Transgender activist and TED Resident Samy Nour Younes shares the remarkable, centuries-old history of the trans community.

https://www.ted.com/talks/samy_nour_younes_a_short_history_of_trans_people_s_long_fight_for_equality #TED #Transgenderl #LGBTQ #History #TransHistory #Identity #Equality

Danielle Bunten-Berry is one of the most influential game designers you've never heard of. Her work on early multiplayer computer games, including M.U.L.E., Wheeler Dealers, and Modem Wars, made a huge mark on the computer multiplayer scene. She was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame, and The Sims is dedicated to her memory.

"No one ever said on their deathbed, ‘Gee, I wish I had spent more time alone with my computer.'"

YAY! We were well received last weekend at The Actors theatre in Brighton. Look out for more performances, as we may be taking it to Dublin

https://www.gscene.com/arts/theatre/review-the-strange-case-of-dr-dillon-at-the-actors-theatre-brighton/

"Girl and Pug in an Automobile," Gerda Wegener, 1927.

Wegener (1885-1940) is someone I've featured before, but she's always worth featuring. I love this Art Deco painting, which on the surface is mild and inocuous...a woman and her dog in a car, on what seems to be an early spring day. What could be more everyday?

All is not what it appears. The woman is Lili Ilse Elvenes, aka Lili Elbe, Wegener's partner, who was trans and one of the earliest known successful recipients of gender-affirming surgery, in 1930. However, for a couple of decades Wegener had been painting haunting portraits of a sexy, almond-eyed femme fatale...and it was a bit of scandal when it emerged in 1913 that this gorgeous woman was assigned male at birth.

Elbe sadly passed away in 1931, from complications of an attempt to transplant a uterus into her body. Wegener remarried briefly, and her painting style fell out of fashion. She died poor and half-forgotten, but her work has been rediscovered and acclaimed.

From a private collection.

Self-determination for trans people is nothing new. Sir Ewan Forbes changed the sex on his birth certificate in the 1940s, announced his new name in the newspaper and legally married his wife. His cousin challenged the change for reasons of inheritance, but the judge ruled in Ewan’s favour.

If you want to know more about Ewan, there's a great book about him: The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes by Zoë Playdon.

You don't need us to tell you that trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming people have always been around. However, did you know that the ancient Mesopotamians believed in a deity with the power to change someone's gender? Her name was Innana and her priests and followers were known for their rejection of gender binaries.

#TransHistory #LGBTHM (nearly) #QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #Trans #Nonbinary

Yes we know it's not quite February, but we love our history Thursdays here at TransActual.

If you've not heard of Lou Sullivan, look him up. He was a gay, HIV positive, trans man and he did a huge amount for our community in the US and beyond. Lou lobbied for gay, trans men to be given access to medical transition. He was visible so that other gay, trans men could see that they weren’t alone.

#TransHistory #LGBTHM (nearly) #QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #Trans #Nonbinary

It's nearly LGBT History Month, but at TransActual we love our history so we're getting started early!

First a film star:
Hanan El Tawil was an Egyptian actress and is thought to be the first openly trans Arab woman to be in films and TV.

#TransHistory #LGBTHM (nearly) #QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory #Trans #Transgender #Nonbinary #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ

History is full of trans women. Groups of “eunuchs who wear women's clothes” (wow! I wonder who those people are?!? ).

But what's the history of trans women taking #HRT? When did we start doing that? I know estrogen as a substance wasn't discovered til ca 1920s. What was there before that??

#trans #transfemme #transwomen #transwoman #history #TransHistory #LGBTQ

Trans men are not a modern phenomenon. Laurence Michael Dillon, born in 1915, was the first transgender man ever to undergo a phalloplasty.

(Accessibility: Picture of Laurence Dillion in Black & White. Text says: Trans men are not a modern phenomenon. Laurence Michael Dillon, born in 1915, was the first transgender man ever to undergo a phalloplasty.)

Monica Helms designed the trans flag we use today in 1999 and its Pride debut was at a Pride event in Phoenix, Arizona in 2000. According to Monica, the pattern "is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives.”

Jim McHarris was born in 1924 and socially transitioned in his early teens. He moved around a lot, but then decided to settle in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Unfortunately, other residents of the town soon discovered Jim’s gender history and he moved on once again.

“We have a history, transgender people, we have a culture and that we have older people who have made it through all kinds of abuses and negotiated their way to get here. Not a lot of us ― but there are some and to help them realize that things they expect and think are normal ― you are standing on someone’s shoulders who couldn’t do that in their youth.”

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Huffington Post 2016

Andrea Jenkins is a politician, poet, activist and community historian. She was
the first Black trans woman to be elected to public office in the United States
and continues to work for the whole community.

“Transgender people have been here forever…I look forward to more trans people
joining me in elected office and all other kinds of leadership roles in our
society." Andrea Jenkins

Hey San Francisco fediverse,

What’s the difference between these two websites about SF’s Transgender District?

https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/
https://www.transdistrict.org/

Both seem pretty similar, and I’m trying to figure out which one to link to for a project.

Thanks!

Hello Beautiful Friends!!!!

My good friend and oral history hero, Rae Garringer, has been working on the project Country Queers for 11 years and their #book is about to come out!!

I’m trying to help them raise some $ for a book tour to make sure the stories go to the communities that need them most.

If you can help, it’d be super appreciated

https://gofund.me/1a83a39e