For LGBTQ+ History Month, we look back at a story that appeared in The Citizen on January 24, 1978 — an article that, despite the language of the time, offers one of the region’s earliest recorded accounts of gender-affirming surgery.

The article reported on a 24-year-old Guyanese woman, later known as Sabrina, who had undergone gender-affirming surgery at the Georgetown Hospital. She described the moment plainly: this was a dream finally realised. From her earliest memories, she wanted to live as a woman. She enjoyed sewing, hairdressing, and needlework, and spoke of these not as curiosities but as expressions of her identity.

Her surgery — the second recorded in Guyana within thirteen months — involved a team of doctors, including a leading gynaecologist who had also participated in the country’s first procedure. Following the operation, Sabrina spoke of informing hospital staff of her name and preparing to carry on her life and work once discharged.

The article reflects the era’s outdated terminology and framing, yet it remains an important historical document. It challenges the idea that gender-affirming care is a recent phenomenon or a foreign import to the Caribbean. Instead, it highlights a truth that transcends decades: trans people have always existed here, asserting their identities in the face of stigma and limited social support.

Sabrina’s story offers more than a glimpse into medical history. It is a reminder of resilience — of people across the region who navigated systems never designed with them in mind, and who still found ways to live in alignment with who they knew themselves to be.

As we observe LGBTQ+ History Month, we honour pioneers like her. Their lives helped open the space for today’s Caribbean queer and trans movements, shaping possibilities that continue to grow across our islands and diaspora.