Why “Trangenderism is a strictly 20th-century phenomenom” is bullshit
“Transgender” is a very new word for a very old concept, one that has followed the human race since its origin all across the globe. Below is a small sampling of genders and roles that fall outside the strict male/female duality. Not every category listed fits exactly into the modern, western concept of “transgender,”especially since the division between “homosexual” and “alternate gender” have not always been as firmly drawn as they are in modern western culture.
I have specifically tried to avoid modern words or groups unless the terms for them stretch back well over a hundred years.
A (by no means exhaustive) list of pre-industrial words for gender-variant people…
Akava’ine – (Maori) CAMAB individuals who live as women
Armifrodita – (11th century Italy) Intersexed individual
Baeddel – (13th century England) Intersexed or effeminate individual CAMAB
Fa’afafine – (Samoa) Third gender category largely made up of CAMAB members who express both male and female traits and roles
Femminiello – (Italian) Third gender category of CAMAB individuals who dress and live as women
Gallus – (Rome) Specific cult of the hearth goddess Cybele, CAMAB individuals who castrated themselves and lived as women
Hijra – (India) Third gender category of CAMAB individuals who dress and live as women
Khuntha – (Arabic) Intersexed indivisuals
Mahu – (pre-contact Hawaii) Third gender category of CAMAB individuals who dress and live as women
Mukhannathun – (Arabian) “holy” or “respectable” CAMAB individuals who live as women
Muxe – (Mexico) Third gender category descended from pre-Columbian traditions; CAMAB individuals who dress and live as women
Nadle – (Navahjo) Intersexed individuals, and CAMAB individuals who lived as women
Phet thi sam – (Thai) Third gender category
Quariwarmi – (Precolumbian Inca) Third gender category
Saris – (Isreal) CAMAB individuals who live as women
Scritta/Scritte – (10th to 15th century England and Germany) Intersexed or effeminate individual CAMAB
Sḫt/Sekhet – (ancient Egypt) Third gender category
Tritiya-prakrti – (India) Vedic third gender category, both CAFAB and CAMAB
Waepenwifestre – (Germany) “weapon wife” or “male wife,” used to describe effeminate CAMAB people
Yirka-lául – (Siberia) Third-gender category of CAMAB shamans who dressed and lived as women, and married men
Kinda disappointing that there’s only like, one CAFAB in here. Still, neat list all the same.
I have two theories about that. Firstly, it’s only been in the last hundred years that CAMAB people had options that allowed them to simply transition and disappear into existing society, whereas CAFAB have a much easier time transitioning and blending without medical intervention; see the amazing history of jazz legend Billy Tipton or gospel singer WIllmer Broadnax for an examples.
The second theory is just good old sexism. CAMAB people dressing and living as women or expressing feminine traits was far more shocking and scandalous even in cultures that had clear roles for them. So those are the stories that were written down or passed down as local gossip.
But for my trans brothers, here are a few more…
Lakin-on - (Phillipines) CAFAB individuals who dress and act as men; alternatively very “butch” lesbians
Muskobanja - (Croatia) masculine CAFAB indivudals
Tobelija - (Serbia) CAFAB individuals living as men
Uranian - (England) A catch-all term for CAMAB and CAFAB individuals who expressed abnormal biological or social gender traits
