Trans history and one man’s struggle to correct ‘a ghastly mistake’

The Scottish nobleman Sir Ewan Forbes was born in 1912 and christened Elisabeth, the youngest daughter of Lord Sempill. His life is the subject of Zoë Playdon’s new book The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: And the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience.

Forbes struggled for years, legally and personally, to correct the gender designation of his birth. He began presenting as a young man in the 1930s. Around that time, with his mother’s help, he traveled to Germany to take advantage of early gender reassignment treatments. Then, in 1952, he fought successfully to have his birth certificate changed. He married Isabella Mitchel the same year and settled into the life of a doctor and gentleman farmer.

Starting in 1965, Forbes had to fight again in a struggle to inherit his father’s title. His status as a member of the aristocracy helped him but also resulted in the details of his court case being kept secret. While Forbes’ claim to the title was ultimately upheld, a court recognized his gender as intersex, it did not serve as a precedent other transgender people could benefit from.

Zoë Playdon is an Emeritus Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of London, a former co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Doctors and Dentists, and the co-founder of the Parliamentary Forum on Gender Identity. The Elliott Bay Book Company presented this event on November 20, 2021. Playdon read from her new book and discussed the implications of the Ewan Forbes story with Elliott Bay’s Karen Maeda Allman.

Please note: Professor Playdon refers to photos at points in her presentation. You can view the video of the event here.

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