History and transgender people

Several transgender historians have made important contributions to the field. Some hold advanced degrees in History, while others took it up out of personal interest. How non-trans people have covered our history has been a matter of academic controversy.

Trans historians

  • Christine Burns
  • Zagria Cowan
  • Candice H. Brown Elliott
  • Leslie Feinberg
  • Jules Gill-Peterson
  • Mark Mulligan
  • Lynette Nusbacher
  • Katrina Rose
  • G. Samantha Rosenthal 
  • C. Riley Snorton
  • Susan Stryker
  • Lou Sullivan
  • Cristan Williams

Cisgender historians with published trans research

Books

  • Transgender History by Susan Stryker
  • Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg
  • How Sex Changed by Joanne Meyerowitz
  • Trans Britain by Christine Burns
  • Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson
  • Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
  • Great Events From History: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Events, 1848-2006 by Lillian Faderman et al., eds.
  • Others of My Kind: Transatlantic Transgender Histories by Alex Bakker, Rainer Herrn, Michael Thomas Taylor, and Annette F. Timm
  • Gender Pioneers: A Celebration of Transgender, Non-binary and Intersex Icons by Philippa Punchard and Christine Burns
  • Trans America: A Counter-History by Barry Reay
  • A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Richie Chevat and Michael Bronski 

References

American Historical Association (historians.org)

  • Kritika Agarwal (May 1, 2018). What Is Trans History? https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2018/what-is-trans-history-from-activist-and-academic-roots-a-field-takes-shape

National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)

Genny Beemyn (2014). Transgender History in the United States: A special unabridged version of a book chapter from Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, edited by Laura Erickson-Schroth (PDF) https://www.umass.edu/stonewall/sites/default/files/Infoforandabout/transpeople/genny_beemyn_transgender_history_in_the_united_states.pdf

Resources

A Gender Variance Who’s Who (zagria.blogspot.com)

  • Biographies and timelines

T-Vox (t-vox.org)

  • History: good timeline of major community events

TransgenderZone (library.transgenderzone.com)

Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive (lltransarchive.org)

  • Museum developed by Ms. Bob Davis

LGBTQ Nation (bilerico.lgbtqnation.com)

The Proud Trust (theproudtrust.org)

Digital Transgender Archive (digitaltransgenderarchive.net)

ONE Archives (onearchives.org)

Dormant/historic resources

TransHistory.org (~1999–~2006) [archive]

TransHistory.net (~1999–~2006) [archive]