Speculative Endocrinology and the Mid-Century Trans Futurity of Gerald Heard

In 1953, queer polymath Gerald Heard recognized that breakthroughs in endocrinology were beginning to dissolve destructive and archaic binaries of sex and gender. Fearing society’s response, he called on science fiction writers to create stories that would help us imagine—and welcome—new ways of being human that could be accessed through endocrine therapy. Following Heard’s lead, in this article I read the science and sf of the early 20th century together, showing that the sf of the time was meaningfully engaged with both the science and the politics we now think of as trans.