how to look for gay/queer people in history
- roommates, companions, housemates
- beards, gay/lesbian alliances
how to look for specifically trans people in history
- Mary Robinette Kowal @MaryRobinette on Twitter
  - “Grandma was born in 1905. One time she was showing me picture of 4 little girls. and paused, “Course, that was before Norma was a boy.” Grandma was 8 in the picture, which meant it was 1913. She said, “Her parents took her away & brought back a son. Grandma said, “They had a funeral for their daughter & from then on had a son. The Lord put it into their head to do what was right.” Grandma said, “So that’s my cousin, Jed. I reckon he did all right. Again. This was 1913. NEVER use the excuse “product of their time.” If my Southern Baptist, 103-year old Grandma could understand transgender, so can you. ”
  - a son would “move to Europe,” and then a few months later your “niece” would move into town and live in his old bedroom
much global variance in gender norms and what, if anything, is considered a divergence from that norm
indigenous peoples and their various relations to sex and gender
German history; the impact of Nazism on queer lives and histories
- Germany had a thriving LGBTQ community in the early 20th century
- Magus Hirshfeld (German) literally coined the term “transsexual” and performed the first modern SRS in the 1920’s
- a targeted group, pink triangle
- One of the first major Nazi book burnings was the library of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.

neurodivergence is not a modern invention

natural part of human diversity
maybe particular neurotypes have evolved in different ways over time but there has always been a range
no neurotype is inherently more or less valuable than another
the rise in diagnoses is due to spreading awareness, changing socioeconomic conditions, an increasingly connected world, etc
it is not a fad to be ‘suddenly autistic’, the language and conversations are just becoming more public
past treatments of people diverging from the neuro-norms varied wildly
- psychiatric asylum
- harmful psychiatric treatments
- infant abandonment
- acceptance and understanding and community support
- placed into a specific niche role that fulfils requirements with their talents
- isolated roles away from human interaction or similar
- disabled people considered divine across several religions and belief systems
examples of how this could look
changelings and sheepherds