Encyclopedia
Discussion
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Transgender and Transsexual Autobiography |
| For the last 75 years, transgender and Transsexual Autobiographies have told the stories of their authors' lives and appealed for greater acceptance of transgender people. Autobiography remains one of the most important genres of transgender literary expression. | ||
 Kate Bornstein
(b. 1948) is one of the best known transgender activists in America. Her book Gender Outlaw
(1994),
which is part autobiography, part manifesto, and part fashion guide,
contributed to the political mobilization of transsexuals. |
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| Roberta Close (b. 1964), a Brazilian model and entertainer, was proclaimed "The World's Most Beautiful Model" in a 1984 tabloid headline. Her autobiography, Much Pleasure, Roberta Close (1998), raised eyebrows because of her claim to have been involved with many internationally famous male celebrities. | ||
 Michael Dillon (1915-1962) was the first person to transition both hormonally and surgically from female to male. Dillon's unpublished autobiography was rediscovered by English journalist Liz Hodgkinson and served as an important source for her book Michael Née Laura (1989) and a more recent biography by Pagan Kennedy entitled The First Man-Made Man (2007). |
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 Lili Elbe
(1886-1931) was among the world's first post-operative male-to-female
transsexuals. Her letters and diaries were compiled into
Man Into Woman (1933), one of
the first popular books to draw a distinction between homosexuality and
transsexuality. |
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 Leslie Feinberg
(b. 1949) is a pioneering transgender activist, historian, and
writer. The main character of Feinberg's novel
Stone Butch Blues (1993) shares so many
similarities with the book's author that many consider it
semi-autobiographical. |
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 Christine Jorgensen
(1926-1989) was the first person to undergo a a sex-change
operation that was highly publicized in the United States. Her book
Christine Jorgensen: A Personal
Autobiography (1967) was adapted for a film released in
1970. |
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 Charlotte von Mahlsdorf
(1928-2002) was an East German preservationist and museum founder. Her
autobiography, I Am My Own Wife
(1992), tells the story of her own life as well as that of a whole
generation of East German homosexuals who faced persecution first from
the
Nazis and then from the Communists. |
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| Jan Morris (b. 1926), a prolific Anglo-Welsh journalist, historian, and travel writer, was among the first transsexuals to tell her story publicly in a memoir. She dedicated Conundrum (1974) "to all who are suffering still in the same solitary and unsought cause." | ||
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Renee Richards
(b. 1934), a transsexual tennis player, success- fully sued the United States Tennis Association so that she could compete in the U.S. Women's Open. Her autobiography, Second Serve (1986), reveals the details of her troubled childhood as well as her adult successes in tennis and as an eye surgeon. |
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| Click here to test your knowledge of transgender and transsexual autobiography. |
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Lois Rudnick on Cady Wells |
 Lois Rudnick, editor of Cady Wells and Southwestern Modernism (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2009), explains her interest in and describes the life and work of Cady Wells (1904-1954), a modernist painter who thrived in the art colonies of Taos and Santa Fe during the first half of the twentieth century. |
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November 22
André GideMAJOR FRENCH WRITER WHO EXPRESSED HIS HOMOSEXUALITY IN MUCH OF HIS WORK, 1869
Benjamin Britten
THE MOST PROMINENT BRITISH COMPOSER OF THE 20TH-CENTURY, 1913
THE MOST PROMINENT BRITISH COMPOSER OF THE 20TH-CENTURY, 1913
Billie Jean KingTENNIS CHAMPION AND THE FIRST OPENLY LESBIAN COACH OF AN OLYMPIC TEAM, 1943
Stephen HoughACCLAIMED BRITISH CLASSICAL PIANIST, 1961
November 23
Manuel de Falla
ONE OF 20TH-CENTURY SPAIN'S MOST ILLUSTRIOUS COMPOSERS, 1876
ONE OF 20TH-CENTURY SPAIN'S MOST ILLUSTRIOUS COMPOSERS, 1876
Erté
DESIGNER WHO CREATED STRIKING ART DECO FASHIONS, 1892
DESIGNER WHO CREATED STRIKING ART DECO FASHIONS, 1892
Bruce Vilanch
COMEDY WRITER, PERFORMER, AND TIRELESS ADVOCATE OF GLBTQ CAUSES, 1948
COMEDY WRITER, PERFORMER, AND TIRELESS ADVOCATE OF GLBTQ CAUSES, 1948
November 24
Margaret AndersonEDITOR OF THE LITTLE REVIEW AND AUTHOR OF A THREE-PART AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND A NOVEL ABOUT LESBIAN LIFE, 1886
Arthur Tress
GAY AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER WITH AN UNCOMPROMISING AND POETIC STYLE, 1940
GAY AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER WITH AN UNCOMPROMISING AND POETIC STYLE, 1940
November 25
Virgil ThomsonPIONEER IN CREATING A SPECIFICALLY AMERICAN FORM OF CLASSICAL MUSIC, 1896
Robert Friend
AMERICAN-BORN ISRAELI POET AND TRANSLATOR OF POETRY, 1913
AMERICAN-BORN ISRAELI POET AND TRANSLATOR OF POETRY, 1913
Rosa von Praunheim
FILMMAKER AND ONE OF GERMANY'S LEADING ACTIVISTS, 1942
FILMMAKER AND ONE OF GERMANY'S LEADING ACTIVISTS, 1942
David B. Feinberg
AUTHOR OF POWERFUL NOVELS ABOUT THE AIDS PANDEMIC, 1956
AUTHOR OF POWERFUL NOVELS ABOUT THE AIDS PANDEMIC, 1956
November 26
Isabel Miller
WRITER WHO WON THE FIRST GAY BOOK AWARD FOR A PLACE FOR US, 1924
WRITER WHO WON THE FIRST GAY BOOK AWARD FOR A PLACE FOR US, 1924
Richard Hall
WRITER WHO FOCUSED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON ISSUES OF GAY IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY, 1926
WRITER WHO FOCUSED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON ISSUES OF GAY IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY, 1926
Wayland Flowers
PUPPETEER WHO CREATED A HILARIOUS CHARACTER HE NAMED MADAME, 1939
PUPPETEER WHO CREATED A HILARIOUS CHARACTER HE NAMED MADAME, 1939
Tseko Simon Nkoli
SOUTH AFRICAN GLBTQ RIGHTS AND ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST, 1957
SOUTH AFRICAN GLBTQ RIGHTS AND ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST, 1957
John Amaechi
FORMER NBA PLAYER, NOW AN ACTIVIST FOR GLBTQ RIGHTS, 1970
FORMER NBA PLAYER, NOW AN ACTIVIST FOR GLBTQ RIGHTS, 1970
November 27
Nicole Brossard
QUÉBÉCOISE WRITER AND EDITOR WHO TREATS GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND LITERARY CONVENTION IN A RADICAL WAY, 1943
QUÉBÉCOISE WRITER AND EDITOR WHO TREATS GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND LITERARY CONVENTION IN A RADICAL WAY, 1943
November 28
Jean-Baptiste LullyCOMPOSER WHO ESTABLISHED THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FRENCH OPERA, 1632
Ernst RöhmAVID NAZI WHO WAS KILLED WHEN ADOLF HITLER "CLEANSED" THE PARTY OF HOMOSEXUALS, 1887
Midge Costanza
POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND CHAMPION OF GAY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS, 1932
POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND CHAMPION OF GAY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS, 1932
Rita Mae Brown
THE AUTHOR OF RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE WHOSE WORK RESISTS EASY CATEGORIZATION, 1944
THE AUTHOR OF RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE WHOSE WORK RESISTS EASY CATEGORIZATION, 1944
John Galliano
DESIGNER KNOWN AS THE WILD CHILD OF BRITISH FASHION, 1960
DESIGNER KNOWN AS THE WILD CHILD OF BRITISH FASHION, 1960
About Notable Birthdays
This feature lists people about whom glbtq.com has both entries and complete birth dates. Each person listed has made a significant contribution to or had a significant impact on glbtq culture or history. Most are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, though some are either heterosexual or cannot be adequately characterized using any of these labels.
This feature lists people about whom glbtq.com has both entries and complete birth dates. Each person listed has made a significant contribution to or had a significant impact on glbtq culture or history. Most are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, though some are either heterosexual or cannot be adequately characterized using any of these labels.
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