History of nonbinary gender: Difference between revisions

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This article on the '''history of nonbinary gender''' should focus on events directly or indirectly concerning people with [[nonbinary]] [[gender identity|gender identities]]. It should not be about [[LGBT]] history in general. However, this history will likely need to give dates for a few events about things other than nonbinary gender, such as major events that made more visibility of [[transgender]] people in general, [[gender variant]] people from early history who may or may not have been what we think of as nonbinary, and laws that concern [[intersex]] people that can also have an effect on the legal rights of nonbinary people.
{{Content warning|<translate><!--T:1--> some troubling events that could be traumatic for some readers. Some historical quotes use language that is now seen as offensive</translate>}}
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Gender variance has a long history [[gender-variant identities worldwide|all around the world]], from the first known records of written language to modern day. What gender variance means and how it's viewed in society has changed throughout history, and the words used to describe it has changed as well; while the word "nonbinary" itself is a relatively new term, the concept itself has existed since ancient times. This page summarizes the history of gender that doesn't fit the [[gender binary|binary]], irrespective of how it's called.


'''Content warnings:''' This history may need to talk about some troubling events that could have been traumatic for some readers. Some historical quotes use language that is now seen as offensive.
==Antiquity== <!--T:10-->
* In Mesopotamian mythology, among the earliest written records of humanity, there are references to types of people who are neither male nor female. Sumerian and Akkadian tablets from the 2nd millennium BCE and 1700 BCE describe how the gods created these people, their roles in society, and words for different kinds of them. These included eunuchs, women who couldn't or weren't allowed to have children, men who live as women, intersex people, gay people, and others.<ref>Murray, Stephen O., and Roscoe, Will (1997). ''Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature.'' New York: New York University Press.</ref><ref>Nissinen, Martti (1998). ''Homoeroticism in the Biblical World'', Translated by Kirsi Stjedna. Fortress Press (November 1998) p. 30. ISBN|0-8006-2985-X<br>See also: Maul, S. M. (1992). ''Kurgarrû und assinnu und ihr Stand in der babylonischen Gesellschaft.'' Pp. 159–71 in Aussenseiter und Randgruppen. Konstanze Althistorische Vorträge und Forschungern 32. Edited by V. Haas. Konstanz: Universitätsverlag.</ref><ref>Leick, Gwendolyn (1994). ''Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature''. Routledge. New York.</ref></translate>
[[File:Sekhet hieroglyphs.jpg|thumb|<translate><!--T:11--> The word "sekhet" in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.</translate><ref name="Brustman">Mark Brustman. "