Sophie Edwards spotlights ancient transgender history

Historian and educator Sophie Edwards is using her We Have Always Existed project to bring ancient transgender and gender-diverse history to wider audiences. Her research on the Mediterranean and Near East aims to show that gender diversity has deeper historical roots than many people assume.

Why it matters: - Edwards’ work pushes back on the idea that transgender history is a modern story. - The project helps place transgender and gender-diverse people within broader ancient world history. - Making this research more accessible could widen public understanding of how gender has been recorded, erased and interpreted over time.

What happened: - Sophie Edwards is expanding her historical research project, We Have Always Existed, to explore transgender experiences in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. - The project examines stories, archaeological evidence, mythology and historical records tied to transgender and gender-diverse people. - Edwards is also building educational content aimed at audiences outside traditional academic spaces. - More information is available on the project's website.

The details: - Edwards’ research looks at transgender individuals in ancient societies, gender-diverse religious communities, transgender archaeology, mythology and historical interpretations of gender identity. - The project studies how ancient societies understood gender differently from modern communities. - Edwards focuses on surviving texts, archaeological discoveries and cultural traditions as source material. - The work seeks to make complex historical questions more approachable through storytelling and public education. - Edwards described history as shaped by the stories people preserve and the way evidence is interpreted. - Edwards also said many people think history is only dates and names, rather than lived experience.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a wider scholarly effort to study gender diversity without forcing modern labels onto ancient people. - That approach can make the history more careful, but it also means some conclusions will remain interpretive rather than definitive. - Edwards’ framing suggests the public debate over transgender identity is also a debate over whose history gets preserved.

What's next: - Edwards will continue developing We Have Always Existed as a public-facing research and education effort. - The project is positioned to keep adding historical narratives that have received limited attention. - Edwards says preserving these stories can help audiences better understand both the past and the present.

The bottom line: - Edwards is using ancient history to show that gender diversity has long been part of human experience, not a modern exception.