Robert Eads (December 18, 1945 – January 17, 1999)

Robert Eads began transitioning in the late 1980s following a move to Florida. He started testosterone therapy and had top surgery, but because of his age (early- to mid-40s) and the fact that he was showing symptoms of menopause, Eads was told that he would not need a hysterectomy.

In 1996, after moving back to Georgia, Eads suffered severe abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding and received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. More than two dozen doctors refused to treat Eads because they thought that helping him would harm there practices.

In 1997, Eads was finally treated at the Medical College of Georgia hospital, where he underwent surgical, medical, and radiation therapy over the next year. By 1998, his cancer had spread to his uterus, cervix, and other abdominal organs. He died the following year at the age of 53.

Robert Eads’ life and death was the subject of the award-winning documentary, Southern Comfort.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Robert Eads is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

Wilmer “Little Axe” M. Broadnax 1916 – 1994

Wilmer Broadnax was a gospel quartet singer who worked and recorded with many of the most famous gospel groups of his day. Broadnax was born in Houston, and moved to Southern California in the mid 1940s when he began his singing career. By the 1950s, Broadnax–now a diminutive man with glasses and a powerful tenor voice—was performing with one of the most impressive line-ups in gospel quartet history: the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. He went on to work with the Fairfield Four and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and in the early 60s, Broadnax was the front man for a quartet called “Little Axe and the Golden Echoes.” Broadnax retired from touring shortly thereafter, though he continued to record occasionally with the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi through the 70s and 80s.

It was not known that he was a transgender man until the time of his death in 1994.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Wilmer M. Broadnax is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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Michael Dillon (May 1, 1915 – May 15, 1962)

Laurence Michael Dillon was a British physician and the first FTM transsexual to undergo phalloplasty surgery. The pedicled groin flap procedure became known as the Gillies technique and is considered the first reliable phalloplasty procedure. By 1939, Dillon—who was more comfortable in men’s clothes and sincerely felt that he was a man—sought treatment with Dr. George Foss. Testosterone’s androgenic effects were not yet understood, but Dr. Foss provided Dillon with oral testosterone tablets. It is believed that Dillon was the first FTM transsexual to use testosterone therapy.

While in the hospital for a head injury, Dillon connected with a plastic surgeon, a rare specialty at the time, who performed a double mastectomy for him. This surgeon also provided Dillon with a note that would help him have his birth certificate corrected, and put him in touch with Dr. Harold Gillies, who performed phalloplasty surgery for injured soldiers of WWII.

In 1946, Gillies agreed to perform phalloplasty for Dillon, but officially diagnosed him with hypospadias to hide the transsexual nature of the surgery. From 1946 to 1949, Gillies performed at least 13 surgeries on Dillon.

In 1946 Dillon published a book about what we now call transsexuality, Self: A Study in Endocrinology and Ethics. He wrote about “masculine inverts” and claimed this inversion was innate — a hidden physical condition that could not be changed through psychoanalysis and should instead be treated medically.

“Where the mind cannot be made to fit the body, the body should be made to fit, approximately at any rate, to the mind.” – Michael Dillon, Self: A Study in Endocrinology and Ethics

The book brought him to the attention of Roberta Cowell, who by Dillon’s hand would become the first British trans woman to receive MTF sex reassignment surgery. Though Dillon had not yet completed his medical training, he performed an orchiectomy on Cowell, a procedure that was illegal under British law.

Unwanted press attention to his aristocratic background led Dillon to flee to India where he immersed himself in Buddhist studies, pursued ordination and took on the Buddhist name, Sramanera Jivaka. However, he was initially refused ordination and soon moved on to Ladakh, where he was ordained a novice monk and took the name Lobzang Jivaka. He devoted his time to Buddhism and writing. He published four books on Buddhism, including The Life of Milarepa about the famous 11th century Tibetan yogi. In 1962, his health started to fail, likely related to oral testosterone’s toll on the liver, and he died in hospital in India at age 47.

Pagan Kennedy’s 2007 book, The First Man-Made Man, chronicles Dillon’s life story, including his romance with Roberta Cowell, revealing the struggles of early transsexuals.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Michael Dillon is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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Billy Tipton (December 29, 1914 – January 21, 1989)

Billy Tipton started living as a man at the age of 19, in 1933. Tipton was a well respected jazz musician and entertainer. He worked as a sideman, band leader, comedian, and booking agent. He married five times. The first wife knew of his transgender status but the rest did not.

Tipton died in 1989 and was outed by the coroner, which was widely reported in the media.

Silas Howard is developing a film about Tipton’s life.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Billy Tipton is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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Reed Erickson 1912-1992

Reed Erickson is one of the most important and influential transsexuals of the 20th century. Erickson inherited his father’s fortune in 1962. The following year, he became a patient of Dr. Harry Benjamin and began the process of transition.

In 1964, Erickson launched the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF), a philanthropic organization funded entirely by Erickson himself. Through the EEF, he laid the foundations for the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Paul Walker’s Janus Information Service, Sister Mary Elizabeth’s and Jude Patton’s J2CP, and numerous major trans activist organizations.

Erickson was also an early supporter of alternative health practices, funding what was possibly the first English-language publication on acupuncture, and supporting research into homeopathy.

Erickson lived a successful life and was rumored to be a very colorful individual. He had his demons though and died a drug addict in Mexico as a fugitive from US drug indictments.

For more information about Reed Erickson, see Dr. Aaron Devor’s research:

Devor, H. (2002). “Reed Erickson (1912-1992): How One Transsexed Man Supported ONE.” [PDF] In Vern Bullough (Ed.), Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context (p. 383-392), New York: Haworth.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Reed Erickson is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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To the FTM who wants to do drag

To the FTM who wants to do drag

There are trans man DQs out there; as far as I understand it most keep quiet about being female at birth for the same reason. here’s a blog [http://dairyqueenie.tumblr.com/] of one such guy who had that to say (iirc that was where I read that) and has some other interesting input tbh. also there’s an “#ftm drag queen” tag on Tumblr. it isn’t updated too often I don’t think, but might be of interest anyway. hope looking at those helps some - it definitely is possible.

-ehh
   

Travelling Pre-T and body checks

Anyone with experience travelling already on T but pre surgery? There are body checks in some countries and how do you deal with it? I had experience it once but as I was pre T i just put my hands in front of my chest hinting the security officer when he nearly touched my chest. But i was pre T then

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Worries about male privilege

I worry If I transition to male as an ftm, I'll be labeled as a "privileged and oppressive male" by people. Even though transmen do benefit from male privilege after they transition, if they had a female identity before, they didn't benefit from male privilege and were just as oppressed as females. More so, we don't have cis privilege. I'm afraid of expressing this idea on tumblr.

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A matter of size

[[[ Trigger Warning : mention of genitalia ]]]

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Wishing in I knew if my dick size was small or normal. :-/

-transman11

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Dr. Alan Hart (October 4, 1890 – July 1, 1962)

Dr. Alan L. Hart was raised in Oregon. As an adult, he sought out psychiatric counseling and surgery to live his life as a man. Dr. Joshua Gilbert, who assisted Hart with his transition, published Hart’s case in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders in 1920, but kept his patient’s identity a secret.

Hart requested a hysterectomy to eliminate menstruation and the possibility of ever becoming pregnant. This was in 1917 or early 1918, decades before testosterone therapy became available. Dr. Gilbert conceded, marking a major milestone in transsexual history: the first time a psychiatrist recommended the removal of a healthy organ based solely on an individual’s gender identity.

Hart then changed his name and married a woman, and though the relationship ultimately failed, his second marriage lasted 37 years.

Hart published five books, including four novels and a text on his medical specialty, reoentgenology/radiology. He had successful medical practices in Tacoma, Washington and Hartford, Connecticut.

Dr. Hart is perhaps best known as a pioneering epidemiologist. Hart took the Idaho Tuberculosis Hospital’s TB prevention and treatment program from nonexistent during the 1930s to among the best in the country by the time he left Idaho in 1948. Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, Hart traveled extensively through rural Idaho, covering thousands of miles to lecture, conduct mass TB screenings, train new staff and treat patients. He was among the researchers who first recognized the value of X-rays to diagnose TB. Hart’s diagnostic and treatment techniques cut the TB death toll to one-fiftieth of what it was.

After World War II, synthetic testosterone became available, making it possible for Hart to grow a beard and develop a deeper voice.

Read about more of Dr. Hart’s achievements here.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Dr Alan Hart is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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Jack Bee Garland (December 9, 1869 – September 19, 1936)

Jack Garland was a was an author, soldier, nurse and adventurer.  In 1899, living as Beebe Beam, he joined the United States Army forces to participate in the Philippine War. When the captain of his ship found out his history and would not allow Beam back on the ship, the soldiers gave Beam a uniform and hid him until they were safely away from Hawaii. Beam spent a year in the Philippines and served as a Spanish language interpreter and nurse before returning to the US. After publishing a book about his time in the Philippines, Beam assumed the identity Jack Bee Garland. He devoted his remaining years to social work with various charitable organizations.

Lou Sullivan wrote a detailed biography of Jack Garland that was published in 1990 called From Female To Male: The Life of Jack Bee Garland.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Jack Bee Garland is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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Wish I was agender

Sometimes I wish I identified as agender, so at least that way I wouldn't stay up at night wondering why my gender identity matters so much anyway. It's tough to think that as my transition progresses and I continue to love and understand myself more and more, society continues to see me as a threat to the heteronormative system. I wish so bad, that there was at least one small place in the world voice of discrimination and bigotry. I would give everything after transition to go there.

Sick of periods

I've had it with periods... sick of getting dysphoric and depressed every month because of it. Tried searching for medication to end mine, since my lecturer mentioned something like that along the lines, but I couldn't find any that's located in Singapore on the Internet. Would love to know if anyone here has that kind of medication/blockers and where I can find them.

[Ted, Singapore]

Joseph Lobdell 1829-1912

Born in 1829 to a working-class family in upstate New York, Joseph Lobdell, a skilled marksman, moved to the frontier, married a woman, and bucked 19th-century gender expectations. Joseph was eventually incarcerated in an asylum, locked away from his beloved for insisting he was a man.

In an all too common example of mis-gendering, 20th-century scholars have labeled Lobdell a lesbian, but a recent book incorporating queer theory and Lobdell’s own writings makes the argument that Lobdell was indeed a transgender man. Read an interview with the author of A Strange Sort of Being: The Transgender Life of Lucy Ann/Joseph Israel Lobdell, 1829-1912.

October is LGBT History Month. This post on Joseph Lobdell is taken from Transguys.com by Joshua Riverdale. Read all the stories on A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilisation.

20th Century Transgender Men

These historical profiles of some of the key trans men of the past century highlight their remarkable achievements. Their perseverance in the face of prejudice has earned them a place in the FTM trans history time line.

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A brief history of trans civilisation

October is LGBT History Month, and at TransGuys.com we’re taking this opportunity to explore some of the vast history of men of trans experience. Learning about those who came before us, it’s hard not to feel great respect for these men, most of whom faced extreme prejudice and risked their lives to be true to themselves.

A Brief History of Trans Civilisation

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Tinder blunder

got matched with this guy on tinder. look through his pictures, find a picture of him posing with the Forgot to Mention props at pink dot. decide to ask him if he's trans.

"what, trans? is that like a tranny?"

wow shit's tough being a gay trans guy. going to go hide in my hole now.
 
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Fitting in with the guys - is it hard?

Does any transguy have a hard time fitting in the masculine world at first? I'm dying to transition but honestly a part of me is scared. My mom keeps saying change is irreversible and that fitting in male society will be hard. I'm confused.

[Rudd, Singapore]

Chased by depression

Everytime I try to be happy, dysphoria hit me hard in the face. I know I need to focus on positivities as there are people going through much harder time. But it's like being chased by depression. It's like we are cursed to be invisible. I don't want to talk to people. I don't want to exist. I am my own enemy.

Matt
Singapore
 

FTM in drag

I feel like I can never do drag because I'm ftm and people will say I'm cheating because I was born female.

[Alexander, Canada]
 

Eager for top surgery

wondering is there any good and cheap top surgeons in singapore? there's few docs, but rarely seen their end results.

 -eager for top surgery

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I will never be enough for someone

My long term boyfriend who pushed me to come out and be who I am just dumped me. He told me he couldn’t be attracted to me the way I was and then left. I feel like I will never be enough for someone because I am FTM.

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Mum's going to kick me out

I know that if I come out to my mum she's going to kick me out, and yet, I'm still going to. Living like this is hell. I'd rather be a homeless boy than a mentally ill closeted assumed to be female person.
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