• For pronouns of transgender monks, different manuscripts have different pronouns; scribes chose which pronouns to use
    • This leads to censoring by certain scribes that disagree with the original text
    • Women turn into men as a ways to “ascend”, as women were seen as inferior to men
      • Explains why there are more trans monks vs trans nuns
  • Few examples of gender affirming practices in the Middle Ages
    • Dio Cassius, Roman History, describes an emperor who wishes to appear as a woman but is extremely critical of the emperor
    • Medical books talk about the removal of male breasts which are a form of gender affirmation; make men look more “manly”
    • Evidence of intersex people in medical texts as well
    • Eunuchs were men who were castrated before puberty, given high ranking positions because they “lost desire” to betray the emperor
      • Described interesting, hard-working, angelic
      • Even Ethiopian (black) eunuchs were shown as white, almost transcends race boundaries