Transgender: Its History and Development

In light of recent events pertaining to an Instagram feud between a popular designer and a social media personality and activist, I have drawn a conclusion: It will be extremely foolish of me to have an opinion for, or against either one of these two personalities without having educated myself on the term: Transgender.

In my quest to find the medical, social, and historical aspects of my answer I realized it was not just me who was unaware of the intricacies of the term. Many friends and family had a vague idea, and most of them had similar questions. In my journey to educate myself, I shall pen down what I have learnt with the intention that this may help the reader, young or old, gain a better understanding of this unremembered but integral section of our society.

Transgender, Transsexual and Hermaphrodite.

Wikipedia refers to Transgender as a sort of blanket term which covers the gist of all the subsequent subcategories of the terminology but in a sort of shaded, guarded and vague manner.

In simple words, a ‘Transgender’, is anyone who possesses or acknowledges themselves to be of a different gender, than the one allocated at birth.

While this was not of much help in my journey to find the answer, I did come across two more terms, Transsexual and Hermaphrodite.

A Transsexual is aptly defined as anyone who consciously chooses to change, or transition into a gender different from the one assigned at birth. For example, A man may transition into a woman if they do not resonate with the male sex. A similar case may also apply to a woman, who feels discontentment in belonging to that particular gender, and may choose to become a man.

This process may involve the suppression or injection, of several hormones, consumption of medication, surgical procedures etc.

A Hermaphrodite is medically referred to as any human, animal or plant that possesses both male and female reproductive organs.

It is important to note, however, that this term is not synonymous with the term bisexual since this term pertains to sexual orientation and sexual preference.

Hermaphrodite, however, has several other terms that may cause confusion when being used interchangeably since not everyone is aware of the other co-relating terms. Previously, Hermaphrodite was referred to as Intersex or sexual ambiguity when being used to describe a person.

The History

The first recorded case of sexual ambiguity was in 1865 when medical professionals found Giuseppe Marzo, a man to have a male urinary tract but no testicles, instead, he possessed female reproductive organs.

However, the existence of sexual ambiguity remained in Greek Mythology decades before scientific discovery.

According to Roman history, the Greek god Aphrodite and Hermes, gave birth to a handsome son, Hermaphroditus, who was raised as good looking male child until a water nymph, Salmacis, fell in love with him when she first saw him bathing in a pool. The nymph prayed instantly that they may never be separated.

The gods interpreted this wish differently, and merged the two together, forming one body or one individual, with both reproductive organs.

Hence, the term ‘Hermaphrodite’, was coined.

Transgender Laws in Pakistan

Pakistan is home to 10,418 transgenders in total. Out of which 8.3% currently live in KP, 64.39% live in Punjab, 24.25% are living in Sindh, and 1.04% live in Balochistan.

The Transgender Persons Act of 2018 sets forth the movement to protect the rights of the transgender community. It allows this section of our society to possess the same rights as those of the cisgender citizens of Pakistan.

The Act allows, transgender persons, to obtain a passport and driving license. The option to change gender through NADRA is also allowed.

Harassment, discrimination, or forcing transgenders into begging is strictly prohibited according to the Act. The punishment for such practices is 6 years of jail time as well as Rs. 50,000 fine.

The transgender community has also been allocated a separate room in jail. They are allowed access to education, medical intervention as well as mental health services.

Medical Aspect

According to a report published by BBC, gender is an essential component to comprehend diagnosis and treatment outcomes for patients with chronic diseases.

Since the advent of science and medicine; treatment, diagnostics, medication as well as general patient care has been constructed around the mainstream gender dichotomy.

It has been reported, at several instances, that patients who fall under the bracket of transgenders (whether transsexual, hermaphrodite or other) have, due to a fear of judgment or ill-treatment in society, refrained from providing core information regarding their identity that could aid their treatment.

Similarly, whilst the interpretation of laboratory reports, there are readings that vary in the normal range for male and female patients.

For a patient, born as female, post the transition phase, would be considered male, legally and societally. All legal documents would also pronounce the patient as male. However, without the gender-related history of the patient, variables such as hemoglobin levels eGFR, BMI etc. would denote anomalies once received by the doctor.

The Opinion

This concludes my research surrounding the taboo subject of transgenders. I shall leave it to the reader to deduce what opinion they would like to support in this particular issue. However, there is no doubt that this section of our society deserves respect, representation, optimum healthcare facilities and the right to receive education. 

On the religious aspect surrounding this section of our society, it is best to encourage one to do their own respective research. While each person may have their own opinion, religiously, the concept of kindness runs far across the world, and across all religions therein.