ISSUES
: Sexuality and Gender
Chapter 2: Gender identity
17
the Tavistock and Portman into the
effects of hormone blockers earlier
in puberty.
“In the end, we went to a doctor in
the US,” says Sharon. “I found him
through the WPATH network [The
World Professional Association for
Transgender Health]. Nicki was 13
when she started taking hormone
blockers. It’s put her male puberty
on hold and given her time to think.
“If she hadn’t been given blockers,
she would have suffered the
psychological agony of going through
male puberty. She told me she would
have killed herself. Nowadays, you’d
never guess that she was born male.
“If at any point Nicki were to tell
me that she wasn’t sure that this
was the right thing for her, we’d
simply stop the injections and male
puberty would go ahead. For Nicki,
the next step is starting hormones
and surgery as soon as she can.
“During the first few years of
secondary school, I was constantly
in fear for Nicki’s life. It was so
distressing to watch her go through
all of this.
“Now, it’s a million times better.
She’s a typical teenage girl, and it’s
a blessing. She leaves a mess, she
borrows my clothes, my make-up
and my perfume. I never thought
she’d reach this stage. She still has
to face many more hurdles, but
she’s looking forward to adulthood.”
*The names in this article have
been changed.
Where to get help
Sharon says the most helpful thing
was speaking to other families
who’ve been through the same thing.
The charity Mermaids provides
family support for children and
teenagers with gender identity
issues, and can put you in touch
with other parents with similar
experiences.
Further information
This story reflects one mother’s
experience.
Because
gender
identity issues are complex and
each case is different, Sharon’s
story shouldn’t be seen as typical.
13 July 2015
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The above information has been
reprinted with kind permission
from NHS Choices. Please
visit
for further
information.
© NHS Choices 2016
Trans history for LGBT History Month
I
n preparation for LGBT History
Month, we have prepared a
short guide to UK trans* history
which includes information about
UK historical trans* figures and
events, and a brief discussion of
the difficulties in collating and
recording trans* history.
Who are trans* people?
People are trans* if they do not fully
identify with the gender they were
assigned at birth.
Who were trans* people in
the past?
We can see evidence of trans*
people in all cultures and periods
for which we have sufficient
evidence to study gender identity.
The terminology used to describe
gender identity and presentation
has changed significantly between
different societies and over time,
as has what it means to be a man,
a woman, or another gender.
Despite this we can see that there
have always been people who did
not fully identify with or present as
the gender they were assigned at
birth. These people would fit our
current conceptualisation of what
it means to be trans*, although this
is a label that they would probably
be unfamiliar with. Throughout
history, trans* people have been
rich and poor, rulers and slaves,
artists and farmers. In short, trans*
people in the past were a diverse
bunch!
Why are trans* people often
erased from history?
Although trans* people have been
found in all the societies we learn
about as children, they are often
ignored by schools, textbooks and
historians. The reasons for this are
complex and multiple. One issue
is that trans* people are seen in
a negative light in our current
culture. This means it is not seen
as valuable for us to learn their
history.
Few people have studied and
written about trans* history,
compared to the histories of other
groups. This is something of a
catch 22, little is written about
trans* people, so few people read
about them, so few people choose
to study them further, so little is
written about them. It is vital that
we break this cycle and write and
learn about trans* people in history.
Another issue is that LGB identities
and trans* identities have not been
considered as distinct throughout
history. The concept of ‘sexual
inversion’ as developed by sexologists
in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries is an interesting example.
Kraft-Ebing referred to female inverts
as “the masculine soul, heaving in
the female bosom”, whilst Havelock
Ellis’ conceptualisation of the term is
closer to our modern understanding
of homosexuality. Because of this,
people such as the author Radclyffe
Hall, who self-defined as an invert, has
since been claimed by LGB people as
part of lesbian history rather than of
trans* history.
Some interesting trans*
people and events from
modern British history
James Barry (1789–1865)
James was a military surgeon and a
pioneer in caesarian sections. He
performed what may have been the
first ever caesarian in which both
mother and child survived. He also
