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You are here: UK History > Britain's LGBTQA+ history > Britain’s trans and non binary history
Transgender identities began to become more visible in post War Britain, particularly in 1946, when Michael Dillon published a book detailing his transition, including his surgeries undertaken by Sir Harold Gillies.
In May 1951, a former WWII Spitfire pilot, Roberta Cowell, was the first transgender woman to undergo surgery in the UK. Cowell later became a racing driver.
However, there have been records of people expressing their gender identity as far back as the Roman invasion. At the time of the Roman Empire, Britain’s Celtic tribes ran a matriarchal society, which was very different to the patriarchal one used by the Roman invaders. This changed the meanings of certain gender identities and transgender people in these societies were known to have been engaged in worship of different gods to their cis-gender peers. They were however persecuted, something that continued into Anglo Saxon societies. In Medieval England, gender roles were strictly defined but there is evidence to prove that gender non conformity was present during this time. One person historians know of at this time was John/Eleanor Rykener. There is a surviving arrest warrant for them which features both names and states that when arrested they were wearing clothes more usually associated with women.
Other historical texts that give an indication of transgender people include Virginia Woolf’s book Orlando.
Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando is believed to be inspired by her relationship with Vita Sackville West, who was known for posing as a man she named Julian. Vita Sackville West first started talking about her “duality” in 1918, which was around the same time she began wearing breeches and started a relationship with Violet Trefusis.
Violet and Vita eloped for several months to France, during which time, Vita lived as Julian, however, she would return to her husband and would separate from Violet, but would continue to have affairs with women.
One of her most prominent affairs was with Virginia Woolf. It was this relationship that is said to have inspired Orlando, which is seen by many as a fictionalised account of Vita’s life. The story centres on a character called Orlando, who changes gender throughout their life and has relationships with both men and women.
After Vita and her husband moved to Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, she worked almost exclusively in her garden, prompting her to wear more practical clothes including boots, breeches and jackets rather than dresses. Though she was known to wear more feminine clothing when in public.
In the 1960s, the Beaumont Society was founded to provide information and education to the general public and medical professionals on the subject of gender. The organisation is now one of the largest and longest running support systems for transgender people in the UK.
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