Five trans role models you should know about
As the National Portrait Gallery's portrait of an unknown woman is revealed as a man, let's celebrate trans people's achievements
Juliet Jacques
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 June 2012 07.44 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/08/five-trans-role-modelsThe recent realisation that the "portrait of an unknown woman" acquired by the National Portrait Gallery actually depicts French soldier and diplomat Chevalier d'Eon (1728-1810), who publicly lived as a woman in 18th-century London, provides a welcome opportunity to consider the history of gender-variant people, and how they interacted with their societies.
Praised by feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft, the Chevalier remained well known long after death: British sexologist Havelock Ellis coined "Eonism" to refer to transgender behaviour (Ellis lost the lexicographical battle to Magnus Hirschfeld's "transvestism") and the Beaumont Society took its name from him. But besides the Chevalier (and leaving aside the Indian hijra, the Samoan fa'afafine and other non-western cultures), there have been many others who transgressed gender norms since the Roman emperor Elagabalus. As too many inspirations to contemporary trans people remain obscure to those without a vested interest in finding them, here is a purely subjective list of five among the scores of people who have made a marked difference to me. A celebration of trans role models' achievements, if you will.
