Trans* Success

David Harrison is an actor, playwright, and performer.  He trained at the Drama Studio of London at Berkeley, five years with director Richard Seyd (in San Francisco), movement & mask with Leonard Pitt (Berkeley), and “Viewpoints” with the SITI Company in New York.  His first play, Permission (written in 1991 before his transition), was based on his experiences in the sex industry working as a professional dominatrix.  The show toured the East Coast of the US and Canada in 1992.  Harrison invites people to see his play “FTM”.  David’s show is a wise and witty excursion through the middle ground of gender, being one person’s journey to discover the nature of masculinity and manhood.  In “FTM”, David’s transformation is juxtaposed with that of his mother who is experiencing changes in her own body as a result of breast cancer.  Their stories, sometimes funny, frequently poignant, are told through dreams, anecdotes, and remembrances.

David’s underlining theme of alienation is a universal one.  His quest to feel comfortable in his own skin and to be accepted by others makes “FTM” a must see.  FTM, was first produced at 848 Community Space, San Francisco in May of 1994, and has been touring internationally since then.  Other recent productions David has been seen in are Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills, as the 7-year-old Willie, Helmut in Taking Sides, and with No Pants Theatre Company’s Fitting Room Series, as Robert in Mommy & Daddy are Doing Dirty Things at Manhattan Theater Source.  He is currently working on a new play.  Many of you might also know him from the movie “TransAmerica”, this is a more recent photo below:

C. Jacob Hale is a Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge, where he also directs the Center for Sex and Gender Research and is am ember of the Queer Studies Program’s Advisory Committee.  Jacob earned his B.A. in Philosophy from Pitzer College (1981) and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1985, 1988).  In 1995, Jacob transitioned and sought tenure on California State University’s Northridge campus.  The timing was risky, but Dr. Hale didn’t want to wait.  “I could not imagine going through my tenure review and then telling my colleagues, ‘Guess what?  There’s something I forgot to tell you,’” says Dr. Hale.  Early in his career, his scholarship was in analytic metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of science, but for the past dozen years he has worked in interdisciplinary transgender studies.  Even picking up activism in transgender communities.  His current research interests include Los Angeles area trans history, 1950-1990, and transgender self-constitution through text and photography.

The topics on which Hale is currently doing research include biomedical ethics and medical regulation of gender variance in the United States from 1979 to the present, transsexual autobiography, and Los Angeles/Southern California transgender history.  In addition to teaching transgender studies, at California State University, Northridge, Dr. Hale teaches courses in critical reasoning, introduction to philosophy, philosophy and feminism, sexual ethics, and topics in contemporary philosophy.   Hale’s trans studies essays have appeared in journals such as Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, Social Text, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, and Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, and in the anthology Men Doing Feminism (edited by Tom Digby). He also recently published an extensive introduction to Richard F. Docter’s Becoming a Woman: A Biography of Christine Jorgensen.  Some of Hale’s trans studies essays have been reprinted in The Transgender Studies Reader (edited by Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle), You’ve Changed: Sex Reassignment and Personal Identity (edited by Laurie Shrage), Race, Gender, and Sexuality: Philosophical Issues of Identity and Justice (edited by Jami L. Anderson), Queer Studies: An Interdisciplinary Reader (edited by Robert J. Corber and Stephen Valocchi), Sexualities in History (edited by Kim M. Phillips and Barry Reay), and in German in Outside: Die Politick Queerer Raume (edited by Matthias Haase, Marc Siegel, and Michaela Wunsch).

Mark Rees is a quintessentially charming man whose greatest misfortune was to have been born in 1942 apparently female. The story of Mark’s dawning realization of his masculine identity, and the struggle to express that, is told through his autobiography, “Dear Sir or Madam”.  After gender transition in 1971 Mark sought to pursue his calling – to offer himself for ordination into the Church of England.  His ambition was cruelly thwarted because legally he continued to be regarded as female.  This rejection prompted Mark to begin his determined fight for legal recognition in 1972.  The fight took him through layers of legal process all the way to the European Court of Human Rights – requiring immense courage in his day. The court hearings spelled the end for any vestige of privacy.  In the end Mark lost his single-handed battle for legal recognition at the European Court in Strasbourg in 1986.  Yet his apparently fruitless fight had not gone unnoticed and sowed the seeds for other important cases to come. He was contacted by the well-known Barrister and Liberal Democrat MP, Alex (now Lord) Carlile QC – a man more recently famous for his defense of Royal Butler Paul Burrell. With the experienced Parliamentarian’s encouragement and support Mark organized a meeting for other concerned trans people at the House of Commons in 1992. The afternoon ended across the road in “Grandma Lees Tea Shoppe”, with the foundation of the trans rights campaign, “Press for Change”. From 1989 until 2001 Mark traveled the length of the UK speaking at local, regional and national Samaritan conferences.  During this period and in spite of being publicly known as a trans man, Mark was elected by the people of his village to serve as a Member of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council from 1994-98.  Although it had initially been a shock to be “outed” by Strasbourg, Mark says he realized that ultimately it had been a blessing, because it enabled him to undertake such tasks without fear of being exposed.  It was no longer news.

Considering the immense energy and bravery required to take on such impossible-seeming odds in his day, Mark Rees has always remained a quiet and unassuming character, whose enduring ambition has been to build bridges and pursue reconciliation with the very people who prevented him from achieving his vocation. Following the passage of the Gender Recognition Act, Mark organized a Christian service of thanksgiving and reconciliation in 2005 – at a time when many trans people still feel only anger and pain at the way they have been maligned and mistreated by others claiming to be Christian. He says, “I knew that all the work the service had involved was rewarded when one of the members of the congregation wrote that she had never believed that she could have felt so accepted”. Another attendee said that, “ the church was full of love.” Although no longer actively involved with Press for Change, Mark continues (in his words) to “politely batter the church,”. In July 2004, in a letter published by the CHURCH TIMES, Mark roundly chastised some of the bishops who had opposed the Gender Recognition Bill in the House of Lords – prompting important debate within the Church and further invitations to write for reputable Christian publications.   Mark epitomizes that most important virtue for all people living on the wrong side of society’s mindless prejudice — an ability to be calm and to retain one’s dignity.  People are assured of recognition when they shout a lot and make a fuss. Mark Rees shows that there is another way too. In that way he deserves a leading place in trans campaigning history.

Jack Bee Garland was a transgender author, nurse and adventurer. Garland was also known as Elvira Virginia Mugarrieta, Babe Bean, Jack Beam, Jack Maines and Beebe Beam.  Born in San Francisco, California to a father who was a military officer serving as Mexican consul to San Francisco, in 1897, he took residence in Stockton, California. Using the male name Babe Bean and pretending to be mute, he got a job with The Stockton Evening Mail writing stories that focused on social problems such as gambling and vagrancy.  On October 5, 1899, he adopted the male identity of Beebe Beam and accompanied United States Army forces to the Philippines to participate in the Philippine War for a year, writing, “I saw war and I lived it.”  Beam was a cabin boy on the troop transport City of Para to pay his way to the Philippines.  Beam became sick on the journey and was set ashore after the captain found out about Beam’s history.  The enlisted soldiers took up a collection to buy his ticket. When the captain would not allow Beam back on the ship, the soldiers gave Beam a uniform and hid him until they were safely away from Hawaii. Beam was discovered again and confined, but, dressed as a soldier, Beam escaped and followed the regiments to their Philippine garrisons. Beam served as a Spanish language interpreter and nurse, living in military camps with the Sixteenth, Twenty-Ninth, Forty-Second, and Forty-Fifth United States Volunteer Infantry regiments. During that time in the Philippines, Beam did not participate in combat, but witnessed the Battle of San Mateo and joined several marches throughout Luzon.

Beam accompanied United States military forces to Santa Cruz, Laguna de Bey, Camarines, and Caloccan, as well as Manila and smaller garrisons.  He spent almost a year in the Philippines before returning to the United States. On October 21, 1900, Beam published “My Life as a Soldier,” in the San Francisco Examiner Magazine. Although Beam never enlisted and did not participate in combat, Beam marketed the story as a woman soldier in the Philippines.  Shortly after publishing the Philippine adventure, Beam abandoned newspaper writing and assumed the identity Jack Bee Garland, living as a man for the remainder of his life. As Jack Garland, he devoted himself to social work with the American Red Cross and other charitable organizations.  Garland died of peritonitis in San Francisco on September 19, 1936. The hospital discovered Garland had been living as male, provoking a series of newspaper articles. Garland had a tattoo that showed an American flag under the word Manila alongside an infantry insignia. Newspapers suggested that Garland should be buried with military honors as a veteran, and Garland’s sister, Victoria Shadbourne, perpetuated the idea by suggesting that Beebe Beam had been a lieutenant in the United States Army. No record of that service existed, and Garland was denied a military burial.  Transman Lou Sullivan has written a detailed biography of Garland.

Sister Boom Boom, the drag nun persona  of astrologer Jack Fertig (born February 21, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois), was one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence who has since retired from the group. Sister Boom Boom joined the Sisters in 1980, several months after its founding. She left the order in the Spring of 1986. Her full name was Sister Rose of the Bloody Stains of the Sacred Robes of Jesus, which would trail into a sing-song cadence and a long fermata. This called for a short nickname.  In 1982, Jack ran for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors as Sister Boom Boom with agitprop campaigning tactics bringing humor and raising issues he felt were being ignored in the race.  He won 23,124 votes with his occupation listed as “Nun of the Above”.  Five supervisors were elected; he placed eighth. After he started campaigning for mayor in 1983 against incumbent Dianne Feinstein, San Francisco passed a law requiring candidates to use only their legal names on the ballot.

This was commonly called the “Sister Boom Boom law”.  Jack wrote a theatrical-ritual exorcism of Jerry Falwell and Phyllis Schlafly performed in Union Square the Friday before the 1984 Democratic National Convention.  Boom Boom is one of the characters in Emily Mann’s play Execution of Justice about the trial of Dan White for the 1978 Moscone–Milk assassinations. George Moscone was mayor of San Francisco and Harvey Milk was the city’s first openly gay supervisor.  In the Broadway production she was played by Wesley Snipes.  Jack Fertig retired Sister Boom Boom in 1986, and joined a sobriety program.  He converted to Islam in 2001, and continues to live in San Francisco where he works as an astrologer.

Clarissa Vincent was born in Huntingdon, Herts, UK in 1961. As a toddler she sailed with her parents in a GP14, general purpose 14ft dinghy, but never liked it because she was too young to take control. This early experience gave her a deep sense of security as she headed offshore for different lands in later life. In 1990 she sold a house in Peterborough and bought a boat with a big dream to sail to Spain. A big voyage remained a dream throughout twelve years of cruising with progressively audacious trips setting out from the harbours and rivers of the East Coast of England, to arrive in France, Belgium; then the South Coast of Britain to Cornwall and eventually around Land’s End into the Bristol Channel. She settled in Bristol for five years and graduated with a BA at the University of the West of England. Sociology taught her to organize large written texts and sailing alone provided rich experiences.

Vincent changed her name from male to female in 1996 and went through sex reassignment surgery in 2001. A year after her major surgery she left Britain alone on a sailing boat on what became a five year sailing adventure. Clarissa now lives in a houseboat in Suffolk, UK where she plays a saxophone in a jazz/blues band, The Barry Kingston Trio, and teaches saxophone.  Bristol was the turning point which led to her book: ‘The Voyage of Storm Petrel - Britain to Senegal Alone in a Boat’.

Lone voyagers are brimming with contradictions. They can afford few self doubts if they are to survive the trials of solitude, the relentless demands of single-handed sailing and the potentially overwhelming power of wind and sea. Yet what is such an adventure if not a journey of self-discovery which will test one’s confidence and self-awareness to the limit? It is likely to be a life-changing experience. And so it was for Clarissa Vincent. As the familiar English coastline disappeared over the horizon and Storm Petrel settled into the steady rhythm of the sea, canvas taut, heeling jauntily to the breeze, Clarissa too was beginning to spread her own wings, free at last to embrace a new identity and live on her own terms. A passage that was originally intended to stop at Spain slipped almost seamlessly into a voyage to West Africa, eventually negotiating treacherous mud banks and shallows as Storm Petrel worked her way hundreds of miles up the River Gambia. And with her went music. Friends will tell you that if you follow the sinuous sounds of a saxophone on a sunny afternoon, or subtle guitar chords quietly floating on a warm evening’s air, you will likely find Clarissa. For making music is as essential a part of her everyday life as breathing. Hand her an instrument and the melodies will flow, as they often did during undemanding spells at sea, while the nautical miles slid relentlessly under Storm Petrel’s keel. Clarissa’s voyaging may be over - at least for the present - but her musical journey knows no bounds, and, thanks to the internet, reaches out to audiences worldwide. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy reading the Voyage of Storm Petrel as much as I have. (Andrew Blackford)

A couple of reviews of the book:

Most of us can only dream of such independence and courage. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I’m sure you will too. (G Reynolds).

Another readers review:

This unique book tells of an epic voyage that just kept on going. I have always enjoyed reading stories of personal travel and this book was no exception! It’s a truly fascinating story; not only for the dangers that could have been but also because of the author’s resilience and ability to cope in such extreme circumstances. It reads nicely and is not too challenging on the reader. I was particularly attracted to this book because of the ethos of sailing a boat across the ocean without the benefit of a huge luxury all singing; all dancing purpose built explorer or huge pots of borrowed/corporate cash. This is the grass roots of adventure sailing and as such ranks as one of the more raw and realistic books I have read in a long time, this book makes dreams of sailing away that much more attainable. If you want to read an exciting book about a real explorer than press the “Buy Now” as you will not be disappointed!
I cant wait for the sequel

(P Kaeochon)

Another review:

I just finished Clarissa Vincent’s ‘The Voyage of Storm Petrel’. I can’t stress enough how refreshing it is to read and hear a story of someone just following their sailing dreams without a ‘daddy’s fortune’ or a ’ dot com’ behind them. This is truly a book of the possible for everyone, and not just the well healed (forgive the pun ;0).

The editing of a few of the early captures could be improved, but don’t let this put you off. The writing style is light and easy to read keeping the pages turning. The narrative matures and improves throughout the course of the book.
A great story well told…I look forward to Book II

(Philip McKee)

Brianna Austin has been a writer/ reporter/ columnist in the transgender community since 2000.  Shortly after launching her blog she became the New York City columnist for GIRL TALK MAGAZINE (A Bite Of The Big Apple, 2001-2004); subsequently writing for other trans-publications such as Lady Like, TG Community News, TG Guide, TG Crossroads, and TGLIFE.com (which she founded as a magazine in 2005 and has since converted to a social network). She continued to administer TGLIFE.com and serve as publisher ofTGREPORTER.com.  In her male persona Brianna is a published songwriter, author and columnist that has been an entrepreneur since 1982; serving as president/CEO of two publicly traded media companies, a time-sensitive logistics firm that served Fortune 100/500 firms and industry leaders — such as Dupont, Sumitomo of America, Ford, Jaguar, Goldstar, Rubbermaid, Couristan, and MSC, for example —- and was also the founder and president of a nationally-distributed record company.

As an executive producer he secured funding, distribution and other requirements for an indie film distributed via Pathfinder Entertainment, and a documentary that aired on BRAVO, and from 2003-2005 served on the documentary judging panel for New York Festivals.  As a writer he has also written for Jazz Review (as a staff writer), New York Blade, Glide Magazine, South American Explorer, Music Express and American Songwriter.  In 2004-05 Brianna co-wrote the nonfiction book I’d Do It Again,” by Harriet Wright, and is currently writing a nonfiction book The Last Woman and Me, and the novel A Changing Season. Brianna is a member of the National Writers Union and Society of Professional Journalists, and after a six-year stint in Buenos Aires, has resettled back in New York City

Note: Please forgive the pronoun back and forth.  This is exactly how her biography appears on her own website and was not altered in any way.

Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was a singer, writer, actor, and “Andy Warhol Superstar.”  Jackie was born in New York. Throughout his career he performed both as a man and a woman. It has been believed that Jackie inspired the ‘glam rock’ look that was famous in the 1970s, as in the 1960s when performing in drag he would usually wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, and ripped and torn dresses and stockings; a mixture of trashy and glamorous.

Primarily a stage actor, Curtis debuted at the age of 17 in Tom Eyen’s play Miss Neferititi Regrets. Curtis began to write his own plays immediately after this experience, often featuring famous transsexuals, such as Candy Darling and, later, Holly Woodlawn, both of whom appeared in his productions, which enjoyed successful runs at La Mama and were well-reviewed. Curtis’ work was inspired, in part, by the Playhouse of the Ridiculous. As writer and lead actor his plays include Glamour, Glory and Gold, which also starred Candy Darling, Melba LaRose, Jr. and Robert De Niro in his first appearance on stage, playing several roles; Vain Victory, Amerika Cleopatra featuring Harvey Fierstein; Femme Fatale, with Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit with Holly Woodlawn.

Andy Warhol and his director Paul Morrissey cast Curtis and Candy Darling in Flesh (1968) and, with the addition of Holly Woodlawn, in Women in Revolt (1971); a comedic spoof of the women’s liberation movement. Curtis was also a singer and poet. In 1974 Curtis and Woodlawn appeared in the critically acclaimed Cabaret in the Sky at the New York Cultural Center. A CD of songs by Paul Serrato from the Curtis musicals Lucky Wonderful and Vain Victory, including the love ballad “Who Are You”, which Curtis sang (as a man) to Candy Darling, was released in 2004. Curtis’ poem, B-Girls, much of which is based on his observations of people who visited his grandmother’s bar, Slugger Anns, led to Curtis’ inclusion in the 1979 book, The Poets’ Encyclopedia. It was the longest poem in the book, spanning a total of eight pages.

“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier,” stated Andy Warhol about his protegé.  Jackie is named in Lou Reed’s song “Walk on the Wild Side” which was about the ‘superstars’ Reed knew from Andy Warhol’s studio The Factory. The verse speaks of his drug addiction and fascination with James Dean: “…Jackie is just speeding away - Thought she was James Dean for a day… then I guess she had to crash, Valium would have helped that bash”

William Cather (1873-1947) enjoyed distinguished careers as journalist, editor, and fiction writer. Cather’s work made him one of the most important American novelists of the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia., and at the age of nine, move to live at his family homesteaded in pioneer Nebraska. There he grew up among the immigrants from Europe, most of them coming from Scandinavia, who were establishing homesteads on the Great Plains. The new ranch was not a success, and in 1884 the family moved to the small railroad town of Red Cloud, where Cather’s father opened an insurance business. Cather was educated at home, and later he attended Red Cloud High School. From an early age, Cather was troubled by his identity. He preferred to dress in men’s clothing and as a teenager he began signing his name “William Cather, Jr.” or “Dr. Will.” William was also active in community theater productions and often took male roles. In 1890 Cather moved to Lincoln to escape the conservatism of the small town.

William studied at Latin School (1891-92), and the University of Nebraska, where he first arrived at the University dressed as William Cather, his “twin”. While in college, he began publishing short stories, wrote a weekly column for the Nebraska State Journal, and he fell passionately in love with Louise Pound, a fellow student and athlete, but they became best friends. In 1895, Cather graduated from the University of Nebraska, receiving his BA. From 1899 Cather lived in Pittsburgh with Isabelle McClung, the daughter of a Pittsburgh judge. He spent 10 years there and held many jobs. First on a newspaper and then as a high-school teacher of English and Latin. Cather worked as an editorial staff member for Home Monthly and telegraph editor and theatre critic for Daily Leader. In 1897-1901 he was Latin and English teacher at Central High School and then English teacher at Allegheny High School. His first short story was published in 1892 and by 1896 he had published nine stories. His first novel, Alexander’s Bridge, appeared in 1912 and was followed a year later by O Pioneers!. McClung married someone else in 1915, but Cather had already met Edith Lewis while traveling to New York during this period.

At the age of 32, Cather moved to New York to live with Lewis and to edit McClure’s Magazine. He spent forty years of his life with her in New York city. In 1922 Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel One Of Ours. Cather is most often thought of as a chronicler of the pioneer American West. Critics note that the themes of his work are intertwined with the universal story of the rise of civilizations in history, the drama of the immigrant in a new world, and views of personal involvements with art. Cather’s fiction is characterized by a strong sense of place, the subtle presentation of human relationships, an often unconventional narrative structure, and a style of clarity and beauty. Cather devoted himself to writing. Many of his books drew on his memories and knowledge of Nebraska. Cather never wrote openly about lesbian or gay themes. Much his work, however, can be interpreted with a lesbian or gay subtext if one knows to look for the clues. Nothing overt would have been tolerated by the publishers.

Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) was an English poet and author.  He was born in Bournemouth, Hampshire (now Dorset) to a wealthy philandering father and quarrelsome mother. Lonely while growing up, she was educated at King’s College London and then in Germany. Having reached adulthood without a vocation, he spent much of his twenties pursuing women he eventually lost to other marriages. In 1907 at the Homburg spa in Germany, Hall met Mabel Batten, a well-known amateur singer of lieder. Batten (nicknamed “Ladye”) was 51 to Hall’s 27, and was married with an adult daughter and grandchildren. They fell in love, and after Batten’s husband died they set up residence together. Batten gave Hall the nickname John, which he used the rest of his life.

In 1915 Hall fell in love with Mabel Batten’s cousin Una Troubridge, a sculptor who was the wife of Vice-Admiral Ernest Troubridge, and the mother of a young daughter. Mabel Batten died the following year, and in 1917 Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge began living together. The relationship would last until Hall’s death. In 1934 Hall fell in love with Russian émigré Evguenia Souline and embarked upon a long-term affair with her, which Troubridge painfully tolerated. Hall became involved in affairs with other women throughout the years, possibly including blues singer Ethel Waters. In 1930 Radclyffe Hall received the Gold Medal of the Eichelbergher Humane Award. He was a member of the PEN club, the Council of the Society for Psychical Research and a fellow of the Zoological Society. Radclyffe Hall was listed at number sixteen in the top 500 lesbian and gay heroes in The Pink Paper.

Hall lived with Troubridge in London and, during the 1930s, in the tiny town of Rye, East Sussex, noted for its many writers. He died at age 63 of colon cancer, and is interred at Highgate Cemetery in North London. The vault containing his remains is in the Circle of Lebanon, half way round from the Egyptian Avenue entrance. The Unlit Lamp was the first of his books to give the author’s name simply as Radclyffe Hall. His books sold very well and some were critically acclaimed, winning both the Prix Femina and the James Tait Black Prize, a feat previously achieved only by E. M. Forster. Hall is best known for The Well of Loneliness, the only one of his eight novels to have overt lesbian themes. Published in 1928, The Well of Loneliness deals with the life of Stephen Gordon, a masculine lesbian.