Wondrous Transformations

Speaker: Dr. Alison Li

Dr. Li is a historian of science and medicine and author of Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution.

This talk will examine the early development of transgender healthcare in the context of the emergence of hormonal medicine, focusing on the work of Harry Benjamin (1885-1986), author of the ground-breaking book, The Transsexual Phenomenon (1966). The German-American physician was one of the first medical professionals to provide a detailed clinical discussion of transgender identity and argue for compassionate treatment. Benjamin’s science of endocrinology not only provided tools for medical gender transition, but a striking vision of the body as malleable.