On this day in queerstory: sexologist Havelock Ellis is born

On February 2, 1859, Havelock Ellis was born in Croydon, England. Ellis became one of the earliest Western physicians and writers to study human sexuality systematically, co-authoring one of the first English medical textbooks to address homosexuality and publishing influential works on a range of sexual behaviours and identities. His research introduced concepts like autoeroticism and narcissism into early sexology and, despite later involvement in problematic movements such as eugenics, his early work opened a space for scientific discussion of same-sex attraction and early understandings of gender variance.

A century and a half later, on February 2, 2010, the United States Tax Court issued its ruling in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner, an unexpectedly significant moment for transgender rights. The court determined that a taxpayer could deduct medical costs associated with treating gender identity disorder—including hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery—under the Internal Revenue Code’s provision for medical care, rejecting the IRS’s attempt to classify such treatments as purely “cosmetic.” The decision, reached 11–5 by the Tax Court, marked one of the first times a major U.S. court explicitly recognised gender-affirming care as medically necessary in a federal context and set a precedent affecting how transgender healthcare expenses were treated in tax law.

This February 2, 2010 ruling did not happen in a vacuum. It followed years of legal and medical debate over whether gender-affirming care qualified as legitimate medical treatment rather than elective cosmetic surgery. The case began when a transgender woman, Rhiannon O’Donnabhain, claimed deductions for her therapy and surgeries on her 2001 federal tax return, only to be audited and denied by the IRS. The Tax Court’s decision reversed that denial, finding that hormone therapy and surgical procedures aimed at treating gender identity disorder fit within the statutory definition of medical care.

Although the IRS initially argued that gender-affirming procedures were “cosmetic,” the court’s reasoning drew on both statutory language and medical evidence that recognised gender identity disorder as a serious medical condition for which hormone therapy and surgery were appropriate treatments. The ruling reverberated well beyond the U.S. Tax Court; it signalled to federal agencies and insurers that gender-affirming care could not be dismissed as frivolous under long-standing legal definitions.

On the cultural front, February 2, 1983 saw the Womyn on Wheels Valentine’s Dance held at the Unitarian Church in Tucson, Arizona—a grassroots queer women’s event that combined community, music, and inclusive space at a moment when lesbian social scenes were still carving out room in mainstream nightlife. Events like this became vital sites of connection, artistic expression, and mutual support, especially in parts of the U.S. where queer women lacked dedicated club spaces.

The cinematic world offers its own February 2 resonance through the broader legacies of figures like John Schlesinger, though his birth was on February 16. Schlesinger’s films—including Midnight Cowboy and Sunday Bloody Sunday—pushed boundaries in mainstream cinema by portraying queer desire and relationships with unprecedented frankness for their times, helping open space for queer narratives in global film.

February 2 also intersects with broader cultural memory through the launch of annual commemorations: in parts of the United Kingdom, LGBT+ History Month begins on February 1 and runs through the month, making February 2 a point early in a period of intentional remembrance, education, and celebration of queer lives and activism. The month’s programming often includes archival exhibits, talks, films, and panel discussions that foreground the long and diverse histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer people.

Even when queer events didn’t make headlines at the time, February 2 comes up later in historical calendars—such as lists noting early lesbian community dances, film releases featuring trans characters, and the publication or influence of early sexology texts. These moments reflect a recurring pattern: institutional frameworks—legal, medical, cultural—are repeatedly pushed to acknowledge that queer lives are not abstract anomalies but lived realities with material consequences.

Whether it’s a 19th-century sexologist expanding the language for sexual diversity, a 21st-century court redefining medical tax law for transgender taxpayers, or grassroots community gatherings stitching queer social life into the calendar, February 2 anchors a series of encounters between queer people and the systems that once denied their existence. Each event, in its own way, marks queer lives stepping out of the shadows and into the record.