this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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[–] [email protected] -5 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Intersex yes. I thought trans was a relatively new (20th century, maybe 1930s) thing. What is the earliest recorded transition?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Chevalier d'Γ‰on spent the last years of her life recognised by the king as a woman from 1777.

The term transgender is 20th century, but transgender people have always existed

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

In South Asia (where I come from), Hijras have been around for a thousand years now apparently.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

the earliest i'm aware of off the top of my head goes back to around 300BCE, but i haven't exactly done any research to find the earliest example, and i'd expect there are earlier ones. just suffice to say we've been around a long time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Also two-spirit people in Indigenous cultures

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

You're thinking of being g post-op. Not all trans people have surgery, and it's not a requirement for being trans.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I specifically mean trans people, not intersex people, though they have existed too. There are plenty of ancient cultures with evidence of what we would call trans people today, with some even being revered. Sorry to not give sources, but I'm just not invested enough to go research specifics at the moment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm genuinely curious. Would you consider someone like Mulan trans? I'm from India and we have mythological stories of intersex and gods magically transforming to the opposite gender. None technically trans

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No, Mulan's "male" side was only ever a disguise, not her actually being a man. She was manly/masculine perhaps, as she did end up being described well by the song "Be a Man", but ultimately her gender was never truly in question by herself or the audience.

As for history, this Wikipedia page is an excellent summary.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

To add to everyone else's replies, there's also the muxe gender in Zapotec culture (indigenous southern mexico), which is thought to have been around since before Spanish colonization

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know there was a Trans man that rode for the Pony Express. We just didn't call it that and if they were ever found out there us a good chance they would die.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

are we stretching the definitions here a little bit? Would we call Mulan trans?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What do you call living your whole life with a binder on, going by your chosen male name, and wishing to die over having a doctor give them a look over?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Kindly let me know what the term is

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You want me to tell you what you think the proper term is?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I don’t know what the proper term is. I’m sorry. Not trying to be rude or offensive. English isn’t my first language either