke the glass ceiling in plain sight. Yet there exists a hidden cadre of heroines who, denied a place on the public stage, slipped into men’s clothing, adopted male aliases, and performed feats that would have been impossible for a woman to claim openly. Below, we celebrate ten astonishing achievements by women who masqueraded as men, each story a testament to ingenuity, courage, and the relentless drive to be recognized for talent rather than gender.
10 Incredible Things Unveiled
10. Rena Kanokogi: The Woman Who Won A Male Judo Competition
From the moment she first stepped onto a mat in Brooklyn, Rena Kanokogi (born Glickman) was obsessed with mastering judo. She trained with a ferocity that would later earn her the nickname “the mother of women’s judo,” refusing to accept the notion that a woman could not excel in a sport dominated by men.
The obstacle she faced was stark: during the 1950s, no reputable judo tournaments welcomed female competitors, and the few events that did existed were far from the high‑stakes contests she craved. Undeterred, Rena entered the 1959 New York State YMCA Judo Championship, a competition that explicitly barred women from participation.
The judges justified the exclusion by claiming women were too delicate and weak to face male opponents. Rena, however, not only proved herself an equal but demonstrated superiority, defeating every male adversary she met and hoisting the gold medal around her neck.
When the officials finally suspected her true identity and confronted her, she confessed honestly. Rather than contesting the decision, she willingly surrendered the medal, believing that revealing the truth would lay the groundwork for a lasting, legitimate place for women in judo—a cause she valued far more than personal accolades.
Later, Rena coached the United States women’s judo team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and, in a historic milestone, became the first woman ever to attain a seventh‑degree black belt. She passed away in 2009 at the age of 74, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire generations of martial artists.
9. Dr. James Barry: The First Doctor To Perform A Successful C‑Section
Born Margaret Ann Bulky in 1789 Ireland, she entered a world where women were strictly forbidden from receiving any formal medical education. When her family fell into dire financial straits, the young Margaret made a daring decision: she assumed the identity of her uncle, James Barry, and enrolled in a medical school under his name.
To maintain the ruse, Barry adopted a series of eccentric habits—donning a heavy overcoat even in sweltering weather, speaking with a deliberately deep, resonant voice, and inserting three‑inch platforms into his shoes. Despite the obvious affectations, his academic performance was stellar, and his instructors turned a blind eye to lingering doubts about his gender.
By the age of twenty‑two, Barry had secured a position as an assistant surgeon in the British Army, and by 1857 he rose to the rank of inspector general, overseeing all military hospitals. Among his many achievements, he performed the first recorded caesarean section in which both mother and child survived, a monumental breakthrough whose exact geographic claim (whether in Africa or within the broader British Empire) remains debated among historians.
In his final wishes, Barry requested that his body be interred in the clothes he died wearing, without the customary washing. When a nurse prepared the corpse for burial, she made the startling discovery that the celebrated surgeon was, in fact, a woman—a revelation that shocked the medical community and underscored the lengths to which she had gone to practice her calling.
8. Khawlah Bint Al‑Azwar: The Woman Who Led The Muslim Army Against The Byzantine Empire
During the seventh‑century Muslim campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, a spirited young woman named Khawlah bint al‑Azwar accompanied her brother, the seasoned commander Dhiraar ibn al‑Azwar, to the front lines. Initially serving as a battlefield nurse, she tended to wounded soldiers, ensuring that the men she cared for could return to combat.
When the Siege of Damascus resulted in her brother’s capture, Khawlah refused to accept his fate. She donned a suit of armor, concealed her face with a veil, and took his place among the fighting men, demonstrating a tenacity that would soon become legendary.
Her ferocious combat style impressed General Khalid ibn al‑Walid so profoundly that he summoned her for a private audience, acknowledging her as the hero of the engagement. The army was stunned when she finally revealed her true identity, but rather than expelling her, Khalid entrusted her with a critical rescue mission to free her brother.
Khawlah led a detachment of soldiers deep into Byzantine territory, successfully liberating her sibling and countless other prisoners of war. Her reputation continued to grow, and when she was later captured by the Byzantines and confined to a women’s prison, she orchestrated a daring jailbreak—arming fellow inmates with makeshift weapons and leaving thirty Byzantine guards dead, while freeing the captive women.
7. Agnodice: The First Female Doctor Of Greece
Ancient Greece was notorious for its draconian view of women, relegating them to silence and subservience. A prevailing maxim declared, “The best reputation a woman can have is not to be spoken of.” In such an environment, the notion of a woman practicing medicine was deemed a blasphemous affront, punishable by death.
Defying this cultural taboo, a courageous woman named Agnodice resolved to pursue medical knowledge. She disguised herself as a man, enrolled in a medical apprenticeship, and soon distinguished herself as one of Athens’ most capable physicians, specializing in obstetrics and the care of women during childbirth.
Her burgeoning popularity incited the envy of male colleagues, who accused her of luring patients away through illicit means. The male doctors sued her, alleging sexual misconduct with her patients, and the court ordered her execution upon revealing her gender.
When Agnodice’s patients learned of her impending death, they rallied en masse to the courthouse, pleading for her clemency. One impassioned woman declared, “You are condemning the very person who discovered health for us!” Overwhelmed by the outcry, the judges relented, sparing her life and permitting her to continue her practice.
Her triumphant defense sparked a legal reform in Athens, opening the profession to women and cementing Agnodice’s place in history as the pioneer who shattered the gender barrier in Greek medicine.
6. One‑Eyed Charley: The First Woman To Vote In The United States
Born Charlotte Parkhurst in 1812, she later adopted the moniker One‑Eyed Charley after a brutal accident left her with a scarred, single eye. Embracing a life on the rugged frontier, Charley cut her hair, slipped into men’s attire, and cultivated a reputation as a hard‑drinking, quick‑drawn cowboy, earning fear and respect across the Wild West.
Unlike many on this list who disguised themselves solely for a specific occupation, Charley appears to have identified as a man for the entirety of his adult life, living openly as a male frontiersman. This genuine self‑identification made his later historical impact all the more striking.
Charley’s career included driving stagecoaches, brandishing firearms with a notorious quickness, and even surviving a savage encounter with the bandit Sugarfoot, who learned the hard way that Charley would not hesitate to fire a bullet faster than his opponent.
It wasn’t until Charley’s death that anyone questioned his gender. A deep, gravelly voice—attributable to years of relentless chewing tobacco—had always seemed unusually masculine, but only when his body was prepared for burial did the truth emerge: the celebrated cowboy had been born a woman.
Before that revelation, Charley had already etched his name into the annals of American history by registering to vote in California in 1867, thereby becoming the first person assigned female at birth to cast a ballot in a United States election.
5. Renee Bordereau: The Woman Napoleon Wanted Dead
Renee Bordereau endured the loss of forty‑two relatives during the tumult of the French Revolution, a period that promised liberty yet often left the peasantry in ruin. Her father perished before her eyes, cementing a burning desire for vengeance against the revolutionary forces.
When Royalist forces rose against the revolutionaries in 1793, Renee seized the moment. She assumed her brother’s name, Hyacinthe, concealed herself in a male disguise, and thrust herself into the battlefield, quickly earning a reputation as a ferocious combatant.
Legend tells that she would ride into combat gripping a horse’s bridle between her teeth, freeing both hands to wield a sword and a pistol simultaneously. In her very first engagement, she allegedly felled seventeen opponents, a testament to her lethal skill.
Her ferocity impressed even the French military, who deemed her seemingly invulnerable. Over the course of two hundred skirmishes she earned a notorious reputation, prompting Emperor Napoleon to place a bounty of forty‑thousand francs on her head.
Eventually, her comrades in arms realized the fearsome warrior was, in fact, a woman. Yet they retained her on the battlefield, with one soldier famously noting, “See that soldier whose sleeves differ in color from his coat? That’s a girl who fights like a lion.”
4. Kathrine Switzer: The First Woman To Run In The Boston Marathon
In the 1960s, Syracuse University lacked a women’s running team, but Kathrine Switzer was determined to compete on the longest distance stage possible. She joined the men’s cross‑country squad, informing her coach of her ambition to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
At that time, women were barred from marathon participation under the belief they were too fragile for such an endurance test. Switzer’s coach doubted her capability and challenged her to run a full 42‑kilometre distance as training. Undeterred, she pushed herself further, completing a 50‑kilometre run to prove her point.
To evade the gender restriction, Switzer entered the 1967 Boston Marathon under the ambiguous name “K.V. Switzer,” sporting a baggy sweatshirt and, defiantly, a touch of lipstick—an unmistakable sign of her femininity.
Mid‑race, an outraged official stormed onto the course, attempting to wrest the bib number from her and shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!” The confrontation erupted into a scuffle as Switzer’s friends intervened, defending her right to run. Though she never stood a chance of winning against male competitors, she persisted to the finish line.
Switzer went on to complete the Boston Marathon seven additional times and amassed a string of victories in other races, most notably the 1974 New York City Marathon, where she finished a full twenty‑seven minutes ahead of the nearest female finisher.
3. Saint Marina: The Sainted Monk Who Was Secretly A Woman
When Marina’s mother passed away, her father chose a life of asceticism, entering a monastery. With nowhere else to turn, Marina followed him, assuming the male identity “Marinos” to gain admission into the cloister.
Over time, Marinos earned respect among the brethren, becoming a trusted monk. However, a scandal erupted when a local innkeeper’s daughter arrived at the monastery pregnant, accusing Father Marinos of assault.
Marina, aware that she could not deny the accusation without condemning the unborn child to a bleak fate, chose to accept responsibility for the child’s parentage, thereby protecting the infant from societal neglect.
Consequently, the monastery expelled her, forcing her onto the streets where she survived by begging. Yet she continued to care for the child, displaying such devotion that the monks eventually welcomed her back into the community.
The boy she raised later entered monastic life himself, and the two lived together in the monastery until Marina’s death. Only when preparations for her burial began did the monks discover her true gender, confirming her innocence in the earlier accusation.
2. Trotula Of Salerno: The World’s First Gynecologist
Trotula of Salerno earned the distinction of being the world’s first gynecologist, a title she secured in the 11th century while serving as a professor of medicine at the renowned School of Salerno in Italy.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, Trotula did not need to masquerade as a man to practice medicine; the Italian climate of the era allowed a modest number of women physicians to work openly. However, her written works faced resistance, with some texts being published under male pseudonyms to ensure acceptance.
Her contributions to women’s health were vast: she authored treatises on menstruation, conception, pregnancy, and childbirth, introduced analgesics for labor at a time when pain relief was prohibited, and recognized that male infertility could be a cause of childlessness.
During her lifetime, she enjoyed considerable respect as a female scholar. Yet, as centuries passed, the Renaissance period saw many of her texts republished under male names, and later scholars dismissed her achievements, forcing modern historians to re‑examine her legacy and restore her rightful place in medical history.
1. Jeanne Baret: The First Woman To Circumnavigate The Globe
Not every tale ends in triumph. Jeanne Baret’s story begins with hope and ends in tragedy, yet her accomplishment remains monumental: she became the first woman to travel around the world, doing so while concealed as a man.
In 1766, Baret joined Louis Antoine de Bougainville’s global expedition as a botanist. Her partner, Philibert Commerson, already aboard, persuaded her to masquerade as a young male assistant, allowing her to accompany the voyage.
The duo catalogued countless plant species, and in recognition of her contributions, a new genus was christened “Baretia,” a nod to her contradictory existence—delicate yet defiant.
Later accounts suggest that the crew eventually discovered Baret’s true gender. While the traditional narrative claims that Tahitian natives revealed her secret, recent scholarship based on three separate sailors’ journals paints a far darker picture: near Papua New Guinea, three men brutally assaulted her, leaving her physically and emotionally scarred.
Legal statutes of the era dictated that such perpetrators be executed, yet the crew concealed the crime, allowing the assailants to go free while Baret endured lasting trauma, including a pregnancy resulting from the assault.
Despite the harrowing conclusion, Baret’s name endures as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, a testament to her indomitable spirit and the high price she paid for pioneering discovery.