Before Gender
Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850-1950
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Before Gender
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Narrated by:
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Sena Bryer
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By:
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Eli Erlick
About this listen
Explore the trailblazing lives of 30 trans people who radically change everything you’ve been told about transgender history
Highlighting influential individuals from 1850-1950 who are all but unknown today, Eli Erlick shares 30 remarkable stories from romance to rebellion and mystery to murder. These narratives chronicle the grit, joy, and survival of trans people long before gender became an everyday term.
Organized into 4 parts paralleling today’s controversies over gender identity (kids, activists, workers, and athletes), Before Gender introduces figures whose forgotten stories transform the discussion
- Mark and David Ferrow, two of the first trans teens to access gender-affirming medical treatment following overwhelming support from their friends, family, and neighbors.
- Gerda von Zobeltitz, a trans countess who instigated an LGBTQ+ riot 40 years before Stonewall.
- Frank Williams, a young trans man who was fired from over a dozen jobs for his gender.
- Frances Anderson, the world’s greatest female billiards player of the 1910s.
Bold and visionary, Erlick’s debut uncovers these lost stories from the depths of the archives to narrate trans lives in a way that has never been attempted before.
©2025 Eli Erlick (P)2025 Beacon Press AudioCritic reviews
“Brilliant . . . [A]n essential and eye-opening paradigm shift.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Erlick powerfully—and compellingly—argues that it’s not the existence of transgender people that’s new; what’s new is the anxiety around them.”—Library Journal
“[A] riveting, compassionate collection of life stories . . . The historical biographies collected in Before Gender show that, while society’s language about gender has changed, trans people have always been part of communities around the world—and that it’s crucial to get to know their stories.”—Foreword Reviews