LIST: Transgender trailblazers who paved the way for future generations

Cashier enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War with a number of women who disguised themselves as men. Cashier identified as a male before enlisting and continued to do so for life.

Allen was a trans man living in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s & early 1900s. He was the subject of many newspaper articles that focused on his refusal to conform to societal gender norms.

Elbe was one of the first recorded trans women to receive sexual reassignment surgery and was the subject of a book & then a movie in the early 21st century. Kurt Warnekros performed the operations.

Hart was one of the first trans men to undergo a hysterectomy in 1917. He eventually led the way for using X-Ray technology to detect tuberculosis.

Anderson was a trans woman of color in the first half of the 20th century. She was eventually tried and got prison time for living as a woman but being assigned male at birth.

Jorgensen was the first trans woman to become known throughout the US for having sex reassignment surgery.

Richards was a professional tennis player who made headlines when she came out as a trans woman and received sex reassignment surgery.

Johnson was a gay rights activist and a key figure in the Stonewall Riots. She self-identified as a drag queen. She and Sylvia Rivera founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.

Rivera was a close friend of Johnson and another key figures in the Stonewall Riots. Rivera helped found the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance.

Cox is a famous actress, model, activist and song artist who is well known as an openly trans woman of color. She is very outspoken on equality for transgender people.

Carrera is a model and actress and was once on RuPaul’s Drag Race. She later called RuPaul out for using pejorative & transphobic terms. She is active in AIDS awareness and activism.

Beggs is a trans male high school wrestler. He is not being allowed to compete in the boys league because of state relegations restricting him to the league for the gender he was assigned at birth.