We Have Always Existed: Introduction

Ancient Transgender LGBT History

If you listen to the talking points of transphobes, they make it sound like transgender people are just a silly trend the kids are doing these days. That’s ridiculous, of course – we’ve been around for a very long time. We’re ancient, in fact, as ancient as Rome, as ancient as Greece, as ancient as Babylon and Mesopotamia. But nobody is telling these ancient stories.

At least, not until now.

I’m Sophie Edwards, and this is We Have Always Existed. In this video essay series, we’ll dive into the well-documented stories we have about transgender people in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. You’ll get to understand our rich, exciting history, which cis historians have either briefly glossed over or ignored entirely. You’ll get a better understanding of your place in world history, which goes back about as far as we have history to read. And while it probably won’t convince transphobes of anything, I actually don’t care about their smelly opinions anyway.

This first episode is a little drier than the rest will be, but it’s necessary for us to understand how to approach transgender history in a way that makes the most sense.

The next episode will be about the Scythians and their transgender population, and spoiler alert – what we know about them completely changed the way I look at transgender history. Maybe it will do the same for you.