As the latest part of the Omaha table Talk series, College of Saint Mary once again hosted the panel, this time focusing on The History of Trans People. This four-person panel consisted of Jaye Stentz (he/him) Adjunct Professor at Nebraska Wesleyan; Rowena Cage (she/they), author and owner of the store Queerarchy; Amy Schindler (she/her), Director of Archives and Special Collections for UNO; and Sarah Phelps (she/her), Director of Operations and Programs with OutNebraska.

Beginning with the far-reaching history of trans folks, each panel — led by Phelps — discussed transgender erasure, looking back to the first recorded evidence of gender nonconforming individuals which traces back 5,000-3,000 BCE in Sumer to the acolytes of the goddess Inanna, a goddess of love, fertility, procreation, and war. These acolytes would be described as androgynous, or even as ‘men living as women’, and can be considered precursors to trans women and nonbinary individuals. They had their own culture and language as part of their religion and took on feminine names as part of their rites.

They narrowed the lens from the history of trans individuals in world history to focus on Nebraska. There is no known data for how many individuals fall under the trans umbrella in our state. “Nobody knows that. Because counting and naming legitimizes a marginalized group, and it demands that we pay attention, and factor their needs into our social and economic services. We don’t protect what we don’t acknowledge,” said Phelps.

In 2023, at least 26 people who identified as transgender or gender non-conforming have been murdered (as these numbers are not always reported, the reported 26 may not represent the breadth of homicides). From a study done by the Human Rights Campaign, of those 26:

88% were people of color

54% were specifically Black trans women; one of the most endangered groups in the LGBT+ community

74% were killed by gun violence,

47% were killed by a person they knew

50% were misgendered and/or deadnamed by the press when their deaths were reported

“How do we ignore trans history; we erase it, we ignore it, or we kill it.” Phelps summed up. She then went on to explain some of why history has focused on destroying any mention of gender non-conforming individuals, citing that “there was a financial reason to adhere to the gender binary”, with many organizations such as churches, governments, and the like had reasons for splitting things into only male and female, often to be able to elevate males over females for different roles.

There was also what was called ‘contempt for nichism’ in historic record, where many scholars disregarded anything that does not fit the general mold of an area or time. Another aspect of this is attributed to the fear of the unknown, and anything differing from the norm is considered a threat.

Schindler — the Director of Archives and Special Collection at UNO, also runs the state’s first LGBTQIA+ Archive — spoke briefly on how the Archives find people to donate objects and information to the historic collective. The archive uses everything from newsletters, posters, photographs, oral interviews, letters, and even meeting minutes to show the history of the LGBTQIA+ movement and the real people who are living it every day.

Schindler says that it is important to build engagement and trust with the people donating items so close to their hearts, as they are adding their story to the history of a people and making a lasting mark.

Stenz, who was there on Zoom, talked about his personal experiences growing up LGBT. He expressed how every experience is different, but how in this day and age, “gender is a significant aspect of who we are, and has a lot to do with the quality of life that we live; the type of life that we live; how we move around in the world; how others respond to us.” But Stenz continues to explain that “without having people understand that that’s not the only aspect of who we are. It can be very limiting when you have to spend so much time and energy just trying to find your place in the world. I think people can forget that there is a lot more to you than gender and gender identity, and I think that that’s unfortunate. I would imagine that most of us want others to know that we would like to live a life just like anyone else and we have all of the same obstacles and joys in life as everyone else.”

In the 1900’s, Stenz alluded to a doctor who was a trans man, Dr. Alan Hart. Dr. Hart, born in 1890, was a pioneer in detecting tuberculosis (TB) in patients using x-rays, and was a focused researcher in TB treatments and cures, saving countless lives. Hart is also believed to be one of the first trans men in the United States to have a hysterectomy and was an accomplished author.  

Cage, meanwhile, told a deeply personal story about her time growing up in the Dominican Republic and the casual cruelty that children sometimes had against those that were registered as different than them, remembering a child that she grew up with who had slurs rained on them. They spoke on their process of self-publishing a book, ‘Pinapel and Friends. Who are they? ‘ This book aimed to help young people and their parents understand gender diversity using anthropomorphic fruit characters, which has been described as a “very gentle way of teaching” about inclusivity and diversity.  Cage is the owner of Queerarchy, a shop in Hot Shops in Downtown, and copies of her book are sold there.

For the study done by the Human Rights Campaign, you can go to the link here at hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-nonbinary-community-in-2023. For information about OutNebraska, you can go to their website at outnebraska.org. If you would like to learn more about the LGBTQ+ Archive at UNO, you can go to library.unomaha.edu/archive.