Trans Archive Offers A Window Into the Early Queer Internet

The early internet offered brand-new opportunities for trans people to network with others like them; however, records of these early digital socialites have been few and far between.

But now, a newly discovered archive brings a whole treasure trove of information forwards, offering a window into the first years of a historic trans forum.

In the 60s and 70s, transgender people were already hard at work establishing social groups and wide-spanning connections. Organizations such as Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) offered physical support and community, while an abundance of print magazines and mailing lists brought trans folks together through their shared struggles and interests.

However, in an era where “transvestism” and discussion of trans topics was unfavorably viewed by most of society (and even illegal at times), printed periodicals were extremely limited in both their reach and the scope of their topics.

When the U.S. government raised restrictions on internet access in 1995, transgender social connection completely changed. TGForum.com was launched in February 1995 by Cindy Martin, JoAnn Roberts, and Jamie Faye Fenton, and quickly became one of the largest trans social hubs. In fact, the site is still running today. However, the earliest years of the forum, and all contents within, were thought to be lost to time—until now.

This past October, the GLBT Historical Society discovered an unopened CD-ROM containing the first four years of TGForum, from 1995 to 1998. The contents of the disc were quickly uploaded to the Internet Archive, where they are now available for anyone who wishes to explore this key piece of trans history.

The archive offers a brand new look into an era where both the trans community, and the internet as a whole, were rapidly evolving. We can find discussions of LGBTQ+ advocacy and political events, right alongside fashion tips, “how-to” guides on passing, and even what could be considered the progenitors of trans memes.

But most importantly, we see transgender people from all over connecting with one another in a way that wasn’t thought possible before.

The discovery of this archive is groundbreaking—queer history, and especially trans history, can be incredibly hard to keep track of due to the instability of the trans community.

And especially today, when bigots on the right are trying so hard to ban instances of LGBTQ+ literature from the public eye, having access to an window into the early queer internet is a blessing.