Queer History 119: Dr Alan Hart, Trans Guy Super Power

What does it feel like to save countless lives while being forced to hide who you really are? To revolutionize medicine while living in constant fear of being "discovered"? To fight a deadly disease that ravaged millions while battling a society that treated your very existence as a fucking scandal?

This is the reality Dr. Alan Hart faced every goddamn day of his professional life. A brilliant physician who pioneered the use of X-rays to detect tuberculosis before symptoms appeared, Hart wasn't just fighting TB—he was fighting for his right to exist authentically in a world determined to deny him that basic humanity. As one of the first transgender men to undergo gender-affirming surgery in America in 1917, his story isn't just about medical breakthroughs—it's about the relentless courage required to live your truth when that truth could cost you everything.