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by DarkUranium 46 days ago
Same thing for "oh, but HRT is experimental" (and similar things). It actually predates many well-accepted medical therapies & processes, some by decades.

Fun fact, I did a cursory look on Wikipedia to remind myself, and it looks like it came about in the exact same year as chemotherapy. Which I find a rather amusing coincidence, considering one of the two is definitely well-accepted --- and yet, very damaging with its side-effects (though alas, very necessary ... cancer sucks).

(small nitpick, because my brain just won't let it slide: it's "I'm on a roll", not "role")

1 comments

Ah, good spot on roll/role.

On HRT, you're right in a modern western perspective (and the specific isolation of androgenic/estrogenic compounds of course), but the practice itself is nearly as ancient as gender variance itself.

The feminizing effects of orchiectomy is well documented in ancient cultures. We've got the Han Dynasty distilling mare urine in 200BCE. Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese medicine using licorice root, spearmint and peppermint used across the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures, Pueraria Mirifica (White Kwao Krua) native to the communities of Northern Thailand, and Agua Je (The Curvy Fruit) in Amazonian indigenous traditions.

Surgery is the same story given the existence of eunuchs and that Elagabulus sought surgical relief from his physicians. (^.^)