Michael Dillon: Trans Pioneer

This episode explores the remarkable life of Michael Dillon, a pioneering figure in transgender history who was likely the first person to undergo female-to-male gender confirmation surgery and the first to write extensively about transgender identity. Born in Ireland in 1915 as Laura Maud Dillon into an aristocratic family, Michael's journey takes listeners through his struggle to align his physical body with his male identity, his groundbreaking hormone therapy in the 1930s, his work with legendary surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies, and his influential 1946 book "Self" that argued people should have the right to make their own decisions about gender confirmation. Along the way, you'll meet the eccentric characters who helped and hindered his path, including an intersex-sympathetic doctor who left testosterone pills on a table, a supportive aunt named Toto, and the mysterious Roberta Cowell who enters his life seeking guidance on her own transition.