Trans people in history

The idea that trans people are a recent phenomenon, a product of modernity, or a contemporary “trend” is among the most widespread and most easily refuted myths about gender identity. Historical, archaeological, and anthropological evidence tells a completely different story: in every era and in every corner of the planet, human societies have known people whose gender did not correspond to the one assigned at birth [3]. Many of these cultures not only recognized gender variance, but attributed to it a specific social, spiritual, or ceremonial value.

This article explores the traces of non-conforming gender identities across civilizations, from the temples of Mesopotamia to the imperial courts of Rome, from the millennia-old traditions of South Asia to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, and Polynesia. A methodological caveat is necessary from the outset: applying contemporary Western categories — “transgender,” “non-binary,” “trans woman” — to people who lived in radically different cultural contexts is an exercise that requires caution. The experiences described here attest to gender diversity as a universal human constant, but each must be understood within its own historical and cultural context.

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt

The Gala priests of Mesopotamia

The oldest traces of people with non-conforming gender roles date back to Mesopotamia of the third millennium BCE. The gala (in Akkadian kalu) were temple priests of the goddess Inanna (later Ishtar) who lived a gender identity distinct from the masculine [3]. Sumerian texts describe them as people who sang in a feminine vocal register, the so-called eme-sal (feminine language), and who performed specific ceremonial roles related to the cult of the goddess. A Sumerian proverb reads: “When the gala wiped his anus, he said: I must not excite what belongs to my mistress Inanna” — a reference suggesting a deliberate renunciation of male sexuality as part of their priestly identity.

The gala were not marginal figures: administrative texts from the Ur III period (2112-2004 BCE) document food rations and compensation for gala employed in temples. The goddess Inanna herself was associated with gender transformation: a hymn from the Old Babylonian period describes her as the one who “turns a man into a woman and a woman into a man.” Gender variance, in this context, was not a deviation but a manifestation of divine power.

Hatshepsut and gender ambiguity in Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, pharaoh Hatshepsut (circa 1507-1458 BCE) represents a complex and debated case [12]. Born female, she reigned as pharaoh in her own right during the 18th Dynasty, a role codified as exclusively male. She did not merely assume the title: she had herself depicted with the ceremonial false beard, the nemes headdress, and a male body in official statues. Inscriptions refer to her with alternating masculine and feminine pronouns [12].

Contemporary Egyptologists debate whether Hatshepsut’s choice was an expression of gender identity or a political strategy necessary to legitimize her power in a system that did not provide for female sovereignty. Both dimensions likely coexisted. What remains significant is that Egyptian culture had a language and iconographic apparatus flexible enough to accommodate a sovereign whose gender could not be reduced to a single category.

The Greco-Roman world

The Galli: priests of Cybele

In ancient Rome, the Galli (Gallae in the feminine) were priests of the Phrygian goddess Cybele (the Magna Mater) who lived as women after performing a rite of self-castration [2]. Roman sources — including Catullus, Ovid, and Lucian — describe them wearing feminine clothing, long hair, makeup, and ornaments. The Galli adopted feminine names and used feminine forms to refer to themselves. Their presence in Rome is documented from the 2nd century BCE, and the cult of Cybele was officially incorporated into the Roman pantheon in 204 BCE [2].

The Roman attitude toward the Galli was ambivalent: on one hand they were respected as religious figures, on the other they were the object of ridicule and contempt from authors who saw in their renunciation of virility an unacceptable transgression. This ambivalence — religious veneration and social stigma — resonates with the experiences of many gender non-conforming communities in the contemporary world.

Elagabalus: a Roman empress?

Among the most discussed figures of antiquity is Elagabalus (circa 204-222 CE), Roman emperor from 218 to 222 [1]. Ancient sources, particularly the historian Cassius Dio, report behaviors that in contemporary terms we might associate with a transgender identity. According to Cassius Dio, Elagabalus preferred to be called “lady” (domina) rather than “lord” (dominus), wore traditionally feminine clothing, wore makeup, and — a particularly significant detail — asked physicians to perform surgery to give her female genitalia, promising great sums to anyone who could carry out the procedure [1].

Elagabalus was also a priest of the solar god Elagabalus, a Syrian deity, and practiced rites that contemporary Romans considered oriental and scandalous. She was assassinated at just 18 years of age in a palace conspiracy [1].

Caution is needed in interpreting these sources. Roman historians were hostile to Elagabalus for political, religious, and cultural reasons, and may have exaggerated or distorted aspects of her personality to discredit her. However, the specificity and consistency of the testimonies — the desire for a female body, the use of feminine pronouns and titles, the systematic adoption of feminine gender roles and clothing — suggest a genuine experience of gender identity that did not conform to the sex assigned at birth.

In 2023, the North Hertfordshire Museum in England chose to refer to Elagabalus with feminine pronouns in its exhibitions, sparking a heated public debate that demonstrates how the history of gender identities remains politically charged terrain.

Asia: millennia-old traditions

Hijra — the third nature of India

The most documented and enduring tradition of non-binary gender identity is that of the Hijra of South Asia — present in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal [5]. The Hijra community has existed for at least 4,000 years and has deep roots in the sacred texts of Hinduism [11].

The Vedas (1500-500 BCE) describe three natures (prakrti): pums-prakrti (masculine nature), stri-prakrti (feminine nature), and tritiya-prakrti (third nature) [11]. The Kama Sutra reprises the same tripartition. According to the Ramayana, the god Rama, departing for exile, ordered his followers to return to the city. Men and women obeyed, but those who were neither men nor women remained to wait for him for 14 years. Upon his return, Rama blessed them and conferred upon them the power to bless and curse during ceremonies [11].

The Hijra traditionally participate in birth and marriage ceremonies, where their blessing is considered auspicious [5]. Many are devoted to the goddess Bahuchara Mata and consider their gender a spiritual calling. Historically, the Hijra enjoyed significant respect: during the Mughal period (1526-1857), they held positions of trust in the imperial courts as advisors, harem guardians, and administrators [5].

British colonization marked a devastating turning point. The Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 classified the Hijra as a “criminal tribe,” criminalizing their very existence and initiating a process of marginalization that lasted over a century [5]. Only in 2014, with the NALSA v. Union of India ruling, did India’s Supreme Court officially recognize a third gender, explicitly citing the cultural and religious roots of this identity [6].

Kathoey in Thailand

In Thailand, the kathoey represent one of the most visible gender non-conforming communities in the world [3]. The term, often translated as “third gender” or “second type of woman,” has roots in Thai Buddhist culture and appears in the country’s ancient texts. Kathoey were traditionally considered the result of karma from past lives — an explanation that, in the Buddhist context, did not necessarily carry a negative connotation.

The social visibility of kathoey in Thailand is high: they are present in the entertainment industry, fashion, and everyday life. However, legal recognition remains limited and workplace discrimination is widespread. The Thai case illustrates a contradiction found in many cultures: informal social acceptance without formal legal equality.

Waria in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the waria (a term combining wanita, woman, and pria, man) are a community with roots that predate the arrival of Islam in the archipelago [3]. In the pre-Islamic cultures of the island of Sulawesi, the bissu of the Bugis people were non-binary gender priests who mediated between the human and spiritual worlds. Bugis cosmology traditionally recognizes five genders: makkunrai (woman), orooane (man), calalai (a person assigned female who takes on a masculine role), calabai (a person assigned male who takes on a feminine role), and bissu (who combines all genders) [3].

The Americas: Two-Spirit people

A pan-indigenous concept

In the cultures of the Native peoples of North America, gender diversity was widely recognized before European colonization. The term Two-Spirit was adopted in 1990, at the third annual intertribal gathering of Native American and First Nations gay and lesbian people in Winnipeg, as a pan-indigenous term to describe people who embody both a masculine and a feminine spirit [4].

Before colonization, over 150 Native North American nations recognized gender roles that did not fit within the binary [4]. Names varied from culture to culture: winkte among the Lakota, nadleehi among the Navajo, hemaneh among the Cheyenne. These people were not considered “men who lived as women” or vice versa, but occupied a distinct gender category, with their own social, ceremonial, and spiritual roles.

Two-Spirit people often served functions of mediation: between the masculine and the feminine, between the human world and the spiritual world, between war and peace [4]. In many nations they were healers, counselors, storytellers, and keepers of ceremonial knowledge. Their identity was considered a gift from the spirit, not a pathology or a transgression.

The impact of colonization

European colonization and forced Christianization led to the systematic persecution of Two-Spirit people. Missionaries and colonizers interpreted these identities through the lens of sin and deviance, imposing a rigid gender binary that was foreign to Native cultures. The result was the violent suppression of millennia-old traditions and the internalization of stigma by Indigenous communities themselves.

The movement to reclaim Two-Spirit identity, beginning in the 1990s, is part of a broader process of cultural decolonization [4]. For many contemporary Indigenous people, reclaiming the concept of Two-Spirit means reconnecting gender identity to their cultural roots, outside the categories imposed by the dominant culture.

Africa and Polynesia

Sekrata in Madagascar

In Madagascar, the Sekrata of the Sakalava people are individuals assigned male at birth who are raised as girls and live as women [13]. The tradition has been documented by anthropologists since the colonial era. The Sekrata are not stigmatized but occupy a recognized role in Sakalava society. Their identity is traditionally attributed to destiny (vintana) and is not considered an individual choice but a condition determined at birth [13].

Fa’afafine in Samoa and Mahu in Polynesia

In Samoa, the Fa’afafine (literally “in the manner of a woman”) are people assigned male at birth who express both masculine and feminine traits [7]. The Fa’afafine are a recognized and respected part of Samoan culture and have been for centuries. They are considered neither men nor women, but a third gender with a specific social role, often connected to caring for family and community. Samoan psychologist Aiono Fanaafi Le Tagaloa has described the Fa’afafine as “a natural part of Samoan culture, not something that was imported or invented” [7].

In Hawaii and other Polynesian cultures, the Mahu serve an analogous function. The term designates people who embody both the masculine and feminine spirit and who traditionally held roles of teaching, healing, and cultural transmission. The Mahu were custodians of the sacred dances (hula) and genealogical chants. American colonization of Hawaii, beginning in 1898, led to the marginalization of the Mahu, but their tradition has never been extinguished and today is the subject of an active process of rediscovery and revaluation.

Modern Europe: individual stories

Chevalier d’Eon (1728-1810)

Charles-Genevieve-Louis-Auguste-Andre-Timothee d’Eon de Beaumont, better known as the Chevalier d’Eon, was one of the most celebrated figures in 18th-century Europe [8]. A diplomat, spy, and fencer in the service of Louis XV, d’Eon lived the first 49 years of life presenting as a man, then lived the final 33 years as a woman, after King Louis XVI officially established in 1777 that d’Eon was a woman and ordered her to wear feminine clothing [8].

The question of d’Eon’s gender was the subject of public speculation for decades. In London, in 1770, bets were placed on the Stock Exchange about her “true sexual nature.” D’Eon herself, in the final period of her life, affirmed that she had always been a woman forced to live as a man. Only the post-mortem autopsy revealed an anatomically male body [8]. Her story, regardless of interpretation, testifies that the experience of living in a gender different from the one assigned at birth is not a 21st-century phenomenon.

James Barry (1789-1865)

James Barry was a military surgeon in the British Army who served in South Africa, India, Malta, Jamaica, and Canada, reaching the rank of Inspector General [9]. He was among the first to successfully perform a cesarean section in Africa in which both the mother and the child survived. Throughout his career — spanning over 40 years — Barry lived and was recognized as a man.

Only after his death in 1865 did the person tasked with preparing the body for burial declare that Barry had an anatomically female body and signs of a pregnancy [9]. The scandal was enormous, but Barry had expressed in life the wish to be buried without his body being examined. Contemporary interpretations vary: some historians see in Barry a trans man, others a woman who adopted a male identity in order to practice medicine in an era that forbade it to women. Regardless of interpretation, Barry’s life demonstrates that crossing gender categories has a long history in European culture.

Lili Elbe (1882-1931)

Lili Elbe, born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, was a Danish painter considered one of the first people in the world to undergo gender-affirming surgery [10]. Married to painter Gerda Wegener, Lili began living openly as a woman in the 1920s in Paris. In 1930, she traveled to the clinic in Dresden of Dr. Kurt Warnekros, where she was operated on with the scientific support of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut fur Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin [14].

Lili obtained legal recognition of her female identity from King Christian X of Denmark, who annulled her previous marriage [10]. She died in 1931 from complications related to a subsequent surgical procedure. Her story, told in the posthumous book Man into Woman (1933) and the film The Danish Girl (2015), represents a bridge between the historical experiences of gender variance and the beginning of the history of modern trans medicine.

Why this history matters

The survey of non-conforming gender identities across cultures and eras is not an exercise in erudition for its own sake. It has at least three concrete implications.

The first is the refutation of the “novelty” argument. When it is claimed that trans people are a recent invention, a product of social media, or a passing trend, the answer lies in the Sumerian temples of 5,000 years ago, in the Roman imperial courts, in Samoan villages, and on the North American prairies. Gender variance is a constant of the human species, documented on every continent and in every historical period for which we have sources.

The second is the recognition of the diversity of experiences. Indian Hijra, Samoan Fa’afafine, Native American Two-Spirit people, and contemporary Western trans people are not the same thing. Each of these identities arises from a specific cultural, linguistic, and spiritual context. Reducing them to a single category would be an act of colonial simplification. What they share is evidence that the human gender does not exhaust itself in two rigid categories — and that societies can organize themselves in very different ways around this awareness.

The third is understanding what colonization destroyed. In many cultures, gender variance was not a problem to solve but a gift to honor. The gala priests had a role in the temples. Two-Spirit people were healers and counselors. Hijra blessed marriages. Fa’afafine were the connective tissue of the extended family. The criminalization and pathologization of non-conforming gender identities are not universal: they are the product of a specific historical trajectory, largely European and colonial, that imposed itself as a global norm only in the last few centuries.

Knowing this history does not mean idealizing the past or other cultures. It means recognizing that the experience of trans people does not arise from nothing, is not a deviation from the human norm, and will not disappear no matter how much anyone tries to erase it. It has always been here. In every place, in every time, with different names and different forms — but always here.