Trans Kids Are Found in History, Too
First and foremost, they teach us about themselves.
I learned some things from Jules Gill-Peterson’s Histories of the Transgender Child (University of Minnesota Press, 2018). It’s an academic book, and here I’ve phrased some of its arguments in more simple language. If you’re interested in the topic, I encourage you to buy and read this book.
How Long Have There Been Trans Children?
Although it is popularly claimed that trans children are a new phenomenon, they’ve been around a while. Trans children were documented throughout the 20th century, even before the word “transsexual” existed and even before there were gender clinics that offered medical support. For example, one trans girl who attended school in rural Wisconsin circa 1930 was allowed, with her parents’ permission, to use a bathroom appropriate to her gender.
Medicalization
Medicalization of sex and gender has a long history. Doctors experimented with altering the physical sex of intersex children beginning in the 1910s, often “against the personal feelings, lived experiences or family wishes of those subject to research,” Gill-Peterson writes.
Transgender adults advocated for similar procedures for themselves. Nearly always…
