Lecture 2: Transgender History

Question 1

terminology in history

Answer 1

Transvestism
Transsexism
Transsexualism
Gender Identity Disorder
Gender Dysphoria
Gender Incongruence
Transgender (this will also change, maybe gender diverse?)

shows that terms had a different value in the past, although they may feel outdated or offensive right now

Question 2

for a large part of history, transpeople were not related to gay people. the whole rainbow umbrella is very new

Answer 2

oke

Question 3

hard to determine whether someone was transgender in history, because it meant different things in other times: een jurk dragen in 1800 was misschien niet perse transgender.

Answer 3

oke

Question 4

first milestone in trans history

Answer 4

1952: Christine Jorgensen transitioned, put female sexual hormones in a biological man. first person in history to have had sex hormones and surgery. unclear whether she actually hated that this was leaked or that she did not mind. but opened up a new conversation on transpeople and made it more accessible (i know im not the only one). the doctor got a lot of new request, but the danish government did not let him operate on other people.

Question 5

hoe werd het gezien in de psychiatrie

Answer 5

werd vooral door psychiaters wel gezien als een mental illness, werd gezien als een waan, treating it like a delusion.

Question 6

where were transwomen welcome

Answer 6

in the shadows of society, in the subculture of night life and prostitution. parisian travesty cabaret. here they could be themselves. it was one of the attractions. always connected to sex work. but unsafe and hard, and you had to be willing to do sex work and give up your normal life and say goodby to families.
public image: vile, disturbed, etc.

Question 7

aaicha bergamin

Answer 7

she felt happy in this life in amsterdam, often in jail, adventurous. but as she got older, the traumatic memories came back to her: the way the amsterdam police dealt with her and her friends. they had the law to hunt these women, because it was forbidden to be out in public in the clothes of the opposite sex.

Question 8

casablanca marocco

Answer 8

here was a surgeon who did vaginaplasty, pay in cash, at own risk. he did not believe in psychiatry or psychology, therefore no screenings etc, no after care. at own risk.

Question 9

transhealthcare in the netherlands

Answer 9

1959 arnhem, gemeenteziekenhuis: het eerste transoperatie covered by insurance. female to male, hysteretomy and phalloplasty. the whole medical society became outraged, thought they only did harm, mutilation. became a debate in the dutch parliament. studied by a commision, the dutch health council.

Question 10

dutch health council first said

Answer 10

said it was a deep rooted delusion related to belonging to the opposite sex. seriously disturbed patients.

this is one of the few governments who spoke out in the world.

Question 11

pioneers of looking at transgenders again

Answer 11

• otto de vaal
• liselotte demmers

Question 12

dutch gender foundation

Answer 12

1972, focus on medical help. no unneccessary psychiatric therapy, because it was a valid reason. principle of self-diagnosis. health insurance actually already started to pay! this is still a very large issue in other countries.

Question 13

VUmc:

Answer 13

originally conservative and christian, but medicine must offer compassion. these people need help and we need to give it to them.

Question 14

wat zei de dutch health counsil in 1977

Answer 14

dat ze geen gelijk hadden, en dat het een therapeutische procedure is met een grote kans op succes. very humanistic and open approach for this time

Question 15

first support groups of transpeople

Answer 15

1970, dutch society for sexual reform (travestie en transsexualiteit)

Question 16

the first visible transman

Answer 16

Rik Henning

we want to integrate in society, not stay outcasts

Question 17

dingen die meehielpen

Answer 17

tv (Sonja Barends) en boeken

Question 18

what was the hard thing about transitioning

Answer 18

medically it was fine, but being accepted was very hard and people did not get a partner, friends, lost their family, no job, etc. this scared a lot of trans people (although there were also succes stories)

Question 19

195 transseksuele wet

Answer 19

je kon toen eindelijk je geboortecertificaat veranderen :)

Question 20

wat gebeurde er in 1999

Answer 20

big debate about children, is it ethical to bring children into transition?

puberteitsremmers (decapeptyl), officieel approved in 1998

Question 21

waarom puberteitsremmers

Answer 21

omdat puberteit echt een verschrikkelijke tijd is voor transmensen, je hele lichaam veranderd op een manier waarop je dat niet wil.

als je die gebruikt tot 18 en dan bepaald dat je wil transitioneren, kan je dat doen. en anders kan je alsnog een puberteit krijgen (almost all of the people go on transitioning).

but you have to guide and screen them correcly!!!! did gaat fout in amerika, in NL bijna altijd goed.

Question 22

’ the dutch approach’

Answer 22

puberty blockers, dit ging rondom de wereld en werd heel beroemd (ontwikkelt bij de VU)

nu weer debated, door dus die verhalen uit de USA en UK

Question 23

wat was er in 2014

Answer 23

nieuwe wet, de oude zei dat mensen echt een transitie moeten hebben ondergaan om hun paspoort aan te passen

Question 24

hoe is nonbinary nu

Answer 24

je kan dit wel aanpassen, maar is een heel gedoe met advocaat etc

Question 25

pride

Answer 25

a lot of transpeople are not proud of being trans, they feel it as a part of their past, something bad that happened to them. still wish they were born in the ‘correct’ body

Question 26

the birth of transgender care

Answer 26

berlin, 1919, after wo1, Magnus Hirschfeld started his own sexual science center (research, education, healthcare and refuge). his homosexuality remained hidden, so that people would not undermine his science. they studied in what way homosexuals had physical evidence for being gay. also gave courses to students, doctors, lawyers, and the general public (ook over seks, niet alleen seksuality en gender!!!). and gave healthcare, was free if you were very poor. refuge: safe space, where people could hangout together. the came up with the word transvestism. this word is about clothing -> he later realised for some people it is not about the clothes, it is about changing their body. toen kreeg je een soort paspoort: transvestitenschein, gave them liberty to go out in the streets and dress the way they want to.

Question 27

sexual intermediairies

Answer 27

hirschfield: human nature does not come in male or female, it comes in an endless mix of masculine and feminine traits. based on their hormones and genetic materials.

Question 28

intersex (hermaphroditism) werd ook door hem behandeld, officieel

Answer 28

oke

Question 29

first person to have surgery

Answer 29

dora richter, she said she would kill herself if her penis and testicles were not removed. the doctor refuses to take away the penis, therefore only castration, so she did lose the hormones. this is also the first time they made a distinction between homosexuality and transgender.