Trans History—From Ancient Times to the Present Day

By Martha Cornog

Content advisory: This book/review discusses suicide and sexual violence. The crisis Lifeline number in the U.S. and Canada is 988, in the U.K. it’s 999; and for elsewhere go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines.

Trans History aims to explain the nature of “trans” (also referred to as “transsexual” or “transgender”) by telling the stories of notable likely-trans individuals throughout history, following a sequence from earliest documented times to the present. These brief biographies are intercut with anecdotes about laws and customs that have been applied to such people over the centuries, and commentary about how these individuals fit—or didn’t fit—into accepted society at the time.

Today, the decades-old LGBT acronym encompasses the subgroups of lesbian, gay (male), bisexual, and transgender. And most people not in the acronym seem to understand the first three concepts. Several watershed legal cases pulled the L and the G out of societal ignominy: Lawrence v. Texas (the 2003 “Texas Sodomy case”) overturned widespread laws against sexual activity between consenting adults of the same gender; and United States v. Windsor (2013) legalized marriage of same-sex couples. Yet the “trans” concept seems to remain elusive—especially among heterosexuals—in both reference (what is it?) and in societal acceptance (is it okay?).

“Trans” is usually characterized as knowing that one’s true selfhood does not align with the gender assigned at birth. People not in the acronym run aground intellectually and emotionally on that pesky T and can have a range of reactions. Indeed, United States laws (federal and state) have varied about who can play on gender-based sports teams, who can use public bathrooms labeled “men” or “women,” who can serve in the military, and how gender should be marked on identification documents like a state driver’s license. And since many individuals take a new name when coming out as trans, their name needs to be changed on these documents as well. Note that gender identity is a concept distinct from sexual orientation, and trans status does not equate with “gay” or “lesbian.” That is, a transman can be gay (loves those who identify as men), or straight (loves those who identify as women).

Combs and Eakett, both trans themselves and a partnered couple in real life, have undertaken a much-needed task in recounting some of the history, mysteries, and possible meanings of this slippery concept, slippery sometime even to the trans folks themselves. Other recent graphic novels have featured trans pairings and plots, for example: Us, by Sara Soler (Dark Horse, 2023), The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics, edited by The Kao, Min Christensen & David Daneman (Andrews McMeel, 2023), and Transitions: A Mother’s Journey, by Élodie Durand (Top Shelf, 2021), but this appears to be the first reference work on the topic in graphic novel format.

After a preface laying out the authors’ intentions and viewpoint, an introduction summarizes some of the recent controversies about definitions. Then the history begins, taking us back to the goddess Ishtar/Inanna in 4000 BC Mesopotamia. Some of her followers are described in ancient texts as people called Gala, “whose maleness was turned female by Ishtar for the awe of the people.” One such named Silimabzuta was described as a “person-man-woman.” And through subsequent periods of history, numerous artifacts and texts have seemed to allude to individuals with markers of both genders in Egypt, Rome, China, medieval and later periods in Europe, and the Americas.

By the rise of scientific observations in the 19^th century, new reports poured in with different attitudes and conclusions about people who didn’t conform to the heterosexual paradigm. Such observations came out in addition to pronouncements from the official religious groups of the period. Early 20th century experts Havelock Ellis and Magnus Hirschfield wrote on sex and gender. New attitudes about homosexuality began to emerge, but some individuals didn’t seem to fit that characterization.

In the twentieth century United States, anti-homosexual laws swept trans together with the others, but many trans people continued to live successfully under the radar. Christine Jorgenson made headlines in the 1950s for getting “sex change” surgery in Denmark while many other trans performers and activists were living unpublicized lives as they wished without surgery. Then 1970s U.S. psychologist Harry Benjamin began doing trans surgeries on request. Meanwhile, the publications of Alfred Kinsey and his associates (1948, 1953) broke new ground by applying science and statistics to sex and gender, the same as to other subjects.

But 1960s psychologist John Money believed and taught erroneously that an infant’s sense of sexual identity flowed solely from genitalia. And so if male babies were born with small penises, they should be castrated and raised as females. (This brought much misery to many people.) Yet the legacy of Harry Benjamin’s work attempted to overrule Money’s approach by issuing “standards of care” for treating people with concerns about their own gender.

Simultaneously through the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the feminist movement were soon joined by the growing gay rights movement. San Francisco started offering special IDs to transpeople in 2009, and the police department had a community relations officer assigned to that group. Then the 1969, the Stonewall riot in New York City touched off a wave of gender activism on the east coast. Yet trans people were not always welcome in the gay rights movement.

Into the 1970s and 1980s, religious-influenced right-wing groups like the Moral Majority began organizing to impose supposedly Biblically-centered concepts of sex and gender on the larger society. And the HIV/AIDS pandemic beginning in the 1980s increased animosity among the religious right towards supposedly “sinful” people who deserved their disease, while simultaneously increasing sympathy among others for HIV/AIDS patients. But by the mid-1990s, antiretroviral therapy had become widespread in the United States and effective in reducing both effects and transmission.

By 2013, trans actress Laverne Cox from the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black made trans seem like no big deal. And while the Trump administration has banned trans people from the military, Sarah McBride (Dem., Delaware) became the first openly trans person elected to Congress in 2025. Still, numerous states have passed anti-trans laws, and one study found that trans people are four times as likely to experience violence as cis-gender people  . Drag queens, a category of performance that may involve trans women, have found wide appeal but there has been pushback in many parts of the country.

So, what’s important now? The rise of trans archives is helping preserve the historical record of trans people, including the Sexual Minorities Archives in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Writers and activists include those throughout the gender/intersex spectrum from around the world. Some look for writings about themselves, and some create them. Through sites like TransGriot.com, for example, African American trans journalists and bloggers have requested support, since murders reporting the wrong gender of the victim can impede justice. Ways are being developed of incorporating trans identities of those with indigenous backgrounds into the traditions of their cultures. All continue the fight for body autonomy; although intersex people may have an easier time navigating the medical system for transition than others.

The authors note especially that it’s important to preserve and publicize trans history—how, historically, explorers misunderstood and exploited trans-similar categories of people. In the past, in some places, trans people were just folded into society. But in various ways, colonialism has interfered with traditional categories that incorporated trans people in various ways.

Among the stories told, an intersex person describes perceiving themself as being missed by the cis/trans binary. Intersex and trans are not the same thing, but the people so characterized face some of the same issues. Everyone in these different groups want choices, understanding, and acceptance.

Lastly, the creators introduce themselves and give their personal histories. Both are neurodivergent and fought prejudice. The book concludes with a profile of Rose Wong, a partnered transwoman who was enrolled in medical school but committed suicide.

Reading Trans History will benefit not just the trans-curious but also trans folks themselves who will see themselves in the many individuals discussed. The art varies from an attractive near photo-realism for some portraits of notable people to a more cartoony style for the general narrative. Each of the five chapters uses a different base color, which helps readers track through the sections. Overall, this is an excellent core book for laypeople about trans in reference to self or others. Source Notes and Index are included.

My only criticism: I think a little more detail could be included about the great variety in how intersex is caused and manifests. Other terms in addition to “intersex” are “disorders of sex development,” a phrase used by NIH, and “people born with atypical sex characteristics.” A list on Wikipedia provides 40 different syndromes that could lead to an intersex-type diagnosis.

Trans History is appropriate for ages 16 up.

(Note: Weblinks were added by the editor.)

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Retired librarian Martha Cornog (MA, MLS) has been reviewing graphic novels for Library Journal since 2006 and coedited two books about comics. She adapted some of Katsu Aki’s Mange Sutra for Tokyopop, serviced as an Eisner and Glyph Awards judge, and moderated comics panels at conventions, including the Graphic Medicine conference. She is currently creating Comic Troika, a comics adaptation of three humorous Russian stories.

References

1. DSM 5 (2013) published by the American Psychological Association now includes only gender dysphoria—untreated trans status—as a disorder, not trans status itself.

2. According to statistics reported by the UCLA Institute School of Law, about 1% of U.S. people aged 13 and older identify as trans.

https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/

3. On PubMed, a huge spike in papers about trans-related medicine began in the late 1990s.

4. Well-researched and well-received all-text books covering some of the same content include the following:

Trans-Kin: A Guide for Family and Friends of Transgender People, by Diana A. Hubbard & Cameron T. Whitley (Editors) Bolder Press, 2012.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask), by Brynn Tannehill, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018.

Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, by Helen Joyce, One World Publications, 2022.