Transgender history in the United Kingdom

Plea and Memoranda Roll of John/Eleanor Rykener (1395)

This article addresses the history of transgender people across theBritish Islesin theUnited Kingdom,the British colonies and theKingdom of Englanduntil the present day. Transgender people were historically recognised in the UK by varying titles and cultural gender indicators, such as dress. People dressing and living differently from theirsexassignment at birth and contributing to various aspects of British history and culture have been documented from the 14th century to the present day. In the 20th century, advances in medicine, social and biological sciences and transgender activism have influenced transgender life in the UK.

Overview

Transgender History in Britain is long and complex, and does not always conform to the same modern or medical definition, withgender rolesfrequently changing during the first millennium CE under varying ruling groups such as theCelts,RomansandAnglo-Saxons.

Early Transgender history can said to begin withRoman Britain,when theRoman conquest of Britainwas successful at colonising Britainnia, as the Britons used avernacular language,therefore not leaving extensive written records. Definitions of gender changed to fitpatriarchalRoman gender roles such as thePater familiasat this time which lowered inheritance, political and marriage rights ofBritish Celticwomen to the legal status ofWomen in ancient Romefor example. Thesepatriarchal ideasemerged with thecultural and legal implicationsof theRoman conquest of Britainand resumed in English practices and identity. Transgender people in Roman society are known to have been engaged in the worship ofCybeleasGalli.

Anglo Saxon Society also continued its persecution of transgender or gender non-conforming peoples, referring to them as bæddel or bædling.More research is required on Medieval England and Transgender identity, but authors have also begun to question the roles of transgender people through reexamining evidence such as old gravesites like the 10th century Birka ofVikingpersons.Persecution by the RomanCatholic Churchin the 11th century played a role in persecutingLGBTgroups from the 12th century onwards (seeCouncil of London in 1102). This has continued whenPope Benedict XVIcondemned the contents of theEquality Act 2010.This was responded to by the British transgender community with his state visit in the same year being opposed by transgender women likeAdèle Anderson.

During the Early Medieval period, whilst gender roles were strictly defined, some people such asJohn/Eleanor Rykenerprove that gender non-conformity was present in Britain. At the time, the termhermaphroditeor less frequentlyandrogynywas used to refer to transgender,non-binaryand queer peoples during the medievalEarly Modern Englishperiod. Medieval Welsh and French literature such asthe Mabinogionmentions the story ofGilfaethwyandGwydion,andLe Roman de Silencewhich also contain Transgender themes, but often perpetuate the idea of gender conformity and only returning to one's sex assignment at birth.

During the Elizabethan and Stuart era, roles for transgender people were limited, but were reflected somewhat in genderfluid roles in theatre. This became suppressed during the rise ofOliver Cromwell,but returned with theGlorious Revolution(see the Arts section). From the 18th century on, greater number of male identifying transgender people, such asCharles Hamiltonbegan to be identified as 'female husbands'.This neologist phrase was penned byHenry Fieldingfor his 1746 play 'Female Husband'.Increased awareness and language about the condition eventually led to the term 'Transgender' andGender Dysphoriabeing coined in the 20th century, with continued activism leading to greater visibility and public awareness of issues faced by the Trans community in the present day.

In October 2023, it was reported that hate crimes against transgender people in England and Wales had risen 11%, which represented 4,732 offences in the last year.

Labels

Many outdated labels includetransvestite(1910 byMagnus Hirschfeld), transsexual (1949) andhermaphrodite.New terminology only began to be introduced into the English language with the emergence of more visible transgender activism in the early 20th century, with terminology initially being adopted in from Germany by gay and transgender writers likeEdward CarpenterandThomas Batyfrom the work ofKarl Ulrich'sUraniantheories, and the termtransgendercoined in 1965,shortened to 'trans' in 1996. Other terms such asandrogynewere first used in English in 1552.

In the arts

See also:Travesti (theatre),Breeches role,andPrincipal boy

A Grand Dame

Perhaps deriving from the patriarchal nature of its society, British theatre has often played with notions of sexuality and gender. Early examples such as the portrayals found in 17th-century plays likeWilliam Shakespeare'sCymbeline(1611) in the character of Imogen, andThomas Randolph'sAmyntas(1630), portraysupernaturalandcomictropes and show how gender and sex was seen and understood as fluctuating ideas.Other literary traditions such as science fiction also enabled British writers to engage and ask questions regarding the role of gender and class (such asThe Blazing World) merged in British culture and contemporary society, as well as female-to-malecrossdresserswere frequently portrayed as heroines in English literature. Later throughout the 17th until the 20th centuries further theatrical roles such as theRestoration Rake,laterMacaroni,Grand Dame(found inPantomime) and the "drag artists performing incampand shipboard theatricals... during theGreat War"explored and gave acceptable boundaries forqueerpeople living in acis-heteronormativeenvironment.

A Busy Day

Crossdressing insilent filmsbegan whenCharlie ChaplinandStan Laureltook the tradition of female impersonation in the Englishmusic hallswhen they went to North America in 1910. In the early 20th century, writers (most famouslyVirginia Woolf) began to engage with new ideas of sexuality andgender identity.In 21st-century retellings, reworking and reappraisal in queer theory of old folklore and mythology such asTam LinandHervor,plays such asAs You Like Itand works of science fiction have also been popular as an emerging form of trans literature.

Timeline of transgender events

Weston in transition

• 208 -Sextus Varius Marcellusbegins his visits to Britain as a tax collector for Rome, perhaps with his gender non-conforming childElagabalus
• c.299 - InCataractoniuminNorth Yorkshire,a grave of the transgender woman 'Gallus' was located, whotransitionedinto womanhood to serve as apriestessto the GoddessCybelein the 3rd century CE.
• 1656 -Thomas Blount'sGlossographiais published, which defined the term "transfeminate" as "to turn from woman to man, or from one sex to another".Subsequent dictionaries also repeated this definition for over two centuries.
• 1885 - In 1885 the Criminal Law Act was passed in the UK which made transgender people more susceptible to prison time.
• 1889 - Mary Mudge (1814–1889) dies at aworkhousehavingpassedas a woman. Mudge'sbirth sexwas discovered upon postmortem examination.
• 1909 -Thomas BatypublishesBeatrice the Sixteenth,a science fiction utopian novel set in apostgendersociety and begins working with otherlesbianwriters on the feminist journalUrania(1916–1940).
• 1928 -Virginia WoolfwritesOrlando
• 1933 -Lili Elbe's bookMan into Womandetailing her transition journey to female is published in England.
• 1936 -Mark Westontransitions from female to male.
• 1945 -Michael Dillonunderwentphalloplasty,concealed as treatment for malformation of theurethra(hypospadias) rather than reveal the nature of the surgery asgender reassignment surgery.
• 1946 - Dillon publishesSelf: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology.
• 1951 -Roberta Cowell,a formerfighter pilotin World War II, undergoes male-to-female confirmation surgery on 16 May;she is the first knowntrans womanto have undergonegender-affirming surgerythe UK.
• 1955 - ActivistStephen Whittleis born.
• 1959 - John Randell (1918–1982) enters into association with urologist Peter Phillip at Charing Cross, publishing in 1960 perhaps the first higher degree thesis in the world on transgenderism ( "transvestism" )Cross Dressing and the Desire to Change Sexat theUniversity of Waleshaving operated on around 41–50 individuals by 1959.
• 1966 - Randell opens the pioneering Charing Cross gender clinic in London, and his colleague Harry Benjamin publishesThe Transsexual Phenomenon.
• 25–27 July 1969 - The First International Symposium forGender Identity: Aims, Functions and Clinical Problems of a Gender Identity Unit,took place at the London Piccadilly Hotel.
• 1970 - In the case betweenApril Ashleyand Arthur Cameron Corbett, their marriage was annulled on the basis that Ashley, a transsexual woman, was a man under then-current British law, setting a legal precedent for trans people in Britain, so that the birth certificates of transsexual and intersex people could not be changed.
• 1972 - The release of the dramaI Want What I Wantshowing an early portrayal of a trans character.
• 1973 - In late 1973, Carol Steele and another transsexual woman (Linda B.) formed the Manchester TV/TS Group (a group for transvestites and transsexuals).
• 1974 - The First National TV/TS (Transvestite/Transsexual Conference) is held in Leeds. The journalistJan Morrisalso publishesConundrum,a personal account of her transition.Caroline Cosseyalso undergoes reassignment surgery, going on to act in the 1981 Bond filmFor Your Eyes Only.
• 1980 -Julia Grantparticipates in the pioneering British documentaryA Change of Sexaired on BBC2, enabling viewers to follow the social and medical transition of Grant; also providing a snapshot of the Gender Identity Clinic at Charing Cross Hospital in London. The Self Help Association for Transsexuals (SHAFT) was then formed as an information collecting and disseminating body for trans-people. The association later became known as the 'Gender Dysphoria Trust International' (GDTI).
• 1986 -Sonia BurgessinRees v. the United Kingdom(1986), represented Mark Rees, a British trans man who asked the government to amend his birth certificate to allow him to marry a woman. Burgess and Rees's barrister, Nick Blake, argued unsuccessfully that English law violated the European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and Article 12 (right to marry) in its treatment of transgender people.
• 1989 - The Tavistock Clinic establishedGIDS,the first and only service of its kind in the UK for young people withgender dysphoria.
• 1993 -Christine Burnsand Whittle begin working with Press for Change.
• 1995 - The charityMermaidsis founded.
• 1998 – The fictional character Hayley Patterson is introduced inCoronation Street,played byJulie Hesmondhalgh.
• 2001 -Laureen Harriesundergoes gender reassignment and goes on to star in many British television shows and the International Transgender Conference is held at the University of East Anglia continuing as a biennial event.
• 2004 - TheGender Recognition Act 2004is passed by the Labour Government. The Act gives transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex appropriate to their gender (male or female) allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate, affording them full recognition of their acquired sex in law for all purposes, including marriage.
• 2005 -Rachel Mannis ordained as deacon in theAnglican Church
• 2007 - Lewis Turner and Stephen Whittle publishEngendered Penalties Transsexual and Transgender People's Experience of Inequality and Discrimination (Equalities Review)which is instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of trans people in the remit of the newCommission for Equalities and Human Rights.In the same year Kele Telesford is found strangled in her home.Jenny Baileyis also elected mayor of Cambridge.
• 2011 -Paris Leesbegins writing forThe Guardianas a journalist.
• 2012 - Jackie Green, a transgender beauty queen, became the youngest person in the world to have gender reassignment surgery, having had treatment at the age of 12 to prevent the onset of puberty was subsequently the first trans person to enter the Miss England beauty contest.
• 2013 -Nikki Sinclairebecomes the first openly transgender member of the European Parliament for the UK delegation.
• 2014 - Second Trans Pride Brighton includes the first trans pride march in Europe.
• May 2014 -Hollyoaksreveals the character Blessing Chambers played byModupe Adeyeyeto be transgender.
• 2015 -Church of EnglandReverend Chris Newlands, vicar of Lancaster Priory, was approached by a young transgender person who wished to be "re-baptised" in their new identity. The vicar created a new service as "an affirmation of baptismal vows where we could introduce him to God with his new name and his new identity."The Danish Girlis also released.
• September 2016 -Hari Nefbecomes the first transgender person to cover any British fashion magazine,Elle.
• 2017 -Philippa Yorkouted herself becoming the first professional cyclist to have publicly transitioned.
• 2018 -Shon Fayepresented at Amnesty International's Women Making History event, where she gave a speech calling to "re-centre" underprivileged trans women.
• 2019 -Laverne Coxbecomes the first transgender model on the cover ofBritishVogue.
• February 2023 -Brianna Ghey,a female 16-year-old British transgender teenager is murdered inCheshire,England.

Non-binary

See also:Discrimination against non-binary people

David Bowie onTop of the Popsin 1974

Non-binarypeople as a group have long existed in the UK, however recorded instance of Non-binary people are scarce due to misconceptions and conflation around gender and sex, anderasurein the written record over time. Non-binary people still suffer from the lingering effects oftransphobiaand lingering effects ofsystematic racismunderBritish colonisation.

Cross-dressing is noted to have occurred in British society from the 14th century on. In 1394,John/Eleanor Rykenera prostitute working mainly in London (near Cheapside), but also active in Oxford, was arrested for cross-dressing and interrogated. In 1685,Arabella Huntdivorced her 'husband' Amy Poulter on the grounds that their marriage as two women is not recognised under the law, however initially complaining that Poulter was ahermaphrodite.In 1732, 'Princess Seraphina' (noted as the first drag queen in England) charged Tom Gordon with stealing his crossdresser clothing.In 1812, surgeonJames Miranda Barrywas found to be biologically female on examination at death and the infamousBoulton and Parkcase in 1870 took place under heightened Victorian societal legal and moral pressure on transgender peoples, both being acquitted in 1871.

In the early 20th century, gender nonconforming or third gender ideas begin to become widespread and accepted between the 1920–1940s. In the 1960s and 1970s, designers likeMichael Fishbegan to promote androgynous fashion, which were made popular by musicians such asMick Jagger,David BowieandFreddie Mercury.As the 1980s progressed, the acceptability of gendered clothing began to break down (such asAnnie Lennox) and by the 21st century the gender spectrum had begun to become mainstream in fashion withunisexclothing becoming popular.

Timeline of non-binary events

• 1584 -Mary Ambree,popularised in the ballads of the 1760s is noted for cross-dressing to join the navy
• 1610 -The Roaring Girlbased onMary Frithis staged
• 1666 - The proto-science-fiction novelThe Blazing Worldis published byDuchess Cavendish,a quasibeast fablewhich discusses gender roles in 17th-century Britain using contemporary science and mi xing these with animal-genders such as bird-men
• 1682 - Amy Poulter is divorced from her wife.
• 1693 -Christian Daviesjoins the British Army
• 1700 -Susanna Centlivrebegins playingbreeches roles
• 1701 -Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendonbecomes the governor of Jersey in the American colonies, opening the post he dressed as a woman as to "in this place and this timeI represent a womanand ought in all respects to represent her as faithfully as I can. "
• 1740 -Ann Millsfights for the British in theWar of the Austrian Successionon board the frigateMaidenstone
• 1745 -Hannah SnellandPhoebe Hesselboth join the British Army
• 1746 -Mary Hamiltonis active in Somerset
• 1752 - ThePublic Universal Friendis born in the British Colonies
• 1763–1785 -Chevalier d'Éonwas said to have passed for a woman amongst British nobility and who was active in London in 1785
• 1780 -Elizabeth Inchbaldappears in a breeches role
• 1782 -Dorothea Jordanflees toLeedsand begins playing boys and men roles in theatrical productions
• 1792 -Mary Anne Talbotbegins life as a male naval worker, eventually fighting in theFrench Revolutionary Wars
• 1812 -James Miranda Barrydies and their biological sex revealed
• 1820 -Lucia Elizabeth Vestrisbegins performing as a man in London operas
• 1825 -Mary Anne Keeleyappears in London opera after being noticed byElizabeth Cobbold
• 1833 - The Irish actress Eliza Edmunds (c. 1790–1833) dies of alcohol poisoning and upon autopsy is found to be female presenting
• 1834 - The outlaw 'Catherine Coombes' was born, passing as a woman for 40 years.
• 1836 -Sarah Fairbrotherplays Abdullah inOpen Sesame
• 1839–1843 - TheRebecca Riotstake place, with many leaders of the movement living or dressed in female clothing.
• 1868 -Nellie Farrenbegan performing as principal boy in London
• 1874 -Vesta Tilleyperforms her first billing in London, going on to become one of the highest-paid women in acting by the 1890s
• 1877 -Marie Loftuswas a Glaswegian known as theSarah Bernhardtof music hall, and known for busty female to male costumes
• 1888 -Florence St. Johnbegins playing female to male opera roles in the Gaiety Theatre, popularising the roles in Victorian burlesque
• 1893 -Ada Blanchestars in the musical adaptation ofRobinson Crusoe
• 1898 -Queenie Leightonbegins performing in drag or female to male stage roles, which became further popular in theEdwardian period.
• 1901 -Andrew Langpublishes "The Girl Who Pretended to Be a Boy" inThe Violet Fairy Bookthis year
• 1904 -Nina Boucicaultbegins the tradition of cross-dressing female to male roles forPeter Pan
• 1905 - Paul Downing, better known as Caroline Brogden was found searching for their wife
• 1906 -Gwen Lallybegins performing in London, and the duoDorothy WardandShaun Glenvillebegin with Ward as principal boy playingPrince Charming
• 1907 -Mabel BattengaveRadclyffe Hallthe name 'John' after a resemblance to a member of her family which she continued to use with 'masculine' clothing for the rest of her life
• 1913 -Austin Osman SparewritesThe Book of Pleasure,which makes reference to morphing into the opposite and other sexes devolved from the ego
• 1914 -Dorothy Lawrencebegins duty in WW I
• 1920 -Havelock Elliscoins the archaic neologismeonism
• 1929 - William Sidney Holtom (1886-?) was outed by theNews of the Worldas a "Man-woman" who had successfully passed as male from 1914 to 1929
• 1937 -Hy Hazellbegins performing in London, known for her principal boy roles
• 1966 - The Beaumont Society was established as a support group for male-to-female cross-dressers, with its namesake from the androgynous FrenchmanChevalier d'Éon.
• 1975 -Genesis P-Orridge,the 'Godparent of Industrial Music', founds the bandThrobbing Gristle
• 1979 -The Twyborn Affairis published byPatrick Whitediscussing topics on gender and London
• 1994 -Eddie Izzardrelates inUnrepeatableto her relation to her genderfluid identity
• 2006 -La Rouxis formed by Elly Jackson
• 2009 -Richard O'Briendescribes themselves as the 'third-sex'
• 2015 -Eliot Sumnerbegins using non-gendered pronouns
• October 2015 -Jack Monroecomes out as non-binary
• October 2017 -Sam Smithdescribes themselves as non-binary
• 2018 -Cara Delevingneidentifies herself asgenderfluid
• 2020 -Kae Tempestidentifies themself as non-binary

• 
  Mary Ambree (1584)
• 
  Mary Frith (Early 17th century)
• 
  Earl of Clarendon (1705-1750)
• 
  Hannah Snell (1750)
• 
  Mary Anne Talbot (1804)
• 
  Rebecca Riots (1843)
• 
  Park and Boulton (1869)
• 
  Vesta Tilley in a Breeches Role (Late 19th century)
• 
  Caroline Brogden (1905)
• 
  Radclyffe Hall (1918)
• 
  Ian Hunter (1973)
• 
  Boy George (1988)
• 
  La Roux (2010)

Intersex

See also:Sexuality in ancient Rome § Hermaphroditism and androgyny

AphroditeUrania

Intersex peoples have a long history in Britain, with early history particularly inWales,often falling under the Greek notion of androgyny derived from Ancient Greek and Roman ideals inherently found in the creation myths such asAphrodite.An early English colonial subject of theAmerican coloniesto challenge binary gender roles wasThomas(ine) Hall,a servant who, in the 1620s, alternately dressed in both men's and women's clothing. Hall is likely to have beenintersexas they were ordered by the Virginia court to wear both men's breeches and a woman's apron and cap simultaneously byJohn Pott.However other examples such as Mary Henly, a female-assigned individual in Massachusetts, was charged with illegally wearing men's clothing in 1692, as her wearing an opposing gender marker was "seeming to confound the course of nature."

During the Victorian era, medical authors introduced the terms "true hermaphrodite" for an individual who has both ovarian and testicular tissue, verified under a microscope, "male pseudo-hermaphrodite" for a person with testicular tissue, but either female or ambiguous sexual anatomy, and "female pseudo-hermaphrodite" for a person with ovarian tissue, but either male or ambiguous sexual anatomy. In 1915 The terms 'intersex' for the individual and 'intersexuality' for the phenomenon were coined in the German language by endocrinologistRichard Goldschmidtafter studies ongypsy moths.One year later, Goldschmidt used the term to describepseudohermaphroditismin humans, and in 1932 in Germany, the first intersex surgery to female is carried out. Surgeries in the UK for intersex people were undertaken atCharing Cross Hospitalat this time. With the introduction of new writing on the topic, the topic of Intersex peoples began to introduced into the academic circles in the UK in the 1940s to 1960s when a more prevailing notion of tolerance began to take root.

Timeline of intersex events

Mappa Mundi Depiction

• 940 -Hywel the Good's laws include a definition on the rights of 'hermaphrodites'.
• 1100s - TheDecretum Gratiani,a canon law collection states that "Whether an hermaphrodite may witness a testament, depends on which sex prevails".
• 1188 - Gerald of Wales inTopography of Irelandstated "Also, within our time, a woman was seen attending the court in Connaught, who partook of the nature of both sexes, and was a hermaphrodite."
• 1235 -Henry de Bracton'sDe Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae (On the Laws and Customs of England)classified mankind as "male, female, or hermaphrodite" and noted a "hermaphrodite is classed with male or female according to the predominance of the sexual organs".
• 1300 - TheHereford Mappa Mundiincludes a depiction of a 'hermaphrodite', placed outside the borders of the world known to its makers.
• 1614 -Bartholomew Fairshows Dionysus engaging in contemporary gender discussion
• 1644 - English jurist and judgeSir Edward Cokewrote in hisInstitutes of the Lawes of England(1628–1644) on laws of succession: "Every heire is either a male, a female, or an hermaphrodite, that is both male and female. And an hermaphrodite (which is also called Androgynus) shall be heire, either as male or female, according to that kind of sexe which doth prevaile." The Institutes are widely held to be a foundation ofcommon law.
• 1792 - Anglo-WelshphilologistWilliam Jonespublished an English translation ofAl Sirájiyyah: The Mohammedan Law of Inheritancewhich detailed inheritance rights for people described as hermaphrodites in Islam.
• 1839 -James Young Simpsonpublishes an article on people described as having 'hermaphroditism'
• 1888–1903 - TheBritish Gynecological Societyconsisting ofJohn Halliday Croom,Lawson TaitandRobert Barnesbegin to diagnose people described as having 'hermaphroditism'.
• 1906 -The Cambriannewspaper in Wales published an article on the death in Cardiff of an intersex child who, at post-mortem examination, was determined to be a girl.
• 1933 -Lennox Brosterbegins operating successfully on intersex patients at Charing Cross Hospital
• 1943 - The first suggestion to replace the termhermaphroditewithintersex,in medicine, came from British physicianAlexander Polycleitos Cawadiasin 1943. This was taken up by other physicians in the United Kingdom during the 1960s.
• 1960 -Georgina Somerset,the first openly intersex person, receives another birth certificate designating her as female sex.
• 1968 -Sir Ewan Forbes, 11th Baronetsucceeds the Baronetcy as a man having been assigned as female at birth, andDawn Langley Simmonsafter sex reassignment surgery in 1968 wed in the first legal interracial marriage in South Carolina.

British trans people

• Steven Appleby
• M. J. Bassett
• Munroe Bergdorf
• Elie Che
• Sophie Cook
• Charlie Craggs
• Juno Dawson
• Yasmin Finney
• Jake Graf
• Stephanie Hirst
• Jay Hulme
• Eddie Izzard
• Juliet Jacques
• Roz Kaveney
• Paris Lees
• Charlie McDonnell
• Erica Rutherford
• Abigail Thorn

See also

• Androgyny
• British people
• English Renaissance theatre
• Gender identity
• Gender
• Hermaphroditus
• History of cross-dressing
• History of violence against LGBT people in the United Kingdom
• Intersex people in history
• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
• Press for Change
• Sex and gender distinction
• Timeline of LGBT history in the United Kingdom
• Transgender history
• Transgender rights in the United Kingdom
• Victorian burlesque

External links

• Transgendered (sic)atCurlie