Mowry Saben

Israel Mowry Saben (March 24, 1870 – October 7, 1950) was an American essayist and journalist who was an early advocate for gender and sexual diversity.

Life Saben was born into a prominent family in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, the son of Israel Saben and Lydia Jane Albee. Richard Mowry, his father's maternal grandfather, was his great-grandfather. He had a younger sister, Jennie May, and younger brother named William.

Personal life Saben never married. His Harvard friend Edwin Arlington Robinson implied in letters that Saben was attracted to men, with Robinson's biographer Scott Donaldson claiming that Saben was "probably attracted to men and women".

Since 1916 to receiving treatment in 1924, Saben suffered from anal fistula, which could have been a complication from being a receptive partner in anal sex.

Jennie June

According to journalist Channing Gerard Joseph, Saben may have been the real identity of the pseudonymous Jennie June, a gender-non-conforming writer who in 1918 published The Autobiography of an Androgyne. Though June altered identifying details in his books to maintain his anonymity, there is considerable overlap with the details of Saben's own life. According to Joseph, June's manuscript and Saben's letters share typing quirks and reference similar stances and publications.