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4mon
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10 must-know facts about transgender history that you didn’t learn in school

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/02/10-must-know-facts-about-transgender-history-that-you-didnt-learn-in-school/
NickwithaC - 4mon

There is trans history that people DID learn in school?

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dandelion (she/her) - 4mon

haha, came here to say this - they didn't even teach Stonewall in school, I learned nothing about gay or trans people.

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im_me_but_better - 4mon

In mexico there are also accepted transgender identities in indigenous societies. Like the muxe in Oaxaca.

Erasing history is a way for people to think that being trans is a "new thing".

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dandelion (she/her) - 4mon

These are all transfeminine, but:

  • Hijra in India have existed since the earliest records, going back at least 4,000 years, and references appear in ancient Hindu texts
  • Kathoey in Thailand have been described in written records since the 13th century and likely existed before then
  • Khanith in Oman & the UAE
  • Nádleehi in Diné / Navajo country
  • Lhamana in Zuni culture

It should be said that the idea that all these different cultural genders are the same as being trans is maybe not a perfect translation, but it is at least worth raising that gender diversity is a naturally occurring part of human biological variation, even if it manifests in different ways from culture to culture - the idea of a strict gender binary is not universal.

Likewise, the concept of "two-spirit" as an umbrella term can be a bit misleading, since there are many, many indigenous nations and their cultures can vary significantly - there is no single, over-arching, and traditional concept of two-spirit, instead it is a contemporary and political identity in many ways tied to the post-colonial influences of the West.

This article has many more examples from across time and place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_history

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