“There is this perception today that transness is a ‘trend’, associated with young people who are growing up and claiming this identity,” said Jesse Bayker, gender and sexuality historian at Rutgers University, New Jersey. He said this attitude is “used to marginalise” trans and gender nonconforming people.
Bayker’s research explores 19th- and 20th-century transgender histories in the US. He’s one of several academics I spoke to who elaborated on a long history of gender nonconforming people and subcultures around the world – and who explained why understanding this history is crucial for inclusive societies today.
