Ep.58 / Born This Way: What Science & History Say About Being Trans
This episode of Hot Air takes you on a journey through both modern science and ancient history, breaking down the truth about gender, identity, and the beautifully complex spectrum of what it means to be human. We wrap it up with a listener letter from a real scientist who is bring the facts!
Transgender Science & Gender History: What Humans Have Known All Along
A Deep Dive Inspired by the Hot Air Podcast Episode
For a long time, conversations about gender have been shaped by politics, fear, and the idea that “biology” is simple and fixed. But here’s the truth — science has never actually agreed with that, and history definitely doesn’t back it up either.
That’s why this episode of Hot Air is dedicated to something humanity desperately needs more of: real facts, real science, and real history about transgender identity.
We’re talking brain studies, DNA, ancient cultures, global gender traditions, and a whole lot of receipts that prove one thing very clearly: transgender and gender-expansive people have existed since the dawn of time. And not only have they existed, but in many cultures they were respected, honored, or considered spiritually gifted.
This blog post walks through everything we cover in the episode — the science, the history, the cultural diversity, and even insights from a medical professional who wrote in with their expertise. And yes, we do it all in plain language, because education should be accessible, not locked behind academic walls.
Why Understanding Transgender Science Matters
Let’s start with the big one: biology does not define gender as rigidly as most people think.
For decades, scientific research has explored the biological, neurological, and genetic factors that contribute to gender identity. These studies overwhelmingly show that being transgender is not a trend, a choice, or a result of environmental influence — it’s rooted in biology.
Brain Studies on Gender Identity
One of the most referenced areas of transgender research involves neuroanatomy — in non-science terms, how the brain is shaped and wired.
Multiple studies have shown that:
The brains of transgender women tend to more closely resemble those of cisgender women.
The brains of transgender men tend to more closely resemble cisgender men.
Certain brain regions (like the BSTc — bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) differ between genders in ways that align with a person’s identified gender, not the sex they were assigned at birth.
This doesn’t mean “male brain vs. female brain” in a simplistic way — neuroscience is way more nuanced than that. But these findings point to something undeniable:
gender identity is real, measurable, and rooted in biology.
Genetics, Intersex Realities, and Biological Complexity
When people rely too heavily on the argument “biological sex is binary,” they’re usually repeating something they learned in school — not something grounded in modern biology.
Here’s where science clears things up:
Intersex people exist — millions of them worldwide — born with variations in chromosomes, hormones, or reproductive anatomy. Nature is more diverse than a simple “XX means girl, XY means boy.”
Genetic variations like mosaicism, androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), and Klinefelter syndrome (XXY) challenge the very idea that sex fits neatly into two boxes.
Gender identity and DNA are linked in ways researchers are still uncovering — but early studies suggest certain gene combinations may influence identity development.
In other words, the binary wasn’t built by nature — it was built by society.
This doesn’t erase the experiences of cisgender people; it simply expands our understanding of what human biology actually looks like.
Gender Diversity Throughout Human History
Once you understand the science, the history becomes even more fascinating. Because the idea that transgender people are “new” or “modern” is simply false. Most of that belief comes from Eurocentric history classes that only tell one very specific version of the past.
The reality?
Gender diversity is older than every modern country, every major religion, and every political debate happening right now.
Let’s take a little tour.
Ancient Egypt: Fluidity, Expression, and Power
Ancient Egypt had some of the most flexible gender expression in the ancient world. Men wore makeup. Women held positions of power. Deities had both masculine and feminine qualities or could shift between them.
Egyptian art and text reveal:
Individuals depicted with both masculine and feminine traits
Stories of gods who transformed genders
Cultural acceptance of ornamentation, wigs, jewelry, and makeup across genders
While Egypt didn’t have "transgender" labels like today, their understanding of gender was far more fluid than the strict categories we use now.
Native American Two-Spirit Traditions
Across many Indigenous nations in North America, Two-Spirit people held respected, meaningful roles. Two-Spirit is an umbrella term that reflects a gender identity outside the binary — one that historically included:
Healers
Ceremonial leaders
Matchmakers
Mediators
Cultural keepers
Two-Spirit people weren’t “exceptions” — they were recognized, honored, and integrated into societal structures.
This is thousands of years of gender diversity right on the land many of us live on today.
South Asian Hijra Communities
In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and surrounding regions, the Hijra community has existed for thousands of years. Hijras are neither exclusively male nor female and are recognized as a third gender.
Historically, they held:
Spiritual authority
Ceremonial importance
Protected cultural roles
Despite facing modern discrimination (often due to colonial influence), Hijra communities remain a vital cultural and historical example of gender diversity.
Pacific Islander Third-Gender Identities
From Samoa’s fa'afafine to Tonga’s fakaleiti, many Pacific Island cultures have long recognized gender categories beyond male and female. These identities were:
Integrated into family life
Socially accepted
Considered natural parts of society
Again, this predates Western influence.
Ancient Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and European Gender Variance
Many ancient societies — including Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and regions of the Middle East — recorded:
Priests who lived as another gender
Deities with shifting or blended genders
Individuals who dressed, operated, or lived outside binary norms
One of the most famous examples is the Gallae, the priestesses of the goddess Cybele, who were believed to be transgender women in today’s terminology.
Even the idea that “men wore makeup” is historically universal — Europe didn’t ban men from face powder until the 19th century.
So… What Happened?
A major shift happened when:
Western colonial powers spread binary gender norms
Religious doctrines became tied to law
Education systems were shaped by theology instead of science
This isn't about attacking religion — it's about acknowledging the historical fact that many of the rigid rules about gender came from specific cultural and religious systems, not universal human truth.
As our listener letter (from a doctor) explains in the podcast episode, much of the misinformation about transgender identity exists because:
Schools avoided or misrepresented intersex biology
Gender identity research wasn’t included in science curriculums
Religious influence shaped what was considered “acceptable” knowledge
If our education systems taught real biology, anthropology, and neuroscience, the world would have a very different understanding of gender.
The Takeaway: Trans People Are Not New — Society’s Ignorance Is
Transgender identity is supported by:
Science (brain structure, genetics, biology)
History (thousands of years of gender-expansive cultures)
Global cultures (third-gender and nonbinary identities across continents)
Trans people aren’t a modern invention. They aren’t a trend. They aren’t “new.” They are part of a long, rich, deeply human story that stretches across the entire globe.
What’s new is the resistance — and that resistance is rooted in political agendas, not reality.
Why This Episode Matters Today
This episode is, ultimately, a love letter:
To the transgender community
To people who want to learn and grow
To listeners who value truth over fear
And it’s an invitation for anyone who has ever wondered, questioned, or struggled to understand gender to see the bigger picture — the scientific picture, the historical picture, the human picture.
Gender is complex, diverse, and beautifully natural.
It always has been.
And the more we learn, the more obvious it becomes: trans people have always been here — and will always be here.