transgender children’s lives have repeatedly argued that trans kids are a “new phenomenon” and that gender-affirming treatments and policiesare “experimental”.But Jules Gill-Peterson, a professor of gender, sexuality and women’s studies at the University of Pittsburgh, has found extensive evidence of trans youth in the US living as themselves and fighting to transition in decades-old archival documents.
The records from American hospitals and clinics date back to the early 20th century, with examples across the US well before the existence of contemporary language on trans identity.The Guardian recently spoke to the Histories of the Transgender Child author about her research and its implications as Republicans push legislation to restrict.