Digital Transgender Archive

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Academic Papers and Publications

This collection focuses on research-based materials created in academic contexts. While research on trans and gender-nonconforming people is expansive and can be found in many research databases, the purpose of this collection is to gather materials that are not easily accessible elsewhere.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Digital Transgender Archive, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, American Antiquarian Society, Wellcome Library, New York Public Library
 

Adam's Word

Adam's Word was a monthly newsletter of The Adam Society, a non-profit support group for female-to-male crossdressers, transsexuals, and their significant others. This collection contains 6 issues of the newsletter and 2 meeting notices. A typical Adam's Word publication includes information concerning transitioning, support groups, books with trans content (sometimes accompanied by a review), and various reflections from contributors regarding events and conferences they attended. Some pieces in the newsletter are reprinted from other publications such as The Tartan Skirt or The Seahorse Newsletter.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives, The ArQuives
 

Advice Columns

This collection consists of numerous advice columns written by Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren. Although their primary focuses were not the LGBTQ+ community, Landers and Van Buren often gave advice on issues pertaining to crossdressers and crossdressing. Most frequently, requests were from those married to or parenting a crossdresser. This collection provides a look into the experiences of the loved ones of crossdressers.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Digital Transgender Archive
 

AEGIS Publications

Between 1990 and 1998, the American Educational Gender Informational Service, Inc. published materials including medical bulletins, pamphlets, articles, and results from research. The topics covered in these publications include gender identity in a medical context, gender realignment surgery, hormone therapy, and health-related risks during and after transitioning. Included are 13 issues of AEGIS News, which was founded by Dallas Denny in October, 1990.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Digital Transgender Archive
 

Alison Laing's Photographs

The Allison Laing Photographs collection documents Alison Laing speaking, performing, and interacting with others at various events such as Fantasia Fairs and IFGE Houston. The photos depict a predominately white community and include a variety of trans activists, including Dottie Laing, Dallas Denny, Ariadne Kane, JoAnn Roberts, and Virginia Prince. This collection also includes professional portraits of Alison and Dottie Laing, as well as a series of photographs of Alison's travels from 1956 to 1965, which may have been taken by Dottie Laing. A few of the photos were taken by Mariette Pathy, but most were captured by unknown photographers.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Alpha Zeta Newsletter

Alpha Zeta, an organization for heterosexual crossdressers, most of whom were white, published a series of newsletters during the late 1980s. Several issues were published in collaboration with their more expansive sister group, A Rose, which welcomed people who identified as transvestites, transsexual, or transgender. These publications share information about local events in Arizona as well as national events for the trans community. They also feature poetry, photographs, and anecdotes about crossdressing, relationships, and travel.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

April Ashley Collection

April Ashley is a British model and white trans woman who became well known in England when she was outed in 1961. The court case for a 1970 annulment from then husband Arthur Corbett (Corbett v. Corbett) established a legal precedent regarding the status of trans women in the United Kingdom. The annulment was granted on the basis of sex assigned at birth, a precedent that was not overturned until the passage of the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. Ashley has since won the Lifetime Achievement honor at the European Diversity Awards and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2012 for her contribution to the trans community.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Transas City
 

Art Works

This collection contains various art pieces that depict scenes of historical gender diversity.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, Yale University Libraries, Transas City, The ArQuives, JD Doyle Archives, Sexual Minorities Archives, Cork LGBT Archive, Wellcome Library
 

"As a Woman" by Barry Kay

"As a Woman" is a collection of 17 photos taken between 1974-1975 by Barry Kay that were featured in his photographic essay book, As a Woman (1985). These photographs are one of the multiple collections from the Transas City website. The book features photographs of crossdressers and transsexuals living in Sydney, Australia, detailing the everyday lives of those depicted.

From Institution(s): Transas City
 

Audio and Video Clips and Transcripts

Audio and Video Clips and Transcripts is a growing collection that features A/V materials from multiple institutions. Please note that though this collection includes oral histories, the Oral Histories with People of Color collection specifically highlights the stories of individuals who self-identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group. This collection contains other materials featuring people of color.

From Institution(s): London Metropolitan Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting, Country Queers, Transas City, The ArQuives, University of South Florida, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Digital Transgender Archive, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, British Pathé, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, GLBT Historical Society, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library, Skeivt arkiv, JD Doyle Archives, Transgender Oral History Project, Sherman Grinberg Film Library, We Who Feel Differently, Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, University of Minnesota, NYC Trans Oral History Project, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, OUTWORDS, Arizona Queer Archives, LGBTQ+ Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries, Independent Voices, Louisiana Trans Oral History Project, E.H. Butler Library, Buffalo State, UNC Charlotte Atkins Library, Special Collections and University Archives, RI LGBTQ+ Community Archives at Providence Public Library, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
 

Audre Lorde Project

The Audre Lorde Project (ALP) was founded in 1994 as a community organizing center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming (LGBTSTGNC) People of Color. This collection contains periodicals, leaflets, event programs, and other written works by the ALP, including multiple issues of their newsletter The Missive.

From Institution(s): The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
 

Berg and Høeg Photographs

Marie Høeg (1866-1949) and Bolette Berg (1872-1944) were Norwegian photographers from Horten, Norway. Marie, the more outgoing of the two, was an active women's rights advocate who also enjoyed crossdressing in private. A private collection of photographs from the Berg and Høeg photography studio primarily shows Marie, with occasional appearances of Bolette, crossdressing in various fashions. These photographs show Marie's willingness to digress from and contradict social norms.

From Institution(s): Preus Museum
 

Boys Will Be Boys

Boys Will Be Boys operated out of Sydney, Australia, and explored the FTM experience in the early 1990s. These eight monthly newsletters include reflections from regular contributors as well as various letters to the editor from subscribers.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives
 

Brandon Teena Collection

Brandon Teena was a white transmasculine person who, along with Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert, was killed in a violent hate crime. These deaths inspired numerous activist initiatives, and artistic works including the feature film "Boys Don't Cry." The items in this collection may contain graphic descriptions of transphobic violence and sexual assault, and often further reflect the cruel attitudes of the media at the time.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Buffalo Belles Newsletters

The Journey, titled Buffalo Belles until July 1999, was a monthly newsletter that documented the monthly meetings and experiences of the members of Buffalo Belles, a support group for crossdressers, trans people, and their partners in Buffalo, New York. The support group and newsletter were established in the Fall of 1992. This collection provides an in-depth look into the identities and lived experiences of mostly white crossdressers and trans people in the New York area.

From Institution(s): E.H. Butler Library, Buffalo State
 

Button Collection

These buttons and pins are from multiple institutions and include a variety of symbols related to the LGBTI community. This collection includes pins from Alison Laing, who is an activist involved in a number of trans rights organizations and events.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, The ArQuives, JD Doyle Archives, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
 

Charlotte McLeod Collection

The items in the Charlotte McLeod Collection pertain to the transition and subsequent life of Charlotte McLeod, a white woman who was the second woman in the United States to undergo a gender realignment surgery that became known to the general public. The collection contains four photographs, one full autobiographical article, and thirty-seven news clippings. Nearly all of the materials discuss McLeod in relation to Christine Jorgensen, the first woman to become publicly known for receiving gender realignment surgery. Other topics include McLeod's employment history and paparazzi encounters.

From Institution(s): Transas City, GLBT Historical Society
 

Chi Chapter Newsletters

The Chi Chapter Tribune, also known as the Chi Tribune until February 1997, was a newsletter for Chicago members of Tri-Ess Society, a social and support group for crossdressers and their families, a majority of whom were white.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
 

Christine Jorgensen Collection

This collection features materials related to Christine Jorgensen a white trans woman who was the first person in the United States to become publicly known for receiving gender realignment surgery. The collection includes newspaper clippings, one video, and photographs created between the 1950s and the early 1980s. Including both press coverage and candid photographs, the collection depicts Jorgensen's public life as well as her personal life.

From Institution(s): Transas City, JD Doyle Archives, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Sherman Grinberg Film Library, British Pathé
 

Chrysalis Quarterly

Chrysalis Quarterly was published by AEGIS, the Atlanta Educational Gender Information Service (renamed the American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc.) from 1991 until 1998. The complete run is 12 issues, which are included in this collection. With the start of the second volume (in 1995), Chrysalis Quarterly changed its name to Chrysalis: The Journal of Transgressive Gender Identities. Each issue has a different theme, but overall the issues mainly focus on the exploration of gender and gender expression. Themes of Chrysalis Quarterly issues include topics such as transitioning and its associated health concerns, gender discrimination, transgender family relationships, intersex people, and transsexualism in various spiritual traditions.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Clothing Collection

The Clothing collection includes wearable items from around the world that pertain to transgender history. Highlights include t-shirts from Wearing Gay History and a chest binder from the Sexual Minorities Archives.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives, LGBTQ+ Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries, Wearing Gay History, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand
 

Court and Legal Documents

This collection holds court and legal documents pertaining to trans-related issues.

From Institution(s): Archivo Histórico Nacional, Archivos Estatales España, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Digital Transgender Archive
 

Creative Design Services Publications and Documents

This collection contains an assortment of books and other materials from 1989 through 2004 that were published by Creative Design Services, a publishing business owned by JoAnn Roberts. These broadly address topics in crossdressing and transitioning. The topics of individual books include the risks and benefits of hormone therapy, having relationships as a crossdresser, managing one’s legal identity, and self-help voice training for passing. Authors featured in this collection are JoAnn Roberts, Dallas Denny, Alison Laing, and Delia Van Maris. Additional documents include miscellaneous official and legal documents and event pamphlets and programs related to Creative Design Services from 1989 through 1998.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Cross Dressers International

During 1992 and 1993, the New York City based organization Cross Dressers International published these eight newsletters and one event flyer. They give advice regarding makeup and fashion and promote social events for crossdressers.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Cross-Port InnerView

The Cross-Port InnerView monthly newsletter documents the monthly meetings as well as the experiences of the members of Cross-Port, a support group for crossdressers, trans people, and their partners in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cross-Port was founded in the summer of 1985 and continues to run today. This collection represents a thorough look into the lived experiences of crossdressers and trans people in the greater Cincinnati area.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Cross-Talk: The Gender Community’s News & Information Monthly

Cross-Talk: The Gender Community’s News & Information Monthly was a public service magazine that began in September 1988 and ended in November 1996. The publication was affiliated with the American Educational Gender Information Service (AEGIS) and was published and edited by Kymberleigh Richards. Each issue contains approximately 40 pages of gender community news coverage, personal narratives, fictional stories, event calendars, original cartoons and humor features, resources on traditional feminine gender passing, and more.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Digital Transgender Archive
 

Désirée Hafstad, Skeivopedia, and Kim Frieles Materials

This online collection of Norwegian trans history materials includes advertisements, programs, and articles. The collection includes advertisements for the Christmas show "Merry Kitschmas" and the camp culture music talent show "Melodi kvasi Grand Prix." The collection also contains short articles on topics such as trans periodicals, activist organizations, an 18th century "female marriage," and press coverage of Christine Jorgensen.

From Institution(s): Skeivt arkiv
 

Dime Novels

A collection of 19th century books that sensationally portray figures who crossdressed for various purposes.

From Institution(s): American Antiquarian Society
 

Discovery Resources

These helpful resources will aid in further research away from the digital pages of the DTA. This collection includes finding aids, overviews, and spreadsheets that will help researchers discover items that have not yet been digitized, but can be found in archives across the world.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Sexual Minorities Archives, Digital Transgender Archive, Arizona Queer Archives, Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, University of Minnesota, California State University, Northridge, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Art Gallery of Ontario, ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, GLBT Historical Society, Leather Archives & Museum, Duke University, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library, LGBTQ+ Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, UCLA Film and Television Archive, The University of Winnipeg, Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA), Stanford University Special Collections, Texas A&M University, E.H. Butler Library, Buffalo State, Queer Digital History Project, Emerson College Archives and Special Collections, Sexual Representation Collection, Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Museum of Transology, The ArQuives, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center, London Metropolitan Archives, Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine), Brown University Library, Yale University Libraries, Frameline Distribution, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Dorris Bullard Collection

The Dorris Bullard Collection features photographs taken or kept by Dorris Bullard during her life (1908-1933). Dorris Bullard was born in Loveland, Colorado in 1908. She spent most of her life in a predominately white community in Larimer County, Colorado until her move to Los Angeles around 1932, where she tragically died at the age of 25. Little survives from Dorris’ life, except for the collection of photographs kept by family members, which feature Dorris, alone and with friends. The family wanted to include these photographs in the DTA as a means of visually representing a life lived outside of the heteronormative gender norms of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Drag

Drag was a magazine published throughout the 1970s and 1980s by Lee's Mardi Gras Enterprises, Inc. This collection contains 29 issues published between 1971 and 1983 and a special supplement edition published in 1975. Each issue of the magazine generally includes a mix of articles, editorials, and photo spreads of drag queens. The issues featured in this collection cover a range of topics related to crossdressing and drag, such as drag balls, civil rights demonstrations, and profiles of popular drag queens.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project
 

Drag Show Programs

Spanning the globe, these drag show programs have been collected from clubs and revues in major cities including Paris, New Orleans, San Francisco, and London. The oldest of these depict female impersonators and clubs from the 1940s. Though a few of the programs are from one-time events, many of them are part of a series of recurring drag shows at venues such as Club 82, Finocchio’s, Club My O My, Le Carrousel, Madame Arthur’s Nightclub, and the Wonder Club. This collection provides a closer look into the communities that formed within drag clubs, with many names appearing in multiple programs for various clubs.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Oral History Project, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, JD Doyle Archives, Transas City, Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, University of Minnesota, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
 

East Coast FTM Group Organizational Records

The East Coast FTM Group was a support group for FTMs––including transsexuals, crossdressers, and transgender people––and their partners that ran continuously from 1992 to 2015. The collection includes serial publications concerning the group meetings, posters, press releases, and organization directories. The collection also contains correspondence between Ben Power and various other figures related to the East Coast FTM group. Also featured are photographs for Leslie Feinberg's book "Transgender Warriors."

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives
 

En Femme Publications

This collection contains 29 En Femme publications, including 25 issues of En Femme Magazine, two En Femme Comics, one En Femme Fiction Magazine, and the Crossdresser's Movie Guide from the years 1987 through 1991. These publications pertain to topics such as crossdressing, transgender culture, gender identity, and civil rights. These periodicals contain comic strips, letters to the editor, fictional stories, film reviews, interviews, and photographs.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Oral History Project
 
 

Erickson Educational Foundation Publications

This collection contains twenty newsletters and fourteen pamphlets published by the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF) between 1965 and 1983. The EEF was founded in 1964 by Reed Erickson to provide funding and support for research on transsexualism. Among the many organizations funded by the EEF were the Harry Benjamin Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic, both of which appear in numerous articles in the newsletters. Overall, the newsletters and pamphlets in this collection cover a wide variety of topics pertaining to the trans community, especially with regards to legal decisions in U.S. courts, psychological research, and conferences on gender issues.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Fanfare

The Fanfare magazine collection contains sixteen issues ranging from 1986 to 1988 published in South Africa by The Phoenix Society. The subject matter includes self-acceptance, familial and romantic relationships, transitioning, physical appearance, and gender roles. These subjects are portrayed in personal stories, letters to the editor, the reprinting of news articles from around the world, poetry, and art.

From Institution(s): Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA)
 

Fantasia Fair: Miscellaneous Documents

Founded in 1975 by Ariadne Kane, Fantasia Fair is an annual week-long conference in Provincetown, MA, to explore issues relevant to the trans community. This collection encompasses the various miscellaneous documents from the overarching Fantasia Fair Collection, including materials such as tickets for the various Fantasia Fair events, documents from the 25th Anniversary Alumnae Program, advertisements from non-Fan Fair entities, and three participant profiles, to highlight a few.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Fantasia Fair: Newsletters

Beginning in 1975 as an annual week-long conference in Provincetown, MA, Fantasia Fair served as a way for male crossdressers to explore the many changing facets of the crossgender lifestyle. This collection contains runs of FanFair Gazette (1991), Femme Fare (1970s-1980s), and FanFair Newsletters (1996). Generally, the newsletters were distributed each day of the fair and cover daily scheduling, information regarding future fair events and seminars, as well as short articles.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Digital Transgender Archive, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Fantasia Fair: Photographs

These photographs were taken at Fantasia Fair, an annual week-long conference in Provincetown, MA, where participants spend a week exploring issues relevant to the trans community. This collection includes photographs from three decades, 1970-1990.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Fantasia Fair: Programs, Participant Guides, and Directories

Fantasia Fair is an annual event in Provincetown, Massachusetts that involves workshops, seminars, and entertainment for the crossdresser community. Within this collection there are 13 program guides, 4 directories, 13 participants’ guides, and 6 yearbooks from the Fantasia Fairs dating from October 1977 to 2001. These items provide schedules and photographs, as well as information on passing techniques, feminine beauty standards, and relationships.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Felicity Chandelle Collection

The Felicity Chandelle Collections consists of photographs from albums owned by Felicity Chandelle (1905-2008) that depict Felicity and other members of The Playgirl Club, mostly from the early 1960s. The Playgirl Club was a social group of mostly white people who self-identified as cross-dressers. Most of the members presented as men in their daily lives and adopted “femme-names” and used she/her pronouns when dressed in feminine attire. Felicity Chandelle was also known as John Miller and was one of the first commercial airline pilots in the U.S. Felicity was arrested in 1964 under an antiquated law that prevented someone from appearing in public with their face “painted, discolored, covered, or concealed” in a way that might prevent them from being recognized. This collection provides a glimpse into Felicity’s life attending Playgirl Club house parties, red carpet events, and shopping on 5th Avenue. For more information, see https://tgforum.com/felicity-chandelle-1905-2008-pilot-and-crossdresser/ and https://zagria.blogspot.com/2011/05/felicity-chandelle-1905-2008-pilot.html.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
 

Female Mimics

These issues of Female Mimics magazine were published between 1963 and 1979. They feature photographs and profiles of “female impersonators.” Read more about the history and significance of Female Mimics in an article by Bob Davis and Carol Kleinmaier in a 1995 issue of Ssshhh!: The Newsletter of the National Transgender Library & Archive: https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/41687h474

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Princeton University Library
 

Female Mimics International

Published between 1980 and 1999, these 110 issues of Female Mimics International feature photographs of famous drag queens, coverage of prominent events in the trans community, letters to the editor, personal ads, and fictional stories.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project
 

Femme Mirror

This collection is a series of newsletter publications from the 1970's until the late 1990's created by the crossdressing and the transgender community in regards to gender rights, relationships with family, marriage, coming out, exploring one's gender identity, and transphobia.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Fiction

The creation of fictional stories is an important part of the trans community throughout history because of the lack of trans representation across all mediums. This collection includes stories from the 1970s and 1980s which feature main characters from across the gender spectrum.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

FTM International

FTM International is a publication catering to trans men and the oldest organization for trans men in the United States. Originally published as FTM Newsletter, the publication was meant as a companion to a support group for trans men in the Bay Area in the 1980's.

From Institution(s): Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Gateway Gender Alliance Publications

The Gateway Gender Alliance, formerly known as Golden Gate Girls/Guys, was one of the earliest social and educational organizations for transgender people that also included support for those who identified as female-to-male (FTM). This collection, spanning from 1979-1984, includes issues of The Gateway and its successor, Phoenix.

From Institution(s): Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, GLBT Historical Society
 

Gender Euphoria

Gender Euphoria, digitized here from 1987 to 1999, was a newsletter for the Boulton and Park Society. The group was formed in 1986 in San Antonio, Texas and included prominent members Cynthia and Linda Phillips. The newsletters cover many different aspects of the trans community including crossdressing, gender identity, family relationships, and local events.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
 

Gender Quest

Gender Quest is the quarterly publication of Kindred Spirits. These eight newsletters, published between 1998 and 2000, cover topics of spirituality, alternative medicine, indigenous cultures, and gender diversity.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Gender Review: The FACTual Newsletter

Starting with the first issue in June 1978, Gender Review: The FACTual Newsletter was the official publication for FACT, the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals. Trans activist Rupert Raj started the Gender Review for trans men and women and also crossdressers. Articles covered a variety of topics and current events within the Canadian transsexual scene. The Gender Review sought equally to inform its readers of the community at large as well as offer resources for transsexual people in their everyday lives.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, The ArQuives
 

GenderServe

These six publications of GenderServe, published by the Canadian “counseling, education, and research service” of the same name, are newsletters intended to provide information about and for the trans community. These newsletters include short bulletins on recent significant publications and upcoming events pertaining to the trans community, articles about the GenderServe, Gender Review, and FACT organizations and their reorganization.

From Institution(s): The ArQuives
 

gendertrash

From the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives site: In the early 1990s Mirha-Soleil Ross and Xanthra Phillippa MacKay formed a publishing company called genderpress. Between 1993 and 1995 they produced four zines entitled gendertrash from hell. The first issue of gendertrash includes a mission statement: "gendertrash is devoted to the issues & concerns of transsexuals. gendertrash also welcomes input from gender positive genetics. in addition to issues of gender hate & oppression, gendertrash is equally opposed to any other forms of systematic oppression by those who are in positions of power." The zines are an assemblage of articles, poetry, interviews, and visual art curated by Ross and MacKay. Original paste-ups and promotional materials for gendertrash are also held in the archive, and they help to demonstrate the zine’s intended audience.

From Institution(s): The ArQuives
 

Government Documents

Governments at the local, state, provincial, and national levels regularly produce official documents, including reports, handbooks, forms of identification, and records. These documents include published and unpublished materials from a range of contexts.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Grace and Lace Letter

Grace and Lace Letter was "an evangelical Christian publication for crossdressers, transgendered, and transsexuals" published in Jackson, Mississippi. This collection contains two quarterly international newsletters, a retrospective newsletter, and a brochure from the 1990s. These objects cover issues of religious acceptance and self-acceptance, and relate bible verses to personal experiences of crossdressing and trans-ing gender.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Hartford T.V.I.C.

Hartford T.V.I.C., later renamed the Sugar and Spice Sorority, was a TVTS (transvestite/transsexual) organization in Hartford, CT that offered information and social activities for members of the trans community. They believed in opening doors, as many of their members who identified as trans had been outcast from crossdressing organizations in the past. This collection contains issues from 1973-1974.

From Institution(s): M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany
 

Hermaphrodites with Attitude

This collection contains 13 issues of Hermaphrodites with Attitude, the newsletter of the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA). Hermaphrodites with Attitude was published semi-periodically from 1995-2005 and eventually began to refer to itself as ISNA News in 2001. The mission of the newsletter and ISNA more generally was to build "a world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with atypical sex anatomies." This collection explores issues surrounding surgical normalization, gender assignment, biological diversity, and autonomy.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

In Your Face

These five newsletters, titled “In Your Face: Political Activism Against Gender Oppression,” were published as inserts in magazines between 1995 and 1997. They highlight acts of anti-trans discrimination and violence around the United States and the world, and provide information about protests, lobbying efforts, and other political action in response to this discrimination.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Informational and Event Brochures

This diverse collection includes provides information about many different trans-related topics, including activist and social organizations. The collection also provides brochures and registration forms for various trans-related events held between 1988 and 1999.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Oral History Project, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Transas City, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, The ArQuives, GLBT Historical Society, Digital Transgender Archive, New York Public Library
 

The Ingersoll Message

This set of newsletters from 1995–1998 details the activities of the Ingersoll Gender Center based out of Seattle, Washington.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives
 

International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy: Annual Proceedings and Newsletters

Trans activist Phyllis Randolph Frye created and hosted the annual International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy (ICTLEP) in Houston, Texas between 1992 and 1997. Frye writes: "ICTLEP has held six annual conferences...dealing with issues of transgender law and employment policy. Each year (except year six) many of the reports and presentations are transcribed by court reporters and are published along with other relevant documents to become that year’s printed and bound Proceedings book. These are 'THE' REFERENCE BOOKS to begin serious study of transgender legal issues and of progressive strategies for legal changes!" This collection contains 118 objects (legal articles, court cases, and transcribed speeches) from the conferences’ proceedings books, three objects describing the history of ICTLEP and the contents of the books, and two ICTLEP newsletters. These materials address trans people’s legal rights in terms of healthcare, marriage, imprisonment, military service, housing, and employment. Many discuss empowerment through coming out and activist participation in the transgender movement. Read more about the history of ICTLEP: https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/wd375w32h

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

International Foundation for Gender Education Publications and Documents

The items in this collection were published by the International Foundation for Gender Education between 1987 and 2002. “I.F.G.E. publications are designed to be a source of information, support, and friendship for all persons interested in crossdressing and transsexualism, and to persons affected by those phenomenon.” Other miscellaneous items were part of Alison Laing's personal collection of I.F.G.E.-related documents.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, The History Project
 

James Gardiner 20th Century Drag Postcards

This extensive collection of postcards is housed in the Wellcome Library in London, UK. The postcards were originally collected by social historian James Gardiner and depict an array of drag experiences of mostly white people throughout the twentieth century. The earliest postcards capture moments of military and navy soldiers and prisoners of war during WWI. Later photographs, like those from the 1960s, portray familiar scenes from bars like Club 82, a prominent drag bar in New York at the time.

From Institution(s): Wellcome Library
 

JD Doyle Photographs (1900-1949)

The JD Doyle Photograph Collection contains a wide variety of photographs collected from across the JD Doyle Archives and spans over 100 years between the 19th and 20th centuries.

From Institution(s): JD Doyle Archives
 

JD Doyle Photographs (1950-2000)

The JD Doyle Photograph Collection contains a wide variety of photographs collected from across the JD Doyle Archives.

From Institution(s): JD Doyle Archives
 

JD Doyle Photographs (Pre-1900)

The JD Doyle Photograph Collection contains a wide variety of photographs collected from across the JD Doyle Archives and spans over 100 years between the 19th and 20th centuries.

From Institution(s): JD Doyle Archives
 

Jose Gutierrez Collection

These eight photographs provide a glimpse into the Latino trans and crossdressing communities in the 1990s. Six of the photographs were created by Jose Gutierrez and present people in various Latino drag competitions including Miss Gay Mexico and Miss Gay Escalando. The other two photos depict Gutierrez: in one, Gutierrez poses with Sylvia Rivera at a Stonewall Riots anniversary; in the other, Gutierrez poses with a photo of José Sarria.

From Institution(s): The Jose Gutierrez Archives
 

Journal of Male Feminism

The Journal of Male Feminism, formerly titled Hose & Heel, was a bi-monthly publication of the International Alliance for Male Feminism (IAMF). This organization had chapters in multiple cities across the U.S. and was "open to feminists of both sexes." It was an offshoot of Virginia Prince's Full Personality Expression (FPE) groups. This collection of issues span cover 1977-1980.

From Institution(s): Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
 

Kentucky History

These fifteen items––ten photographs, a poster, two cards, and two newspaper clippings––provide a glimpse into 20th century transgender-related history in Kentucky. The photographs and cards depict a wide range of practices of trans-ing gender, and other materials in the collection present information on events involving drag.

From Institution(s): Faulkner Morgan Archive
 

Kewpie Photographs

Kewpie was part of a queer community of people who were known amongst themselves and by the wider community in Cape Town as 'moffies.' These photographs document Kewpie’s life in District Six, Cape Town, South Africa between 1950 and 1993. This collection contains pictures of Kewpie working in salons as a hairdresser, attending parties and costume balls, and posing for photos outside on streets and beaches with her friends and her partner, Brian.

From Institution(s): Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA)
 

LadyLike

These 71 issues of LadyLike Magazine were published between 1987 and 2007 by Creative Design Services. They feature profiles on crossdressers and transgender people, photographs contributed by readers, letters to the editor, film reviews, makeup and clothing tutorials, fictional short stories, and personal articles. These periodicals especially focus on qualities of femininity.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project
 

Les Amies de Place Blanche by Christer Strömholm

A small handful of the photos from Christer Strömholm's "Les Amies de Place Blanche" (1983) can be found in this collection. These photographs depict French trans women living in Paris in the 1960s. Many of these women were working in the Red Light District trying to raise money for various alterations. The original publication was published in Swedish and contains essays from Strömholm about his work.

From Institution(s): Transas City
 

Letters from Female Impersonators

This periodical, published by Nutrix Co. between 1961 and 1963, is comprised of photographs and letters written by female impersonators. Common themes throughout these letters include a desire for community and acceptance, a lack of access to medical treatment and legal rights, and personal experiences with crossdressing.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

The Linda and Cynthia Phillips Papers

The Linda and Cynthia Phillips Papers document the couple's involvment in trans and crossdressing communities in Texas and their efforts to support trans people and their partners. The materials also reflect the Phillips’ active involvement in raising awareness of transgender culture among a broader community, which included an appearance on The Joan Rivers Show in 1990. The collection includes newsletters, articles, correspondence, and other print materials collected during the time of their affiliation with the Boulton and Park Society of San Antonio. Of particular interest is a nearly complete run of Gender Euphoria, the Boulton and Park Society newsletter from 1987 to 1999.

From Institution(s): The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
 

Lou Sullivan Collection

The Lou Sullivan Collection includes letters between Sullivan and various medical professionals, colleagues, and friends. Some correspondents include Rupert Raj, Ben Power, Alyn Hess, Dr. Michael Brownstein, and Dr. Paul Walker. Lou Sullivan was known for identifying as an openly gay trans man and fought for the medical and social rights of those who identified similarly. These letters, dated from 1973 to 1991, detail Lou's medical transition, FTM publications, and his struggle with AIDS.

From Institution(s): GLBT Historical Society, Sexual Minorities Archives
 

Lynn Edward Harris Photographs

The photographs in this collection depict moments in the personal life of Lynn Edward Harris (1950- ), a prominent intersex person known for his acting, lecturing, and later activism work. This collection, hosted by the ONE Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries, contains photos from throughout his life–from his childhood years when he was raised as a female, through his later years when he began living publicly as a male. These photographs cover various ages of Harris from 1954 through 2000, including four photographs from his childhood, two photographs from his early acting portfolio, and several pictures from his adult life.

From Institution(s): ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
 

Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera Collection

Based in New York City, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are well-known trans women of color who spent decades of their lives side-by-side, engaging in activism on behalf of the most marginalized members of their communities. This collection includes a range of materials about Marsha and Sylvia, in both their activist efforts and daily lives. Dated as early as 1968, these materials include photographs, correspondence, periodical clippings, event flyers and programs, audiovisual interviews and transcripts, and art from several collaborating institutions.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, New York Public Library, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Independent Voices, The Jose Gutierrez Archives, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Yale University Libraries, Queer Zine Archive Project
 

Metamorphosis

These newsletters and periodicals in the Metamorphosis collection were published by the Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation and Rupert Raj from 1982-1988. The Metamorphosis publications were intended to be a resource for female-to-male transsexuals. These objects discuss the issues of gender dysphoria, gender realignment surgery, and community acceptance. The newsletters and magazines provided the trans community with resources, personal stories, book and film reviews, and bulletins of important events and medical research pertaining to the trans community.

From Institution(s): The ArQuives
 

Military

The Military collection comprises a series of photographs and artifacts relating to the military and service members. Highlights include photographs from a 1942-1945 era show at Bolling Field Airbase and items from a Military Ball put on by the Houston Motorcycle Club.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, JD Doyle Archives, Transas City
 
 
 

Monmouth & Ocean News

We have only a few of the newsletters published by the Monmouth Ocean Transgender Group (MOTG). The ten collected here were originally published during the late to mid-1990s. MOTG is an affiliate group of Renaissance Education Association, an organization that is also present in our archive. Significant contributors to the newsletter include Marybeth (no last name found), the newsletter's editor until 1997, when MOTG switched editorship to Vikki M. The newsletter focused mostly on then-current events and perspectives regarding transgender people, crossdressing practices, the lifestyle of crossdressers, and gendered experiences.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Mountain Lace

Mountain Lace was the newsletter for a group called Trans West Virginia. Edited by Beverly Williams, each issue covers local meet-ups, events, and news. This collection currently contains issues from 1991-1993.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 
 

Newspaper and Periodical Clippings (1950-2000)

This collection contains clippings from newspapers and, to a much lesser extent, periodicals published between 1950 and the 1990s. Topics discussed in the articles include early gender realignment surgeries, marriages of transgender individuals, artistic representations of transgender characters, and legal issues faced by the trans community. Prominent publications in this collection include The Berkeley Barb, ONE Magazine, Out/look, Women, and Great Speckled Bird.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, LGBTQ+ Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries, Independent Voices, Transas City, The ArQuives, JD Doyle Archives, ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Grupo Dignidade, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, GLBT Historical Society, Cork LGBT Archive, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, OUTWORDS, The History Project
 

Newspaper and Periodical Clippings (Pre 1900)

Early clippings from newspapers and, to a lesser extent, periodicals published before 1900.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, Transas City, JD Doyle Archives, Duke University, American Antiquarian Society
 

ONE Archives Online Materials

This assortment of pictures and audio files is hosted online by the ONE Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries. Within the collection, there are a variety of photos from the early 1900s through 2000. Notably, there are ten pictures of Latino gay activist José Sarria participating in a drag show at the Black Cat Bar in San Francisco, California. Overall, the photos capture diverse events such as AIDS fundraisers, gay pride events in the United States, and drag shows.

From Institution(s): ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
 

Oral Histories with People of Color

The Oral Histories with People of Color collection highlights diverse stories told throughout the many oral history collections found on the DTA. Every person in this collection has self-identified as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group. We have combined these histories into a dedicated collection to call attention to the experiences of trans people of color, which are significantly underrepresented in trans histories.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project, Country Queers, GLBT Historical Society, The ArQuives, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, University of Minnesota, London Metropolitan Archives, NYC Trans Oral History Project, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, We Who Feel Differently, Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, OUTWORDS, Louisiana Trans Oral History Project, RI LGBTQ+ Community Archives at Providence Public Library
 

Our Special Joy

Our Special Joy was a newsletter published by Chi Delta Mu chapter of the Tri-Ess Sorority. Most issues focus on chapter happenings and event. There is regular coverage of recent book publications and other media on the topic of crossdressing.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Outreach Publications

The Human Outreach and Achievement Institute, founded by Ari Kane, worked to “serve as a resource for helping professionals, crossdressers, androgynes and transsexuals.” It published a range of journals, pamphlets, and newsletters.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Digital Transgender Archive
 

The Phi Journal

This short-lived newsletter ran from the early 1980s until 1988 when the Phi Chapter became part of Renaissance. The issues discuss local events and major national news stories.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Phyllis Frye Collection

Phyllis Randolph Frye is the first openly transgender judge in the United States. She is also a U.S. Army veteran, a licensed engineer, an attorney, and a prominent trans activist. This collection includes 11 photographs and 1 certificate from the U.S. Army that document Frye's life journey between 1962 and 2006, reflecting her life before transitioning as well as her important role in the movement for transgender rights. This collection also features many documents including the International Bill of Gender Rights, an employer’s handbook for addressing employees’ gender transitioning, the Gay Agenda of the LGBTIQA Community of Houston, law reviews by Phyllis Frye, and biographical materials about Phyllis Frye. These documents provide information about the transgender movement, legal issues surrounding marriage and parenting, and information on many types of discrimination. Frye grants unrestricted permission for use of these materials with the purpose to "encourage people to know more of this history": https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/hd76s006h

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, JD Doyle Archives
 

Postcards of Female and Male Impersonators and Cross-dressing

This collection of postcards of female and male impersonators and cross-dressing in Europe and the United States, 1900-1931, 1955 features copies of original postcards held by Cornell’s Human Sexuality Collection, part of Cornell Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. They reflect the complete contents of two collections as of June 2019: Postcards of female and male impersonators and cross-dressing, #7778 and Postcards of German female impersonators, #7636. Digitization and description of these physical materials were was supported by the Grants Program for Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences, awarded to Durba Ghosh, Professor in the Department of History and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Cornell University, in 2018. Collaborators on the this project included: Leslie Adelson, German; Mitchell Greenberg, Romance Studies; Tamara Loos, History; Brenda Marston, Cornell University Library; and Kristin Roebuck, History. See https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/impersonator-postcards for more information.

From Institution(s): Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, New York Public Library, Digital Transgender Archive
 

Prison Photographs

Photographs found in this collection feature prisoners at San Quentin State Prison in the early 20th century. Male prisoners often crossdressed as part of performances that were produced by the prisoners themselves. Many of these photographs depict the 20th Annual Field and Track Day at San Quentin sponsored by the Olympic Club of San Francisco. The event took place in 1933 and consisted of some 29 athletic events, stunts, chorus girls and vaudeville acts performed by prisoners. It was sponsored by Frank G. O'Kane of the Olympic Club. Some 5000 inmates attended.

From Institution(s): California State Library, Anne T. Kent California Room, Marin County Free Library
 
 

Reed Erickson Collection

These photos come from the ONE Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries. The ten photographs in this collection are of the well-known transsexual philanthropist and activist, Reed Erickson. The collection includes both black and white and color photos, ranging from approximately 1928 to approximately 1969. Some of the photographs are portraits of Erickson as an adult and a teenager, while others include him with his family, friends, or pet leopard.

From Institution(s): ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
 

Renaissance News & Newsletters

Renaissance News, which became Renaissance News & Views in 1994, was a longstanding publication, “mostly about the lifestyle of crossdressing with short pieces on politics.” This publication was created by the Renaissance Education Association (later the Renaissance Transgender Association) and published by Creative Design Services. Significant contributors include JoAnn Roberts and Angela Gardner. The newsletter focused mostly on relevant current events and politics, crossdressing practices, and the lifestyle of crossdressers. This collection includes a complete run of the first nine volumes, which were published monthly from 1987-1995. The collection ends in 1999, but the newsletter changed its name to Transgender Community News along with its format and continued until the early 2000s. Also included in this collection are regional newsletters.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Rex Maniscalco Collection of Bobby Smith Photographs

These photographs all depict various drag queens and other members of the LGBTQIA community in Tampa. Most of the photographs were taken by Bobby Smith, but a few were provided by Donald Bentz and collector Rex Maniscalco. These photographs include professional headshots, candid shots at bars and in homes, and pictures of drag queens in performance settings. Although most of the photographs are not dated, the few that are dated indicate that the majority of these photographs were taken in the 1950s.

From Institution(s): University of South Florida
 

Riki Anne Wilchins' Flyers

Activist Riki Anne Wilchins founded the direct action group The Transexual Menace, as well as the organizations Hermaphrodites With Attitude and the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC). Wilchins also created the newsletter In Your Face: Political Activism Against Gender Oppression. This collection of Wilchins' flyers from the 1990s advocate for trans rights, condemn offensive behavior, and illuminate acts of violence and intolerance. Related link to In Your Face newsletters: https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/col/2r36tx594

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive
 

Rupert Raj Collection

Eurasian-Canadian Rupert Raj has been a trans activist in Canada, the USA and abroad since 1971---the same year he began his 41-year gender transition in Ottawa. First a newsletter editor, peer-counsellor, researcher and educator (1978-2001), then a psychotherapist, gender consultant and professional trainer (2001-2015), and finally an author/editor (1997-present), Rupert has been engaging with queer, trans, non-binary, intersex, two-spirit adults and teens, and their loved ones for more than 50 years. The two trans service organizations he co-founded were Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals (FACT) (1978-1982) and Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) (1983-1988), and the three counselling/consulting services were: Metamorphosis Counselling & Educational Services (1982-1983), Gender Worker/Gender Consultants (1988-1990) and RR Consulting (2001-2015). Rupert's three published books include: Trans Activism in Canada: A Reader (with Dan Irving) (2014), Of Souls & Roles, Of Sex & Gender: A Treasury of Transsexual, Transgenderist and Transvestic Verse from 1967 to 1991 (2017, 2018) and Dancing the Dialectic: True Tales of a Transgender Trailblazer (second edition) (2020). The Rupert Raj Collection in the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) includes newsletters, magazines, books, newspaper clippings (scrapbooks), correspondence, photographs and other materials.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, The ArQuives
 

Scrapbooks and Albums

This collection contains a variety of scrapbooks and albums compiling materials related to drag, cross-dressing, and gender transition. The books are interesting not only for the historical images and texts they contain, but also for their artistic arrangement.

From Institution(s): Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, E.H. Butler Library, Buffalo State, Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Sheet Music

A unique collection of sheet music featuring male and female impersonators from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

From Institution(s): JD Doyle Archives, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
 

Short Runs of Periodicals

This is a catch-all collection of periodicals that were published between the 1950s and the 1990s. Materials are placed in this collection when five or fewer full scans of a specific periodical are accessible. Though only a few issues of particular publications are often included, most had much longer runs that have not yet been digitized.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Transgender Oral History Project, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, The ArQuives, JD Doyle Archives, Independent Voices, Grupo Dignidade, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, Digital Transgender Archive, Yale University Libraries, Princeton University Library
 

South Africa Media Coverage (via Gender Dynamix)

This collection contains five objects published from 1988-1996 in various South African media outlets including Femina Magazine, The Sunday Star, YOU Magazine, and Playboy Magazine South Africa. The articles and letters to the editor describe personal transgender experiences such as transitioning, societal and familial acceptance, sexuality, and gender identity. This collection was submitted by Liesl Theron from her work at Gender Dynamix.

From Institution(s): Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA)
 

The Sweetheart Connection

The Sweetheart Connection was a newsletter for wives and partners of heterosexual crossdressers published by the Tri-Ess Society for the Second Self during the 1990s. Topics covered in these publications include the annual Spouses and Partners International Conference for Education (SPICE), personal experiences at support groups, and couples' marital issues.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

The Tartan Skirt

Between 1992 and 1995, Anne Forrester published 16 issues of The Tartan Skirt through ADF Editorial Services. This Scottish magazine presented poems, book reviews, personal stories, and articles that discuss many issues faced by the “gender community” (people who identified as crossdressers, transsexuals, and transgender). Topics covered include appearance, passing, healthcare, transitioning, terminology, support groups, legislation, travel, and familial and romantic relationships.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Tiffany Club Documents

This collection includes eleven documents from May 1978 to December 1978 pertaining to the Tiffany Club, a social club in the greater Boston area for crossdressers, their families, and friends. Merissa Sherrill Lynn, the founder, held the Tiffany Club’s first organizational meeting in her home on November 26, 1978. The collection includes Lynn’s outreach letters, which discuss her hopes and plans for the club, as well as logistical concerns such as the club’s location, finances, and goals. The collection also contains Lynn’s account of the first meeting’s minutes. Other documents in this collection include an annotated copy of the Kay Mayflower Society’s constitution, a draft of the Tiffany Club’s constitution, and a typed explanation of the club’s name and symbol.

From Institution(s): Digital Transgender Archive, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Transas City Photographs (1900-1950)

The photos compiled in this collection originate before 1950 and can be found on the Transas City blog. Though a small collection, the photos depict a variety of subjects from MTF performers to some early pioneering transsexual women. The people photographed hail from a range of places such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

From Institution(s): Transas City
 

Transas City Photographs (1950-2000)

The people depicted in these photos include some of the earliest high-profile transsexual women from 1950-1980, as well as many female impersonators who performed during the 1960s. One half of the collection portrays the height of glamour with various headshots and modeling photoshoots while the other half depicts trans women in their day-to-day lives. Like our other Transas City collection, these photos cover multiple places around the world, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and cities in the U.S. like Kansas City, the namesake of the institution.

From Institution(s): Transas City
 

Transas City Photographs (Pre-1900)

The photos compiled in this collection originate before 1900 and can be found on the Transas City blog. Though a small collection, the photos depict a variety of subjects from MTF performers to some early pioneering transsexual women. The people photographed hail from a range of places such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

From Institution(s): Transas City
 

Transgender Tapestry

Founded by Merissa Sherrill Lynn, Transgender Tapestry was a magazine published from the late 1970s to the early 2000s first by the Tiffany Club and later by the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). The publication went through several names changes including The TV-TS Tapestry, Tapestry, and The Tapestry Journal. This collection includes 106 issues including newsletters and quarterly periodicals from 1979 to 2008. Each issue of this magazine covers a variety of topics such as crossdressing, transsexualism, healthcare, political movements, film reviews, and more.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University, Digital Transgender Archive
 

The Transsexual Voice

Phoebe Smith published The Transsexual Voice during the 1980s and 1990s. These newsletters feature advice from doctors to transsexual people and the medical community regarding medical care and transitioning. Other topics covered include the experiences of the transsexual community, from activism to discrimination to familial relationships. This periodical includes personal ads and letters to the editor, and contributors frequently share their personal experiences regarding transitioning and gender identity.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism

TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism was created by Davina Anne Gabriel and published by Skyclad Publishing Co. throughout 1994 and 1995. Its statement of purpose reads: “In recognition of the fact that transsexual persons have been systematically silenced, marginalized, maligned and even brutalized, not only within mainstream society, but also even within feminist philosophy and culture, TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism has been created to further the process of defining ourselves and creating our own reality, rather than allowing others to do so.” These periodicals feature articles, letters to the editor, book reviews, cartoons, photographs, and artwork. Issues covered include feminism, activism, the transgender movement, the women’s movement, transphobia, discrimination, and civil rights.

From Institution(s): Transgender Oral History Project
 

Transvestia

Transvestia was an important periodical by and for transvestites published in the United States from 1960 to 1986. The magazine was founded by Virginia Prince who also served as editor-in-chief for the majority of its run until Carol Beecroft took over. Transvestia published life stories, articles, poetry, fiction, comics, photographs, and correspondence. This collection comprises 114 items including 111 unique issues and a small number of issue variations.

From Institution(s): Transgender Archives, University of Victoria
 

Turnabout Publications

This collection contains nine Turnabout Magazines and seven fictional Turnabout Books published by Abbé de Choisy Press and Wholesale Book Corporation between 1965 and 1969. The magazines consist of articles, fictional stories, photographs, art and literature reviews, and makeup tips. The books, written by Nan Gilbert and Siobhan Fredericks, tell fictional stories about the experience of crossdressing, particularly focusing on the concept of “petticoat punishment.” One book, titled "Transvestite Post-Box," is a compilation of stories submitted by readers about similar issues of femininity, masculinity, and sexuality.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

TV Guise and GenderFlex

This collection contains the full run of TV GUISE, which later became GenderFlex. Both newsletters are quirky publications revolving around the informally written and oftentimes political musings of the editor Billie Jean Jones concerning trans-related current events and community cultures in the 1990s. They often deal with the differences and interactions between TVs, CDs, and TSs, as well as the complexities surrounding the early emergence of the term transgender. These two publications also include various pieces from its contributors writing about specific elements of the trans experience in the 90s and their own personal reflections.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
 

Twenty Minutes

These newsletters were published by The XX Club from 1988 to 1997. The newsletter was originally titled Twenty Minutes but was rebranded Twenty in 1991. These publications provided information to and support for members of the transgender community by publishing personal accounts as well as academic writings. Topics include gender realignment surgery and hormone therapy, transitioning, religious beliefs and spirituality, entertainment materials, and civil rights.

From Institution(s): Sexual Minorities Archives
 

Upstate New York Newsletters

Three organizations in upstate New York (Transegenderests Independence Club, Butterfly, and Expressing Our Nature) collaborated to create four newsletters for the trans and crossdressing communities between 1988 and 1989. In 1993, Expressing Our Nature published two newsletters on their own. These newsletters provide information on different events, share personal articles, and publish excerpts of books and news articles. Central themes include community support, self-acceptance, and feminine appearance.

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University
 

Vanguard

This collection includes ten zines created and published by Vanguard from 1966-1967 and a retrospective zine created in 2011. Contributors to Vanguard were LGBTQ youth from the streets of the Tenderloin district in San Francisco. These zines contain poems, art, and articles that reflect the issues faced by poor LGBTQ youth at the time, covering topics such as police brutality, drug addiction, and economic discrimination. Vanguard served as a platform to foster community and organize demonstrations for civil rights. Later issues address the Vietnam War and encourage a movement for peace. This collection also includes an edition of Vanguard Magazine from 2011 that republishes original content with retrospectives by the authors and new contributors who share some of their experiences.

From Institution(s): GLBT Historical Society
 

Victor Lopez and Rudy Cardona Photograph Collection

Rudy Cardona owned Texas Crown Productions, which sponsored the Miss Corpus Christi American pageant and related pageants in Corpus Christi, Texas between 1990 and 1996. Victor Lopez was the co-creator of and photographer for the pageant. This collection is comprised of prints and negatives of events organized and held by Texas Crown Productions. These included the Miss Corpus Christi America, Miss Corpus Christi Metroplex, Miss Nueces County, Miss Texas Riviera, and Mr. Corpus Christi pageants. Also in the collection are photographs from Houston Pride parades from 1992 to 1994 and the Houston Baile (formal dance) of 1994.

From Institution(s): The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
 

Xpressions and Monarch Publications

Xpressions and Monarch, “a non-profit, non-discriminatory social and support club for transgendered people of all kinds,” published these newsletters and periodicals in Canada during the 1990s. They publicize social events and share news from around the world relating to the transgender community (which the organization defines as “crossdressers, transsexuals, transgenderists, and anything in-between”).

From Institution(s): Joseph A. Labadie Collection, University of Michigan
 

Your SOFFA Voice

Your SOFFA Voice is a newsletter published in the late 1990s by American Boyz. American Boyz was a support and social group for people who were born female but who feel that this is not a complete or accurate assessment of who they are. The group also included their significant others, friends, families, and allies (SOFFA). Although membership of the group included a wide range of people and identities, Your SOFFA Voice primarily focused on the FTM community.

From Institution(s): Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive
 

Zines

Zines are a form of privately produced and distributed magazines that have been popular among marginalized groups as a means of community-wide communication. In this collection are works such as those of self-proclaimed transvestite Rizzeria, as well as many first editions of serial zines. These works cover topics from identity politics and sexual liberation to the daily lives of queer-identified people. This collection illuminates some of the many intersectional challenges and victories of the LGBTQIA+ community.

From Institution(s): Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Queer Zine Archive Project