Who Was the First Transgender Person? Meet Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen is often seen as the first trans woman. While it’s likely there were transgender people before, she was one of the first trans people to be so public. It’s worth diving more into her history, as well as this apparent ‘third gender.’
It’s first worth mentioning that transitioning goes back further than Christine Jorgensen. A Roman emperor or two might’ve been trans people. The difference here is no Roman emperor actually publicly acknowledged this.
Let’s talk about Ms. Jorgensen, her impact on trans men and women, her affect on trans history and transgender rights, tributes in Las Vegas and further afield, and more. She’s helped people come to terms with their gender, and made gender equality a priority.
What Does it Mean to Be Transgender?
Read more about: Transgender – What does it mean?
Before diving in, it’s worth looking at what transgender actually means. It refers to someone who was born one gender, but has a gender identity that differs from this. That could mean they were assigned male at birth, but their gender identity says they’re a woman. In this case, they’ll be a trans woman.
Some people believe there’s a third gender, with this being somewhere in the middle of the gender binary. Let’s take a deeper look at what this is, and how someone can change their gender.
Transgender Meaning Explained
Transgender people have been public about their gender identity for decades, though it’s been a gender identity longer than that. Trans people are born one gender, but they feel like they’re the opposite gender. They could be assigned male at birth, but they’ll believe they’re the female sex.
Because of this, they’ll transition to the gender they actually are. They’ll receive medical treatment to become the opposite sex and confirm their gender. Gender confirmation surgery, also called sexual reassignment surgery, is a core part of this.
Then there’s what’s often called the ‘third gender’ in what was traditionally called the gender binary. This is when a transgender person doesn’t believe they’re either male or female, but somewhere in-between. Some transgender people even fluctuate between both genders.
For these people, hormone therapy, gender affirmation surgery or a sex change usually isn’t needed. Transgender equality helps these people as much as it looks to help transgender men and transgender women.
Transgender Vs. Intersex
Another term many people may hear is ‘intersex,’ and they could wonder how this relates to being transgender. They’re not the same thing, and someone intersex still falls within the gender binary, even if they don’t identify as male or female.
An intersex person is someone whose sex isn’t clearly identifiable. They could be born with a male chromosome, for example, but also have female genitals or other characteristics. Their biological sex mightn’t be immediately apparent. They don’t fit neatly into either gender.
This is different from transgender, but an intersex person may still want sex reassignment surgery later in life. They may experience gender dysphoria leading up to this. Gender dysphoria refers to the anxiety that comes with feeling as though you were born as the wrong gender.
While not all trans people experience gender dysphoria, it’s an all-too common feeling. This can happen from a young age. Medical treatment, such as hormone treatments like hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery, helps to overcome this.
Difference Between Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Then there’s the difference between someone’s gender identity and sexual orientation. Many people believe these are related, though they’re not. Transgender people can be any sexuality, just like cis-gender people. Trans women, for example, can be attracted to men, women, other trans people, or all three.
The same can be said for transgender men. They could be attracted to cisgender men or women, both, trans women, or all three. Even non-binary – or the ‘third gender’ or other terms – can fall into these categories. Their transgender identity doesn’t affect their sexuality.
Who Was the First Transgender Woman?
And this is where we get to the first openly trans person. There are multiple claims to this, with human history and trans history being one and the same. Throughout human history, however, transgender people have been heavily persecuted.
Medical procedures weren’t available so people could transition, so some early claims are unclear. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a claim to the first trans person to be public about their trans identity. Christine Jorgensen takes that claim. She plays a vital role in transgender history.
Introducing Christine Jorgensen – The First Trans Woman
Assigned male at birth, Christine Jorgensen is a trans woman who made waves when she first became public about her gender identity. The blonde beauty was publicly outed after receiving her gender confirmation surgery. Since then, countless transgender persons have become inspired by her life story.
Let’s dive into how the Bronx youth helped the human rights campaign for transgender people and became a vital part of transgender history and transgender equality. Trans people all know her name, but that doesn’t mean everything is known about the woman who would come to be seen as a blonde beauty.
Early Life
Born in 1926 in the Bronx, New York, Christine Jorgensen was assigned male when she was born. From a young age, she always wanted to wear female clothes. After graduating from high school, Christine Jorgensen joined the military and became a military clerical worker during the World War, and even during a civil war.
She spent about a year as a clerical worker, though it’s unclear whether she enjoyed this time. Her role as a clerical worker didn’t last long, though, and she decided on a different career path. After quitting her job as a clerical worker, Christine Jorgensen pursued a photography career.
The Bronx youth and New York native quickly broadened her horizons. According to the New York Daily News, and similar publications, the next steps Christine Jorgensen took were obvious. She didn’t like a man’s dress, and preferred dressing and being the woman she was.
The fact her gender at birth didn’t match up with her gender expression was a problem she wanted to address.
Making a Change
The soon-to-be blonde beauty heard about operations that could help people whose gender identity didn’t match up with their biological body. In 1950, she traveled from her native New York to Denmark to see a doctor called Christian Hamburger.
Meeting Dr. Christian Hamburger
The doctor specialized in helping indigenous people and other such people with their gender identity. On her way, Christine Jorgensen knew exactly what she wanted. She knew Dr. Christian Hamburger would help her become the first transgender woman. At least, that’d be the case publicly.
This public attention as a transgender person wasn’t exactly what Christian Hamburger wanted. After the surgeries and treatments, Christine Jorgensen changed her name. She picked Christine Jorgensen as a way to honor her doctor, Christian Hamburger.
Publicly Outed
Then came the attention Christine Jorgensen started receiving as the apparently first transgender person. This claim could be false, however. The New York native wasn’t the first person to see Dr. Hamburger, after all.
People had paid and offered vast sums to receive surgeries from Dr. Christian Hamburger. These medical procedures were received by people from around the world, from Las Vegas to Denmark and beyond. These transgender people, whether from Las Vegas or anywhere else, also deserve some credit.
Becoming a Celebrity
Christine Jorgensen was the first highly public person to have undergone surgery. This isn’t the attention the blonde beauty wanted. Her transition was exposed by the New York Daily News, with the title ‘Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Operations Transform Bronx Youth.’ The Ex-GI in question was Christine Jorgensen.
The NY Daily News article contained before-and-after pictures of the transgender woman, as well as of her during her gender transition.
Fighting for Empathy
This was uncalled for by the New York Daily News. Despite that, Christine Jorgensen decided to make the best of the situation. She became a transgender celebrity and became an icon to trans people.
She accepted the publicity and used it to push transgender equality and promote and help trans people. The New York Daily News article only helped to push this, and kickstarted the transgender rights campaign. She fought for empathy, regardless of gender.
Trying to Get Married
After her transition, Christine Jorgensen tried to get married in Las Vegas. This never officially happened, though. Between the publicity she got as a transgender celebrity, issues with a marriage license, and similar hiccups, the marriage in Las Vegas was eventually called off. The issue with the license was because Christine Jorgensen was assigned male when she was born.
Later Years
Christine Jorgensen would continue to advocate for trans people around the world for several decades. As a transgender celebrity, she saw it as her duty to help trans women, trans students, trans men, and others get the treatment and respect they deserve. This included appearances in Las Vegas and other cities.
Christine Jorgensen passed away because of bladder and lung cancer in 1989. Tributes to her were paid in Las Vegas, New York, Denmark, and more. Assigned male at birth, she died the woman she knew she was.
The Modern Trans Rights Movement
Since then, equal protection for transgender people has come a long way. While trans people still aren’t treated the same as cisgender people, there have been steps in the right direction. The Obama administration played a big role in this. Transgender people have more protection and rights, even in Las Vegas.
There’s even a transgender pride flag, with this being seen on countless occasions everywhere, from California to Las Vegas, and everywhere in between.
Summing it Up
Transgender people have been around longer than many people believe. They’re in Las Vegas, New York, and even other countries. That doesn’t mean all trans men and trans women have been so public about it.
No matter whether it’s in Las Vegas or somewhere more open-minded, many transgender people hide their feelings from a young age. As a transgender woman, Christine Jorgensen wasn’t one of these people.
She was a pioneer, and was a leading figure in the transgender community, from Las Vegas to further afield. Christine Jorgensen was the first openly transgender person in America. Her impact is felt by transgender people around the world, especially in Las Vegas, Denmark, and New York.
She’s a credit to humanity, no matter their gender.
Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christine-Jorgensen
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