*NOTE: language evolves constantly. One of the difficulties in uncovering any kind of LGBT+ history is that we have no way of knowing how people would have referred to themselves in relation to our modern-day terminology. As a result, we have included the terminology of the relevant time period even if these are now words we consider controversial, and have avoided assumptions where possible regarding an individual’s gender and sexuality.

One of the earliest known gender-related British archaeological finds dates from the Late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. The Roos Carr figures, found near Withernsea, East Yorkshire were created with removable phalluses, making them gender-ambiguous and fluid. There are nine other similar surviving figures in Britain and Ireland, ranging in date from about 2500 BC to 148 BC, some of which also have removable genitalia and could be male or female.

Pre-Roman Celtic tribes in Britain are known to have run a matriarchal society. This changed the meanings of certain gender identities, and transgender people in these societies were known to have been engaged in leading worship of different gods for their cis-gender peers. They were, however, persecuted, something that continued into Anglo Saxon societies.

TNBI people were also part of religious activities during the Roman period. Archaeologists uncovered the grave of a 4th Century ‘gallus’ in Cataractonium (present-day Catterick in North Yorkshire). Assigned male at birth, a gallus became a priestess of the goddess Cybele by self-castrating, cross-dressing, and taking a woman’s role to demonstrate commitment to Cybele.

References: lgbtqhistoryuk.org, wikipedia.org, historicengland.org.uk, visitheritage.co.uk, hullmuseums.co.uk

The 13^th Century story ‘Silence’ features a young person who is assigned female at birth but raised as a boy. They spend the entire story wrestling with their gender identity. The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh tales based largely upon the Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (c.1350) and the Llyfr Coch Hergest (c.1382–1410) suggests that Celtic cultures may have had a broader understanding of gender than modern conceptions. The stories frequently involve transformations, including gender transformations, and some characters are presented as figures who defy traditional gender, potentially reflecting a recognition of two-spirit roles.

The most notable ‘real world’ record of a TNBI person in Britain dates from December 1395, when Eleanor/John Rykener was arrested in women’s clothing having sex with John Britby in the City of London. Rykener described working as a prostitute, having had sex as a man and a woman with both sexes. Their story defies a specific identity, but is among the clearest examples of gender nonconformity in medieval England.

In 1656, Thomas Blount's ‘Glossographia’ is published, which included a definition for "transfeminate; to turn from woman to man, or from one sex to another", indicating that gender non-conforming people were public knowledge at the time. Subsequent dictionaries repeated this for over two centuries. We also find a mention of intersex people in the 17th Century Institutes of the Lawes of England’, the foundation of common law in the UK:

"Every heire is either a male, a female, or an hermaphrodite, that is both male and female. And an hermaphrodite (which is also called Androgynus) shall be heire, either as male or female, according to that kind of sexe which doth prevaile".

References: openlynews.com, diversitytrust.org.uk, historicengland.org.uk, visitheritage.co.uk, queerarthistory.com, transgenderhistorymonth.com, digitaltransgenderarchive.net

In the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, the phrase “female husband” became well-known following the best-selling adaptation of Charles/Mary Hamilton’s case, who married several women including their landlady’s niece, Mary Price, in Somerset in 1746. Price later discovered the deception and Hamilton was prosecuted. Other notable ‘female husbands’ from this period included James Howard, Mary Jewit, Sarah/John Ketson, Sarah Paul/Samuel Bundy, James How/Mary East, and James Allen.

Some female-to-male gender crossers were hailed as heroes. One of the best-known trans-masc figures from this period was Dr James Barry, a British Army surgeon and Inspector General of Hospitals. He lived as a male throughout his life, but at his death he was found to have been assigned female at birth. Other contemporary military figures were Hannah Snell and John Taylor/Mary Ann Talbot.

Famous trans-femmes included the Chevalier d’Eon, a French spy, diplomat, and soldier. They lived the early part of their life as a man, and in later years lived as a woman in London’s Soho, dressing in women’s clothes and signing their name as ‘Mademoiselle d’Eon’. Princess Seraphina/John Cooper of the Strand, described as indistinguishable from a woman (often wearing a white gown and scarlet cloak, fluttering a fan and curtseying) was referred to as ‘her’ or ‘her royal highness’. The far less well-known Mary Mudge lived in Devon, working as a milkmaid. They died in the workhouse infirmary at Tavistock, having never married, and were found to have been assigned male at birth.

In intersex history, individuals with ovotesticular syndrome were divided into ‘true hermaphrodites’ and ‘pseudohermaphrodites’ from the Victorian period until the early 21st Century.

References: yesmagazine.org, openlynews.com, nationalarchives.gov.uk, wells.nub.news, blogs.bath.ac.uk, historicengland.org.uk, collection.nam.ac.uk, link.springer.com

The term "intersexuality" was coined by Richard Goldschmidt in 1917, and the first suggestion to replace the term 'hermaphrodite' with 'intersex' was made by Cawadias in the 1940s.

‘Beatrice the Sixteenth: Being the Personal Narrative of Mary Hatherley, M.B., Explorer and Geographer’ is a 1909 feminist utopian novel set in a post-gender world, authored by the English lawyer, writer, and activist Irene Clyde, born Thomas Baty. They have been described by contemporary scholars as non-binary, transgender, or a trans woman, and were heavily involved in feminist and anti-gender binary activism. The more famous ‘Orlando: A Biography’ by Virginia Woolfe was published in 1928, and describes the adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of English literary history.

Following the untimely death of Lili Elbe, the first known recipient of a uterus transplant, the UK version of her semi-autobiographical narrative was published in 1933 under the title ‘Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex’. Three years later, distinguished athlete Mark Weston (born Mary Weston) underwent corrective surgeries after discovering he had been born intersex and raised as a girl. His brother, Harry (born Hilda, also intersex) received corrective surgeries at a similar time. More famously, in 1945, Michael Dillon received a double mastectomy and the first ever phalloplasty, and a year later published ‘Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology’, considered to be a pioneering work in the field of transgender medicine. Michael went on to lead a distinguished medical career (more on this below!).

References: historicengland.org.uk, hollr.site, artuk.org, bloomsburyliterarystudiesblog.com

In the late 1940s, Michael Dillon formed a close friendship with Roberta Cowell, a remarkable trans woman who was a racing driver and a WWII fighter pilot. In 1951 he performed surgery on Cowell, allowing her to circumvent laws at the time. She became the first ever trans woman in the UK to receive a vaginoplasty. This led to a number of significant advances over the 20th Century, including perhaps the first higher degree thesis in the world on transgenderism ‘Cross Dressing and the Desire to Change Sex’ by John Randell, published following gender-confirming operations on around c.50 individuals. Randell went on to create the Charing Cross gender clinic in 1966 (now run by Tavistock & Portman). The Beaumont Society was founded the same year.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, trans people started to become more visible in British media. Most notably, the pioneering BBC2 documentary ‘A Change of Sex’ aired in 1980 showing the transition journey of Julia Grant, with follow-up episodes running until 1999. An episode of Open Door, hosted by the Transex Liberation Group in 1973 and starring Della Aleksander, Rachel Bowen, Jan Ford, and Laura Pralet, was recently made available online.

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (now World Professional Association for Transgender Health), founded in 1979, played a crucial role in developing standardized treatment guidelines for gender dysphoria. In 1986, one of the first legal cases regarding gender markers on birth certificates was brought by trans man Mark Rees. Although unsuccessful, it paved the way for future challenges. A few years later, trans activists Christine Burns and Stephen Whittle joined Press for Change.

References: brooklandsmuseum.com, gender.org.uk, lgbtqhistoryuk.org(1), wikipedia.org, lgbtqhistoryuk.org(2)

Trans+ visibility has skyrocketed in the 21^st Century, empowering more people to explore their identities.

Highs included the Gender Recognition Act in 2004, affording TNBI people full recognition of their acquired sex in law, and the ‘Engendered Penalties Transsexual and Transgender People's Experience of Inequality and Discrimination (Equalities Review)’ in 2007, which was instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of trans people in the remit of the new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights. The 2010 Equality Act provided legal protection against discrimination based on gender reassignment, and a key 2020 case (Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.) affirmed that non-binary and genderfluid identities fall under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. Notable figures were Rachel Mann, who in 2005 was ordained in the Anglican Church, and Nikki Sinclaire, who became the first openly transgender member of the European Parliament in 2013.

However, the darker side of visibility quickly became apparent, with noticeable increases in gender-based discrimination, violence, and death. The case of Brianna Ghey in 2023 highlighted the current challenges that trans+ people face. In April 2025, following a rise in international scapegoating of trans women, a landmark supreme court ruling took place which claimed to “clarify” the legal definition of a woman is biological. The effects of this ruling are still unfolding but so far, tens of thousands of people have taken part in protests, legal challenges are ongoing, and hundreds of thousands in GBP have been raised.

The fight is far from over; more information in our next post!

References: lgbtqhistoryuk.org, wikipedia.org, allaboutlaw.co.uk

The best thing you can do to change the world is… whatever you can.
It really is that simple!

With this in mind, ETA have put together some suggestions:

• Follow TNBI charities and UK activists such as @munroebergdorf, @charlie_craggs, @jamie.wallis.mp, @travisalabanza, @thefoxfisher, @dr_ronx, @christineburnsmbe, @bobbi_pickard, @freddy.mcconnell, and @kennyethanjones
• Sign petitions and protest (if safe to do so)
• Donate to TNBI organisations/fundraisers
• Write to your MP, or Kier Starmer direct
• Ask your employer/school what their stance is. Check if they specifically mention trans+ people in their equality policy, and insist on clarity for on-site toilets
• Join a trade union that supports trans rights
  

Additional actions for allies:

• Educate yourself
• Treat trans+ identities as confidential unless explicitly given permission to share
• Check on your TNBI friends and family
• Curate your social media shares! Unless your friend list consists exclusively of non-TNBI people, focus on affirmative actions
• Challenge discriminatory behaviour. Offer to accompany victims to authorities
• Keep a batch of ‘carry cards’ on you
  

One final action for our trans+ siblings; practise self-care! Avoid doomscrolling and give yourself permission to disconnect.
Remember that enjoying life authentically is the best form of rebellion.

If you want to learn more about LGBT+ history, both UK and elsewhere, follow content creators such as @hollyzonehistory, @makinggayhistorypodcast, and @historyisgaypod.