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.

History is full of daring individuals who swapped identities to chase a dream, and these 10 famous women took it to the next level by donning masculine guises. From battlefields to literary circles, each of them risked reputation, safety, and even life itself to get ahead. Below, we celebrate their audacious choices, the obstacles they faced, and the legacies they left behind.

Why These 10 Famous Women Chose Disguise

Whether it was to claim a medal, secure a publishing contract, or simply stand on a marathon course, the common thread binding these women is a fierce determination to break gender‑based barriers. Their stories remind us that courage often wears a different uniform.

10 Rena ‘Rusty’ Kanokogi

In the spring of 1959, Rusty Kanokogi entered the YMCA Judo Championship in Utica, New York, sporting a cropped haircut and a chest‑taping trick to hide her femininity. She fought her way to victory, but when she stepped forward to claim her medal, the tournament official demanded confirmation of her gender. Upon answering “yes,” the organizers stripped her of the prize. Kanokogi later reflected, “It instilled a feeling in me that no woman should have to go through this again.”

Her lifelong ambition was to see women’s judo recognized as an Olympic discipline. That dream began to materialize in 1984 when women’s judo debuted as an exhibition sport at the Los Angeles Games, and it achieved full medal status at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Celebrated as the mother of women’s judo, Kanokogi succumbed to cancer at 74 in 2009. A year earlier, the Japanese government honored her with the Order of the Rising Sun, the nation’s highest award bestowed upon a foreign citizen.

9 The Brontë Sisters

Sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë released a poetry collection titled Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell in 1846, each adopting a male pseudonym. The following year, Emily’s novel Wuthering Heights appeared under the name Ellis Bell, while Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Anne’s Agnes Grey were published under Currer Bell and Acton Bell respectively.

In the preface to the 1910 edition of Wuthering Heights, published posthumously after Emily’s 1848 death, Charlotte explained their choice of male pen names: “Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own names under those of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell; the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because—without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called ‘feminine’—we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice.”

After receiving generous critical acclaim, the Brontë sisters began publishing under their true names, cementing their status as some of the most influential authors in literary history.

8 Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, famously known as “The Maid of Orléans,” lived a brief yet extraordinary life from 1412 to 1431. Born into a peasant family in northeastern France, she claimed divine guidance to rescue France and install Charles VII as its rightful king. At sixteen, she cut her hair, adopted male attire, and set out for Chinon with a small entourage.

Her conviction convinced Charles VII to grant her command of an army, which she led to lift the siege of Orléans. However, in 1430, while defending Compiègne, she was unhorsed and captured by the Burgundians. Charged with 70 offenses—including cross‑dressing and witchcraft—she was tried, forced to sign a confession, and burned at the stake the following year.

Joan’s martyrdom turned her into a national heroine and later a saint, symbolizing courage and perseverance against overwhelming odds.

7 Anna Maria Lane

In 1776, Anna Maria Lane enlisted in the Continental Army—a bold move, as women at the time typically served only as cooks, nurses, or laundresses. Determined to fight alongside her husband John, she disguised herself as a man, allowing her to serve in campaigns across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

Her concealment was feasible because 18th‑century soldiers rarely bathed and slept in their uniforms, making gender detection difficult. Historian Joyce Henry noted, “As far as enlistment, there are no physicals when one enters the army in the 18th century. One must have front teeth and an operating thumb and forefinger so one may be able to reach in, grab a cartridge, tear off the paper, and be able to successfully load your musket.”

During the 1777 Battle of Germantown near Philadelphia, Lane was wounded yet survived. Though the exact moment of discovery remains uncertain—likely when she was injured—she managed to stay beside her husband throughout the war. For her bravery, she received a lifetime pension of $100 per year and passed away in her mid‑fifties on June 13, 1810.

6 Deborah Sampson

Deborah Sampson earned the unique distinction of being the only woman to receive a full military pension for service in the American Revolutionary War. Formerly a schoolteacher, she assumed the male alias Robert Shurtleff and enlisted in 1782.

During her two‑year tenure, Sampson led roughly thirty infantrymen on an expedition, captured fifteen enemy soldiers, dug defensive trenches, and endured cannon fire. Her true identity remained hidden until she fell seriously ill and was taken unconscious to a hospital, where officials finally uncovered her gender.

In 1783, she received an honorable discharge and embarked on a lecturing career, often appearing in full uniform to recount her experiences. After her death in 1827 at age 66, her widower petitioned Congress for a pension typically reserved for a female widow. Congress approved, noting “no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity and courage,” though Sampson’s husband died before receiving the benefit.

5 Joanna Zubr

Polish soldier Joanna Zubr concealed her gender while serving alongside her husband Michal in the Napoleonic Wars. Enlisting in 1808, she rose to the rank of sergeant within a unit later renamed the Greater Polish Division, which participated in Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.

During the disastrous Russian retreat, Zubr became separated from her division but managed to escape Russian territory on her own and eventually return safely to Poland. Reunited with her husband, the couple settled in Wieluń, as the Austrian‑occupied and Russian‑controlled regions of Poland remained inaccessible.

Joanna Zubr earned the Virtuti Militari medal—the highest Polish military honor—making her the first woman ever to receive such a distinction for bravery in battle. She died during a cholera epidemic in 1852 at roughly eighty years of age.

4 Maria Quitéria de Jesus

In 1822, Maria Quitéria fled home to join the Brazilian Army, cutting her hair and donning masculine attire to avoid detection. Although her father initially opposed her enlistment, he eventually discovered her secret yet did not prevent her continued service, as Major Silva y Castro welcomed her skillful contributions.

From October 1822 to June 1823, Quitéria conducted daring ambushes in the province of Bahia, luring enemy troops to nearby camps and striking them with a concealed bayonet. In August 1823, Emperor Pedro I promoted her to lieutenant—an unheard‑of honor for a woman at the time.

A century after her death, the Brazilian government commemorated her by hanging a portrait in the military headquarters in 1953, solidifying her status as a national heroine.

3 James Barry

Military surgeon James Barry rose to the rank of Inspector General in the British Army, overseeing military hospitals and dramatically improving patient care. Barry also performed South Africa’s first successful Caesarean section, saving both mother and child.

Born Margaret Ann Bulkley, Barry’s true gender remained concealed until after death in 1865, when a maid preparing the body discovered the secret. The British Army, shocked by the revelation, initially restricted access to Barry’s papers, a restriction later lifted by historian Isobel Rae in the 1950s.

Even Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, expressed disdain upon learning Barry’s identity, writing, “He kept me standing in the midst of quite a crowd of soldiers… every one of whom behaved like a gentleman while he behaved like a brute. After he was dead, I was told that [Barry] was a woman… I should say that [Barry] was the most hardened creature I ever met.”

2 J.K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling, globally renowned as J.K. Rowling, initially chose to omit her first name from the Harry Potter books to attract a young male readership. The series exploded into the best‑selling franchise in history, translated into over sixty languages.

In 2013, Rowling adopted another male pseudonym—Robert Galbraith—for her crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, stating she wanted to “take my writing persona as far away as possible from me.” Editor David Shelley, unaware of the true author, remarked, “I never would have thought a woman wrote that.” The secret was soon leaked by a lawyer’s friend, but the book quickly became another bestseller for Rowling.

1 Kathrine Switzer

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer made history as the first woman to officially start the Boston Marathon—a race that, at the time, barred female competitors. She entered under the guise of a man, and when race officials realized a woman was running, one official lunged at her, trying to yank off her bib number and shouting, “Get the hell out of my race, and give me those numbers!”

Switzer later recalled, “Before I could react, he grabbed my shoulder and flung me back… I was so surprised and frightened that I slightly wet my pants and turned to run.” She added, “I knew if I quit, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26‑plus miles. If I quit, everybody would say it was a publicity stunt. If I quit, it would set women’s sports back.” Her fear turned to fierce anger, fueling her determination to finish.

Her perseverance paid off: in 1972, women were finally permitted to officially enter the marathon, cementing Switzer’s place as a pioneer for female athletes.

These ten remarkable women prove that sometimes, the boldest way to change the world is to step into a different pair of shoes—literally.