I hate when people make the mercs trans, like- it's the 60-70's and Transsexuality wasn't even known at that time. I have no problem with Trans ppl but still-
this statement is factually untrue and there is endless evidence against it. i wanted to showcase some transgender people from this era, with a particular focus on people who underwent medical transition, because there is also a pervasive belief that medical transition didn't exist at all at the time.
here are some trans people who were out in the 1970s lou sullivan, an american author and activist, and founder of the oldest support organization for trans men in the united states. he was out as a gay trans man by 1975, began taking testosterone in 1979, and had a double mastectomy in 1980.
joĂŁo w. nery, a brazilian writer, psychologist, and activist. he was the first trans man to have gender affirming surgery in brazil, in 1977.
carmen rupe, a mÄori new zealander drag queen and activist. she started hormone therapy in the 1950s and had breast augmentation surgery in the 1970s.
robina asti, an american flight instructor and women's and transgender rights advocate. she began hormone therapy in 1976.
here are some who were out in the 1960s holly woodlawn, a puerto rican actress and warhol superstar. she came out early in her life and took hormones in the early 1960s.
patricia morgan, an american businesswoman and sex worker. she had gender affirming surgery in the early 1960s and was one of the first people to receive it in the united states.
sir ewan forbes, a scottish nobleman, doctor, and farmer. he received gender affirming care in the 1930s and claimed a baronecty in the 1960s, after a lengthy struggle to confirm his title due to his gender; he had been living as a man for years but was outed as transgender in 1965 during his attempt to claim the baronecty.
john martin thorp, a new zealander chemistry researcher, university lecturer, and author. his first pursuit of gender-affirming surgery was in the late 1950s, and he legally changed his name to john martin in 1960.
that's just a small snippet of the many, many transgender people who have lived and thrived throughout history. many of those who pursued gender-affirming care were able to access it. a story about a transgender person medically transitioning in the 1960s or 1970s is still historically accurate if you're a stickler for that, and especially in a setting like tf2, where men give birth to baboons and rocket jumping was invented before stairs. with everything that happens in canon, why is it so strange that transgender people could exist? i hope this has helped to broaden some worldviews and i encourage people to do more research on transgender and other lgbtq history. trans people have always been here and always will be.
