Book

Heyam, Kit, 1990- author.

Before we were trans : a new history of gender / Kit Heyam.

New York : Seal Press, 2022.

©2022

viii, 343 pages ; 25 cm

Explores the history of transgender and gender nonconforming people, with a focus on those who identified in other than a straightforward binary fashion; on communities in West Africa, Asia, and among Native Americans; and on cross-dressing in World War I prison camps and in entertainment.

Transgender people -- History.

Gender nonconformity -- History.

Sexual minorities -- History.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: 'I had a gown on in a lark': what is trans history? -- Author's note: Writing trans history differently -- 'The majesty of Him my daughter': colonising gender roles in West Africa -- 'She liked me in my greatcoat and hat': fashion and trans panic in early modern Europe -- 'I took especial pleasure in masquerade costumes': living and performing as women in First World War internment camps -- 'A feminine soul confined by a masculine body': the entangled history of gay and trans experience -- 'I am both man and woman': defiant bodies in early America and beyond -- 'Because of the manifestation of spirit': gender, spirituality and survival in North America and South Asia -- Epilogue: Now we are trans.

2022933909

9781541603080 (hardcover)

1344014474

4

0

4

1993641

306.76/809

0

3

3