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
 

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
 

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