Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Freya Richman

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Freya Richman identifies as Jewish female or femme assigned male at birth. She is the youngest of three siblings and grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, a small city in the northeastern part of Wisconsin with about 60,000 people. Her father was a professor at Lawrence University teaching biology. Her mom studied home economics in college, and she was a school teacher for a while. She then started a nursery school, but, overall, she was mostly a homemaker and active in their synagogue. Her family is pretty accepting of her identity, quickly adopting her name and pronouns. At first, she thought she was a crossdresser before she understood transitioning as an option. She secretly incorporated femininity into her routine, wearing panties under her trousers. She got involved with 20% Theatre, a theater devoted to amplifying the voices of women, queer and trans people, and gender non-conforming people. She participated as a writer and a performer in The Naked I. She has a partner that struggled with Richman’s desire to dress as a woman, but she managed to understand Richman and they are still together. They now have two kids. Richman transitioned in her late 40s when she wasn’t too aware of queer culture, but she discovered it along the way. She’s been on hormones for three years since the interview, hiding it from others at first. She is now looking into gender confirmation surgery. She was the Arts Director for a community center in St. Paul, Minnesota and recently got on the Transgender Equity Council of the City of Minneapolis.

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