Harry Benjamin and the development of transgender healthcare

The Transsexual Phenomenon, a ground-breaking book published in 1966, and Harry Benjamin ( 1885–1986 ) are two of the most well-known figures in the early development of transgender medicine. 1. The German-American doctor was one of the first medical professionals to advocate for compassionate care and gave the issue, then known as” transsexualism,” its first in-depth clinical analysis. He entered this area later in life; up until the time he was in his seventies, his medical training was primarily concerned with geriatrics. Aged opera singers, movie stars, and wealthy businessmen were all treated by him in his growing Park Avenue training in New York ( Figure 1 ). 2.

Benjamin was born in Berlin and attended the University of Tübingen to study treatments. However, when World War I broke out in 1914, he was left stranded in the United States. He became interested in the healing potential of the endocrine glands because he was dissatisfied with the routine of his personal discipline. Some doctors and researchers were passionate about the potential for using hormones to manage sex, growth, metabolism, behavior, aging, and even criminality, even though hormonal science had only produced thyroid extracts and adrenaline for medical use. The motif of Benjamin’s job would be his fascination with hormones. He promoted the Steinach method, a procedure to slow the aging process, in the 1920s. Eugen Steinach, a renowned scientist from Vienna, came up with this remedy after speculating that unilateral vasoligation would put pressure on the testicles ‘ backs, which would cause the sperm-producing cells to atrophy while encouraging the interstitial cell to multiply and produce more hormone. The medical community initially viewed this process with suspicion and after refuted it. Benjamin started to provide estrogens and androgens to aging patients as more business hormone products became available, starting in the late 1920s.

Benjamin’s expert actions had little to nothing to do with trans people up until the late 1940s. Nevertheless, he did maintain a close friendship with German physician and queer rights campaigner Magnus Hirschfeld. Benjamin frequently visited Hirschfeld at his Institute for Sexual Science, the first of its kind devoted to the academic study of gender, in Berlin throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1910, Hirschfeld came up with the term” transvestite.” Prior to that, people who wore clothing that was typically associated with a different sex were considered lesbians. Hirschfeld recognized that a woman’s sex experience was different from who they found sexually attractive by listening to their voices. Hirschfeld also provided practical assistance, collaborating with sympathetic Berlin police officials to develop” transvestite passes” that allowed bearers to dress appropriately for their gender identity without worrying about harassment ( Figure 2 ). Hirschfeld’s academy employed a large number of transgender people, and some of the first people to undergo surgical gender transitions—including Dora Richter and Lili Elbe, the focus of The Swedish Girl—were treated it. The institute’s work came to an abrupt end in May 1933 when it was looted by individuals with Nazi support, its catalogue was pillaged, and its novels were set on fire in the first of the renowned book burnings. 3.

Alfred Kinsey, a sexologist, introduced Benjamin to Val Barry ( also known as pseudonym ). Benjamin was prepared to see and treat her differently than the majority of his US colleagues due to his knowledge. Barry, who had grown up as a child, yearned desperately to see an adult who could cure her of all outward indications of maleness. The majority of other doctors believed that for a person needed to be treated psychiatrically in order to help her change her mind and healthy her body. In contrast, Benjamin thought her plea was fair. Benjamin was open to the idea of using medical devices to alter her body to match her head because of his contacts with Steinach and Hirschfeld. And because he had spent years administering estrogen therapy to his aging individuals, it made him feel at ease providing the means to start this move. 4.

By word of mouth, Benjamin’s process with trans people expanded. Benjamin, who has been outside of clinical lines for a while, was not deterred by criticism. Pioneers of the trans movement like Christine Jorgensen and Louise Lawrence developed into valuable partners. They discussed concepts and made an effort to understand the underlying causes of the situation they were just starting to determine. Benjamin took a careful stance. He advised his clients to move carefully and just change their bodies as a last resort because he was unsure of the long-term effects on their health and wellbeing. When they received remedy, he found it challenging to conduct appropriate follow-ups because patients frequently preferred to slowly vanish into their new lives. But as he started to document effective cases of clinical transitions over time, his faith in the validity of this strategy grew. In addition to offering hormone treatment, he also followed Hirschfeld’s lead by providing useful assistance. He wrote letters attesting to his clients ‘ chosen sex, testified on their behalf in court, and assisted in obtaining identification documents and finding a doctor.

According to scholar Joanne Meyerowitz,” By the 1960s, most roads led to Benjamin for people interested in transsexualism.” The Transsexual Phenomenon, written by Benjamin at the age of 81, had an impact on a technology of trans people as well as the medical professionals who collaborated with them. He provided guidance in starting the second female clinics at a school. He had treated more than a thousand trans people by the time he retired at the age of 90, including Jan Morris and Renée Richards, two well-known statistics from the 1970s.

Whether they were transgender or elderly, Benjamin’s patients often remarked on his serene and kind demeanor. Only his strategy is sufficient to improve one’s mood. He does n’t scare you to death the way some doctors do, according to one man. 6 In certain, a lot of transgender people felt fear, contempt, and disbelief from their doctors. They were shocked to see someone in a light jacket look them in the eye and treat them with respect. Ira Pauly, a citizen of psychology, became interested in transsexualism in 1961 and Benjamin invited her to participate in his regular transgender clinic. Pauly was astounded by Benjamin’s generosity in sharing his information with him, a total stranger, as well as the kindness of the people who were willing to listen to him. He noticed how Benjamin gave each person his undivided attention and treated them like family. For him, Benjamin came to represent the best doctor-patient relationship—one that is characterized by empathy and network. 7.

Benjamin may come across as patronizing and out-of-date to readers of today given the rapidly changing nature of transgender health care. After all^, the man who called his trans female patients “HG” or”his women” was a byproduct of his time and its female standards in many ways. He and his colleagues were concerned about whether a transgender person did “pass” in their desired sex and worried that patients who regretted an outcome may seek retribution when deciding who would make the best candidate for medical transition. More significantly^, his methodical approach to determining eligibility—a method that was codified in the earliest requirements of care—had presumptions of discourse^, a gender binary^, and the notion that mental stress is an innate trait of transgender people. These presumptions have since been called into question as transgender experiences have tended to emphasize variety over uniformity.

But what is still true is that Benjamin helped ease some people’s suffering and helped pioneer a significant new area of treatment by facing the scorn of his peers and defying the norms of the day by showing compassion and respect for his people. Renée Richards, an ophthalmic surgeon and a pioneer in transgender identity, took the initiative to speak on behalf of all of Benjamin’s patients at his memorial. She said,” We are grateful to him because without him, I do n’t know what our fate might have been: fragmented personalities, suicide, many possibilities other than the integrated, consolidated, productive people that many of us are.” She recalled how Benjamin had seen in her both a other doctor and someone in need during their initial encounter. For her portion, Richards had seen Benjamin as a capable doctor.