All over the world at one time or another, multiple sexes and types of relationships have been accepted. It wasn’t until the wealthy chose to control people that they divided people into classes. This is when hostility toward Queer folks, especially Transgender people became acceptable and expected. I learned a lot from reading this nonfiction book: Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg.
Some Names People Have Used to Define Transgender People are:
- Androgynes
- Bearded Women
- Bigenders
- Bulldagger
- Butch
- Cross-dresser
- Cross genders
- Drag Queens
- Drag Kings
- Gender benders
- He/She
- Intersexuals
- Female to Male (FTM)
- Feminine Men
- Male to Female (MTF)
- Masculine Women
- Passing Women / Men
- Shape Shifters
- Trans
- Transgender
- Transgenderist
- Transvestite
- Women body builders
Native Americans use the term Two-Spirit to refer to transgender people.
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for cross-dressing.
The author, Leslie Feinberg, had grown up always being a masculine child and she needed someone like her to be found in history and in a pamphlet by Bob McCubbin, McCubbin outlined how in early communal societies, people had honored all forms of human love and expression but as the wealthy divided society into classes, those leaders were increasingly hostile towards same-sex relationships.The stigma of race, nationality, religion, sex or gender was meant to dehumanize individuals and justify enslavement and the now male-dominated society as it changed from matrilineal and communal living. It was about money and politics. Even in the bible.
The witch trials or “Holy” Inquisition began in 1233. Women that followed other religions besides Catholicism, or held small amounts of land, women that had medical knowledge. such as midwives that shared birth control or abortion methods were accused of being witches and accused of being able to change sexes. Trans people, Lesbians, Gay men, Muslims, Jews, Herbalists, Healers and Scientists were all at risk of death.
Some people may choose to pass from female to male because society is so unfair to women.
Jazz musician, Billy Tipton, died in 1989 from an ulcer because he was afraid to go to a doctor and be found out to be a biological female. There are no personal records to explain why he hid his identity. During his lifetime, it was very hard for females to become jazz musicians and there was a lot of lesbian oppression. Both of these reasons could be valid for Tipton.
As soon as the attending doctor found out Tipton’s sex, he announced it to the world.
“If you are not Transexual, Transgender, or Intersexual, if you’re not a Cross-dresser, Bigender, or Drag queen or king, then perhaps you already understand that defending our right to be who we are is inextricably tied to your own right to explore and define who you are. Each individual has a stake in Trans Liberation.” Leslie Feinberg
The first gay rights liberation organization was called that Scientific Humanitarian Committee. It was founded by Dr Magnus Hirschfeld in Germany. He was Gay, Jewish and a Socialist in 1897. His research found that gender expression and orientation were not automatically linked; this means that not all trans people are gay or lesbian.
Transgender people can be Heterosexual, Bisexual, Gay or Asexual.
The Stonewall Rebellion happened on June 28, 1969 in New York, Greenwich Village. After years of being beat up, dragged out of bars and arrested, Queer folks fought back against the police brutally until the police had to retreat.
The histories of Transgender people and Women are interconnected. Societies that degrade Women and Trans folks are divided into classes by men that divide people by a rigid categorization of gender and sex.
Gender is expressed differently in different nationalities, cultures, regions and classes.
“I am heartened by the realization that hatred of sex and gender variation is not rooted in human nature. The more I dig, the more I find that although what we think of as gender today has been expressed differently in diverse historical periods, cultures, regions, nationalities, and classes. There appears to have always been gender diversity in the human population.” Leslie Feinberg
I found this book to be very empowering. Although I am not transgendered, I am queer. Many feminists do believe that transgender females do not belong in the feminist movement, but I think this is wrong. I think at the heart of true feminism, true equality is the desire, where men and women are absolutely equal; this would extend to ALL genders. Some queer folks do not include transgender people in their fight for equality too, and this is absolutely incorrect. In a perfect world, I believe all people are worthy of the pursuit of happiness, regardless of sex or gender or orientation. While we must fight for our civil rights, transgender humans fit in the LGBTQIA+ and Women’s movements. I am thankful to Leslie Feinberg for sharing her story so bravely and helping me to understand more deeply, issues I have not experienced myself, so that I can more deeply empathize with my Queer family.
I got this book from my personal collection you can get your own copy of Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg on Amazon.
Read My Review on GoodReads:
Transgender Warriors : Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman by Leslie Feinberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Transgender Warriors is a book about the lives of transgender people, including the author, Leslie Feinberg. Feinberg researched throughout history to find how humans have changed from communal living, led by women that made room for many types of love and genders, to the colonialized version of life we now live that divides people by classes, sex, gender, religion, race, skin color, and disability all in the name of money and politics. Feinberg helps to define some of the ways that people have belittled transgender people and ways that these warriors have risen above the criticism. This is a powerful book and I highly recommend it to people that want to empathize more fully with humanity.
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My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Christian, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Christian…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
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