History of nonbinary gender: Difference between revisions
Improved article's focus on nonbinary history by removing some content that was strictly about intersex people, neutral language, and binary trans people, and expanding content about nonbinary people, such as descriptions of uranians who were definitely outside the gender binary, and a 17th century law that may have addressed nonbinary people. Improved organization of and explanations for extant entries.
imported>Sekhet (→Eighteenth century: Added a section for 17th century.) |
imported>Sekhet (Improved article's focus on nonbinary history by removing some content that was strictly about intersex people, neutral language, and binary trans people, and expanding content about nonbinary people, such as descriptions of uranians who were definitely outside the gender binary, and a 17th century law that may have addressed nonbinary people. Improved organization of and explanations for extant entries.) |
||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
==Nineteenth century== | ==Nineteenth century== | ||
* The earliest known [[transsexual]] genital conversion [[surgery]] was performed in 1882 on a [[Binary genders#Transgender men|trans man]] named Herman Karl.<ref>James Sears, ''Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues in Education.'' p. 109. [http://books.google.com/books?id=w7365W7rQKQC&lpg=PA109&ots=gSa98lwR0v&dq=sophia%20hedwig%20transgender%20herman%20karl&pg=PA109#v=onepage&q=sophia%20hedwig%20transgender%20herman%20karl&f=false Google Books link]</ref> However, "earliest transsexual genital conversion surgery" depends on one's definition. [[Eunuch]]s have been around for all of human history, and while many eunuchs consider themselves [[Binary genders#Cisgender men|cisgender men]], many others consider themselves another gender that isn't female or male. Some sources credit the first trans male genital conversion surgery as, instead, the one performed on a trans man named Michael Dillon in the 1930s, perhaps depending on how one defines that surgery. | * The earliest known true [[transsexual]] genital conversion [[surgery]] of any kind was performed in 1882 on a [[Binary genders#Transgender men|trans man]] named Herman Karl.<ref>James Sears, ''Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues in Education.'' p. 109. [http://books.google.com/books?id=w7365W7rQKQC&lpg=PA109&ots=gSa98lwR0v&dq=sophia%20hedwig%20transgender%20herman%20karl&pg=PA109#v=onepage&q=sophia%20hedwig%20transgender%20herman%20karl&f=false Google Books link]</ref> However, "earliest transsexual genital conversion surgery" depends on one's definition. [[Eunuch]]s have been around for all of human history, and while many eunuchs consider themselves [[Binary genders#Cisgender men|cisgender men]], many others consider themselves another gender that isn't female or male, such as [[hijra]]. Some sources credit the first trans male genital conversion surgery as, instead, the one performed on a trans man named Michael Dillon in the 1930s, perhaps depending on how one defines that surgery. | ||
[[File:Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (from Kennedy).jpg|thumb|150px|Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825-1895), who described "a neutral sex" that was not physically intersex.]] | |||
* Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825-1895) developed a theory in which men who are attracted to men and women who are attracted to women are thus because they are members of a third sex, a mixture of both male and female, and with the psyche or essence of the "opposite" sex, even though their bodies look like normal male and female bodies. The terms "homosexual," "bisexual," and "heterosexual" didn't exist yet, so he coined terms for them all. The overall phenomenon he called [[Uranismus]] (in the original German, ''Urningtum''), gay men were uranians (German ''urnings''), lesbians were uraniads (German ''urningin'', as ''-in'' is the feminine suffix), whereas heterosexuals were ''Dionings'', and so on. Ulrichs based this naming system on "Plato's ''Symposium'', where two different kinds of love [...are] ruled by two different goddesses of love-- Aphrodite, daughter of Uranus, and Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus and Dione. The second Aphrodite rules those who love the opposite sex." <ref>''We are everywhere: A historical sourcebook of gay and lesbian politics.'' P. 61. https://books.google.com/books?id=rDG3xdtDutkC&lpg=PA64&dq=urning&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q=urning&f=false</ref> Ulrichs argued that their condition was as natural and healthy as that of what we now call heterosexual people, and he started the movement fighting for their equal legal rights to express their love "between consenting adults, with the free consent of both parties," in his words from 1870, and that they should not be pathologized nor criminalized for doing so.<ref name="UlrichsAraxes">Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, "Araxes: Appeal for the liberation of the urning's nature from penal law." 1870. Excerpt reprinted in: ''We are everywhere: A historical sourcebook of gay and lesbian politics.'' P. 63-65. https://books.google.com/books?id=rDG3xdtDutkC&lpg=PA64&dq=urning&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q=urning&f=false</ref>. Although Uranismus was generally addressed in terms of orientation, Ulrichs specifically described various categories of uranians in terms of their gender nonconformity and gender variance. For example, in regard to feminine gay men or queens (who he called ''Weiblings''), Ulrichs wrote in 1879, <blockquote>"The Weibling is a total mixture of male and female, in which the female element is even predominant, a thoroughly hermaphroditically organized being. Despite his male sexual organs, he is more woman than man. He is a woman with male sexual organs. He is a neutral sex. He is a neuter. He is the hermaphrodite of the ancients."<ref name="UlrichsArrow">Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, "Critical arrow." 1879. Excerpt reprinted in: ''We are everywhere: A historical sourcebook of gay and lesbian politics.'' P. 64-65. https://books.google.com/books?id=rDG3xdtDutkC&lpg=PA64&dq=urning&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q=urning&f=false</ref></blockquote> | |||
: Ulrichs goes on to say the direct counterpart of the Weibling among those were were assigned female at birth is "the masculine-inspired, woman-loving Mannlingin," who is equally gender-variant.<ref name="UlrichsArrow" /> Ulrichs emphasizes that Uranismus includes gender-variant people, distinct from those who conform from their gender, and also distinct from people born with physical intersex characteristics. As such, Uranismus included people who might today identify as nonbinary. | |||
* Clinical beliefs around the time of the 1890s "conflat[ed] sex, sexual orientation, and gender expression," thinking of (to use modern words for them) gay, lesbian, transgender, and gender non-conforming people as all having some kind of intersex condition. Such people were said to have "sexual inversion," and were called "inverts."<ref>"What's the history behind the intersex rights movement?" ''Intersex Society of North America.'' http://www.isna.org/faq/history </ref> | * Clinical beliefs around the time of the 1890s "conflat[ed] sex, sexual orientation, and gender expression," thinking of (to use modern words for them) gay, lesbian, transgender, and gender non-conforming people as all having some kind of intersex condition. Such people were said to have "sexual inversion," and were called "inverts."<ref>"What's the history behind the intersex rights movement?" ''Intersex Society of North America.'' http://www.isna.org/faq/history </ref> | ||
* "In 1895, a group of self-described '[[androgyne|androgynes]]' in New York organized a 'little club called the Cercle Hermaphroditos, based on their self-perceived need 'to unite for defense against the world's bitter persecution.'" This group included people who, in today's words, may have called themselves cross-dressers and transgender people.<ref>Susan Stryker, "Why the T in LGBT is here to stay." ''Salon.'' October 11, 2007. [http://www.salon.com/2007/10/11/transgender_2/ http://www.salon.com/2007/10/11/transgender_2/] </ref> | * "In 1895, a group of self-described '[[androgyne|androgynes]]' in New York organized a 'little club called the Cercle Hermaphroditos, based on their self-perceived need 'to unite for defense against the world's bitter persecution.'" This group included people who, in today's words, may have called themselves cross-dressers and transgender people.<ref>Susan Stryker, "Why the T in LGBT is here to stay." ''Salon.'' October 11, 2007. [http://www.salon.com/2007/10/11/transgender_2/ http://www.salon.com/2007/10/11/transgender_2/] </ref> | ||
| Line 47: | Line 50: | ||
* In autobiographical writings from 1918 and 1922, [[Jennie June]] (née Earl Lind) described herself as a "fairie" and "[[androgyne]]."<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States] </ref><ref>"Earl Lind." ''Wikipedia.'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Lind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Lind]</ref> | * In autobiographical writings from 1918 and 1922, [[Jennie June]] (née Earl Lind) described herself as a "fairie" and "[[androgyne]]."<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States] </ref><ref>"Earl Lind." ''Wikipedia.'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Lind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Lind]</ref> | ||
=== | ===1960s=== | ||
* Although | * Although the earliest known ''recorded'' mention of the gender-neutral title [[Mx]] was in a magazine article in 1977,<ref>Practical Androgyny (PractiAndrogyny). May 4, 2015. [https://twitter.com/PractiAndrogyny/status/595329679789260801 https://twitter.com/PractiAndrogyny/status/595329679789260801]</ref><ref>''The Single Parent'', vol 20. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IgwdAQAAMAAJ&dq=editions%3ALCCNsc83001271&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Mx https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IgwdAQAAMAAJ&dq=editions%3ALCCNsc83001271&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Mx]</ref> anecdotes say it was in use as far back as 1965.<ref>Cassian Lotte Lodge (cassolotl). "Mx has been around since the 1960s." November 26, 2014. Blog post. [http://cassolotl.tumblr.com/post/103645470405 http://cassolotl.tumblr.com/post/103645470405]</ref><ref>octopus8. November 18, 2014. Comment on news article. [http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/nov/17/rbs-bank-that-likes-to-say-mx#comment-43834815 http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/nov/17/rbs-bank-that-likes-to-say-mx#comment-43834815]</ref> | ||
===1970s=== | ===1970s=== | ||
* During the 1970s and 1980s, feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift were significant influences on encouraging people to take up [[gender neutral language|gender inclusive language]], as an alternative to sexist language that excludes or dehumanizes women. Some of their books on this are ''Words and Women'' (1976) and ''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing'' (1980). They also said to use gender neutral pronouns."<ref>Elizabeth Isele, "Casey Miller and Kate Swift: Women who dared to disturb the lexicon." http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall94/h2-isele.html </ref> | |||
* During the 1970s and 1980s, feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift were significant influences on encouraging people to take up [[gender neutral language|gender inclusive language]], as an alternative to sexist language that excludes or dehumanizes women. Some of their books on this are ''Words and Women'' (1976) and ''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing'' (1980). They also said to use gender neutral pronouns.<ref>Elizabeth Isele, "Casey Miller and Kate Swift: Women who dared to disturb the lexicon." http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall94/h2-isele.html | * In 1979, [[Binary genders#Cisgender women|cisgender woman]] Janice Raymond wrote the book ''Transsexual Empire,'' which told cisgender women to fear trans women. As a result, many feminist and women-only spaces became hostile to trans women. This dividing issue made it difficult for feminism to develop an understanding of transgender issues in general. In response, the movement of transgender studies began with an essay by trans woman Sandy Stone in 1987.<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States]</ref> | ||
* In 1979, [[Binary genders#Cisgender women|cisgender woman]] Janice Raymond wrote the book ''Transsexual Empire,'' which told cisgender women to fear trans women. As a result, many feminist and women-only spaces became hostile to trans women. This dividing issue made it difficult for feminism to develop an understanding of transgender issues in general. In response, transgender studies began with an essay by trans woman Sandy Stone in 1987.<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States]</ref> | |||
===1980s=== | ===1980s=== | ||
* In the 1980s, the handbook of psychiatry, the DSM-III, included "Gender Identity Disorder" to diagnose people as transsexual.<ref>Trans Health editors, “Timeline of gender identity research.” 2002-04-23. http://www.trans-health.com/2002/timeline-of-gender-identity-research </ref> It frames being trans as a strictly pathological mental condition. Getting this diagnosis becomes a necessary step for many trans people to transition. Psychologists during this time believed that a legitimately trans person needed to conform very closely to the [[gender binary]], and even needed to be heterosexual. The psychologists focused on trans women, and isolated them from one another, so they had little community. Meanwhile, trans men got less help from that system, and so they largely left it and formed their own communities.<ref>fakecisgirl, "The Misery Pimps: The People Who Impede Trans Liberation." October 7, 2013. ''Fake Cis Girl'' (personal blog). [https://fakecisgirl.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/the-misery-pimps-the-people-who-impede-trans-liberation/ https://fakecisgirl.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/the-misery-pimps-the-people-who-impede-trans-liberation/]</ref> | * In the 1980s, the handbook of psychiatry, the DSM-III, included "Gender Identity Disorder" to diagnose people as transsexual.<ref>Trans Health editors, “Timeline of gender identity research.” 2002-04-23. http://www.trans-health.com/2002/timeline-of-gender-identity-research </ref> It frames being trans as a strictly pathological mental condition. Getting this diagnosis becomes a necessary step for many trans people to transition. Psychologists during this time believed that a legitimately trans person needed to conform very closely to the [[gender binary]], and even needed to be heterosexual. The psychologists focused on trans women, and isolated them from one another, so they had little community. Meanwhile, trans men got less help from that system, and so they largely left it and formed their own communities.<ref>fakecisgirl, "The Misery Pimps: The People Who Impede Trans Liberation." October 7, 2013. ''Fake Cis Girl'' (personal blog). [https://fakecisgirl.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/the-misery-pimps-the-people-who-impede-trans-liberation/ https://fakecisgirl.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/the-misery-pimps-the-people-who-impede-trans-liberation/]</ref> | ||
* In the 1980s and 1990s, Michael Spivak used a set of [[English neutral pronouns#E|gender-neutral "E, Emself" pronouns]] in his math books. | * In the 1980s and 1990s, Michael Spivak used a set of [[English neutral pronouns#E|gender-neutral "E, Emself" pronouns]] in his math books, in order to avoid indicating a person's gender. The same or similar pronoun had been coined independently by others in prior years. Due to how Spivak popularized these particular pronouns, these soon became known as "spivak pronouns" when they were built into a place where people talked together on the Internet.<ref>"Gender-neutral pronoun FAQ." [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http://aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html]</ref> | ||
===1990s=== | ===1990s=== | ||
* In 1990, the Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference chooses [[Two-Spirit]] as a better English umbrella term for some gender identities unique to Native American cultures, many of which can be considered as outside of the Western gender binary.<ref>"Two-Spirit." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit</ref> | * In 1990, the Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference chooses [[Two-Spirit]] as a better English umbrella term for some gender identities unique to Native American cultures, many of which can be considered as outside of the Western gender binary.<ref>"Two-Spirit." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit</ref> | ||
* In 1994, [[Kate Bornstein]], who currently identifies as nonbinary,<ref>https://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/pretty-damn-bowie-kate-bornstein-on-their-broadway-debut-in-straight-white-men</ref> published the book ''Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us,'' about hir experience as a transgender person identifying outside of the gender binary. | * In 1994, [[Kate Bornstein]], who currently identifies as nonbinary,<ref>https://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/pretty-damn-bowie-kate-bornstein-on-their-broadway-debut-in-straight-white-men</ref> published the book ''Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us,'' about hir experience as a transgender person identifying outside of the gender binary. | ||
* In 1995, a [[neutrois]] person named [[H. A. Burnham]] creates the word "neutrois," a name for a nonbinary gender identity.<ref>Axey, Qwill, Rave, and Luscious Daniel, eds. “FAQ.” Neutrois Outpost. Last updated 2000-11-23. Retrieved 2001-03-07. [http://web.archive.org/web/20010307115554/http://www.neutrois.com/faq.htm http://web.archive.org/web/20010307115554/http://www.neutrois.com/faq.htm]</ref> | * In 1995, a [[neutrois]] person named [[H. A. Burnham]] creates the word "neutrois," a name for a nonbinary gender identity.<ref>Axey, Qwill, Rave, and Luscious Daniel, eds. “FAQ.” Neutrois Outpost. Last updated 2000-11-23. Retrieved 2001-03-07. [http://web.archive.org/web/20010307115554/http://www.neutrois.com/faq.htm http://web.archive.org/web/20010307115554/http://www.neutrois.com/faq.htm]</ref> | ||
* [http://genderqueerid.com/post/8813994851/answering-gender-questions-coining-genderqueer The earliest known use] of the word "[[genderqueer]]" is by [[Riki Anne Wilchins]] in the Spring 1995 newsletter of [[Transexual Menace]]. | * [http://genderqueerid.com/post/8813994851/answering-gender-questions-coining-genderqueer The earliest known use] of the word "[[genderqueer]]" is by [[Riki Anne Wilchins]] in the Spring 1995 newsletter of [[Transexual Menace]]. | ||
| Line 83: | Line 81: | ||
===2000s=== | ===2000s=== | ||
* | * Australian Alex MacFarlane believed to be the first person in Australia to obtain a birth certificate recording sex as indeterminate, and the first Australian passport with an "X" sex marker. Australia began to let people mark their gender as "X" on their birth certificates and passports.<ref>"X marks the spot for intersex Alex" Archived 2013-11-11 at WebCite, West Australian, via bodieslikeours.org. 11 January 2003 https://www.webcitation.org/6L2hqf44G?url=http://www.bodieslikeours.org/pdf/xmarks.pdf</ref><ref>Holme, Ingrid (2008). "Hearing People's Own Stories". Science as Culture. 17 (3): 341–344. doi:10.1080/09505430802280784. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09505430802280784</ref> | ||
===2010s=== | ===2010s=== | ||
* | ====2013==== | ||
* | * A newer version of the handbook of psychiatry, the DSM-5, replaces the "gender identity disorder" diagnosis with "gender dysphoria," to lessen the pathologization of transgender people.<ref>"History of transgenderism in the United States." ''Wikipedia.'' Retrieved November 29, 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States]</ref> | ||
* | |||
* | ====2014==== | ||
* The social networking site Facebook began to let users to choose from 50 gender options. | |||
* The transgender community on the social networking site Tumblr created hundreds of [[nounself pronouns]]. | |||
====2015==== | |||
* Dictionary.com put in the nonbinary gender words [[agender]], [[bigender]], and [[genderfluid]].<ref>"New words added to Dictionary.com." May 6, 2015. ''Dictionary.com.'' [http://blog.dictionary.com/2015-new-words/ http://blog.dictionary.com/2015-new-words/]</ref> Meanwhile, the Oxford English Dictionary announced that it might add the title [[Mx]].<ref>Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, "Gender neutral honorific Mx 'to be included' in the Oxford English Dictionary alongside Mr, Ms and Mrs and Miss." May 3, 2015. ''The Independent''. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gender-neutral-honorific-mx-to-be-included-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary-alongside-mr-ms-and-mrs-and-miss-10222287.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gender-neutral-honorific-mx-to-be-included-in-the-oxford-english-dictionary-alongside-mr-ms-and-mrs-and-miss-10222287.html]</ref><ref>Mary Papenfuss, "Oxford Dictionary may include gender-neutral honorific 'Mx'." May 5, 2015. ''International Business Times.'' [http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/oxford-dictionary-may-include-gender-neutral-honorific-mx-1499626 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/oxford-dictionary-may-include-gender-neutral-honorific-mx-1499626]</ref> | |||
* One of Irish broadcaster RTE’s best-known journalists, [[Notable nonbinary people#Jonathan Rachel Clynch|Jonathan Rachel Clynch]], came out as genderfluid.<ref>Tom Sykes, "A ‘Gender Fluid’ Journalist Comes Out To Irish Cheers." 2015-09-18. ''Daily Beast.'' http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/18/a-gender-fluid-journalist-comes-out-to-irish-cheers.html</ref> | |||
* Singer, songwriter, and actor [[Notable nonbinary people#Miley Cyrus|Miley Cyrus]] explained she didn't relate to being a girl or a boy. | |||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
== | ==Further reading== | ||
* [ | * [[w:Timeline of LGBT history| Wikipedia: Timeline of LGBT history]] | ||
* [ | * [[w:History of transgenderism in the United States|Wikipedia: History of transgenderism in the United States]] | ||
* [[w:Timeline of intersex history|Wikipedia: Timeline of intersex history]] | |||
* [[w:Intersex in history|Wikipedia: Intersex in history]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:History]] | [[Category:History]][[Category:Visibility]] | ||