Portal:Transgender

This article addresses the history of transgender people in the United States from prior to Western contact until the present. There are a few historical accounts of transgender people that have been present in the land now known as the United States at least since the early 1600s. Before Western contact, some Native American tribes had third gender people whose social roles varied from tribe to tribe. People dressing and living differently from the gender roles typical of their sex assigned at birth and contributing to various aspects of American history and culture have been documented from the 17th century to the present day. In the 20th and 21st centuries, advances in gender-affirming surgery as well as transgender activism have influenced transgender life and the popular perception of transgender people in the United States.

Maines in 2019

Nicole Amber Maines is an American actress, writer, and transgender rights activist. Prior to her acting career, she was the anonymous plaintiff in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26, in which she argued her school district could not deny her access to the female bathroom for being transgender. The court ruled in 2014 that barring transgender students from the school bathroom consistent with their gender identity is unlawful, the first such ruling by a state court.

As an actress, Maines played Nia Nal on The CW superhero series Supergirl (2018–2021) in the fourth through sixth seasons. She is the first to portray a transgender superhero on television. She currently plays the recurring role of Lisa in the second season of Yellowjackets (2023–present).

• ... that Jo Inkpin was Australia's first openly transgender Anglican priest?
• ... that a 1999 legal case guaranteed the right of transgender people in England and Wales to access gender reassignment surgery?
• ... that by being the first travesti to become a national celebrity, entertainer Cris Miró increased the visibility of the transgender community in Argentine society during the 1990s?
• ... that Quinn became the first out, transgender, non-binary athlete to medal at the Summer Olympic Games when they won gold with the Canada national soccer team?
• ... that The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes discusses the history of transgender man Ewan Forbes and his 1968 legal case to inherit his family's baronetcy that was silenced from public records?
• ... that since 2018, IKEA's stuffed toy shark Blåhaj has become a popular Internet meme and an icon of the online transgender community?

• 10 – Jake Zyrus (1992), Filipino singer and actor
• 15 – Jackie Shane (1940–2019), American singer
• 19 – Sam Smith (1992), English non-binary singer and songwriter
• 25 – Poppy Z. Brite (1967), American author
• 25 – Cece McDonald (1989), American activist
• 26 – Caitlín R. Kiernan (1964), Irish author
• 29 – Laverne Cox (1972), American actress and transgender advocate
• 30 – Christine Jorgensen (1926–1989), American transgender woman

• ... that on June 15th, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity?
• ... that Tessa Ganserer is the first openly transgender person to serve in a German parliament?
• ... that after law school, Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a trans man, worked as a public defender for Dean Spade, the first openly trans law professor in the US?

The misconception of equating ease of life with “passing” must be dismantled in our culture. The work begins by each of us recognizing that cis people are not more valuable or legitimate and that trans people who blend as cis are not more valuable or legitimate. We must recognize, discuss, and dismantle this hierarchy that polices bodies and values certain ones over others. We must recognize that we all have different experiences of oppression and privilege, and I recognize that my ability to blend as cis is one conditional privilege that does not negate the fact that I experience the world as a trans woman (with my own fears, insecurities, and body-image issues) no matter how attractive people may think I am.