This site is the most comprehensive on the web devoted to trans history and biography. Well over 1400 persons worthy of note, both famous and obscure, are discussed in detail, and many more are mentioned in passing.

There is a detailed Index arranged by vocation, doctor, activist group etc. There is also a Place Index arranged by City etc. This is still evolving.

In addition to this most articles have one or more labels at the bottom. Click one to go to similar persons. There is a full list of labels at the bottom of the right-hand sidebar. There is also a search box at the top left. Enjoy exploring!

31 October 2017

Birth Order in Androphilic Trans Women

In addition to his proposal that late-transition gynephilic trans women be regarded as “autogynephiles`”, Ray Blanchard proposes the Fraternal Birth Order Effect.

Here is Kay Brown`s summary of Blanchard’s position:

The Fraternal Birth Order Effect is the now well established fact that androphilic males (both gay and transsexual) have more older brothers than sisters.  That is to say, that the odds that a given male baby will be androphilic increases with each male child that their mother had carried previously.  This is a cumulative effect.

Recently Kay Brown endorsed a study that found that “when blood from a previously pregnant woman is transfused in men, their subsequent mortality is increased compared to women who are transfused. Blood from women who had never been pregnant did not increase men’s mortality”. She uses this in support of Blanchard`s Fraternal Birth Order Effect.

Kay has, of course, made her peace with the usage of describing heterosexual trans women as “androphilic males”. Blanchard describes such as “homosexual males”.

I personally am a first born. I have a younger sister and a younger brother, both quite straight. As such I am very sceptical of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect.

Out of curiosity: what is Kay`s birth order? In the short autobiography that she wrote for the TS Roadmap in 2008, when she was starting to claim to be a “homosexual transsexual” as per Blanchard, she avoids stating her birth order. However, earlier, in 1998, for her Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex History site (now no longer available) she wrote of herself:

“Growing up as the first of four children, Kay took on childcare responsibilities early”.

A test of the hypothesis


What neither Blanchard nor Brown has done is to test the hypothesis against the biographies of known androphilic trans women who mention their birth order (most do not). Here is a first cut at doing so. For each of the women below, we have enough information about their birth order, and also the fact that – one way or another – they are best described as androphilic (Kinsey 5 or 6 relative to birth gender). Some of these persons were early transitioners like Kay who never went through a phase as a gay man but later married a man; others went through homosexuality on the way to womanhood.

Only Child, Eldest, only AMAB (assigned male at birth) with sisters


According to Blanchard and Brown, this should be unusual. However it seems to be common.

Nadia Almada - eldest with five younger brothers
Manabi Bannerjee – only AMAB with two sisters
Sally Barry - only child
Aaïcha Bergamin – only AMAB with three sisters
Georgina Beyer – elder of two
Kay Brown – eldest of four
Bobbi Cameron – three older sisters
Candis Cayne – twin boys
Dorian Corey – elder of two
Candy Darling – only child
Jamie Lee Hamilton – only child
Yasmene Jabar – only child
Norma Jackson – only child
Christine Jorgensen – second child
Jill Monroe – only child
Patricia Morgan – only child
Sylvia Rivera – elder child, younger sister
Shonna – eldest, two younger sisters
Dawn Langley Simmons – only child
Hedy Jo Star – eldest of seven
Joe Tish – eldest of seven
Laxmi Tripathi – eldest of seven
Diane Wells – eldest of three
Zagria – eldest of three


Younger children

These conform to Blanchard’s model in having older brothers.
Agnes – youngest of four
April Ashley – two elder brothers, one elder sister
Sharon Cohen - youngest of three
Asha Devi – three elder brothers and three elder sisters
Nicky Kiranant – seventh child
Greer Lankton – third child
Marie-Marcelle Godbout – youngest of seven
Naomi – fourth of eight children
Carmen Rupe – youngest AMAB of 13 children
Angel dela Vega – seventh of eight children
Jackie McAuliffe – third of four AMAB
Angie Xtravaganza – one of thirteen children

Conclusion

Not proven. Androphilic trans women come from all positions in birth order. The Fraternal Birth Order Effect would predict that most be the second category. In fact there are fewer in the second category.

25 October 2017

Trans women featured in Playboy magazine

Slightly off-topic:   Zelda Suplee, later Reed Erickson's office manager, the person who actually ran the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF), the first US organization for transsexuals, had managed nudist camps in the 1950-1960s.   From this she became the first full-frontal nude in Playboy (in black-and-white). 


1977    Amanda Lear


1978


1979    Wendy Carlos

























1981   Caroline Cossey/Tula


For Your Eyes Only - Tula far left
Tula, then in stealth, featured in Playboy re the then new James Bond film.






1984 Luiza Moreira/Roberta Close  




















1990 Roberta Close

1991 Caroline Cossey

Tula now out and proud.



















1995 Caroline Cossey



2014  Ines Rau






2016 Vittoria Schisano




2017  Ines Rau

It is currently being announced by the Playboy publicity department that "Ines Rau is Playboy’s first (sic) transgender Playmate"!   This despite Ines' previous appearance in Playboy in 2014, and despite Amanda Lear, Roberta Close, Caroline Cossey and Vittoria Schisano.    This false claim is being repeated uncritically by both the mainstream press and by trans bloggers.





24 October 2017

Advice Manuals III 2001-2017


Bibliographies:

The original GVWW bibliography from 2007
Canadian (auto)biographies
Hoax biographies
(auto)biographies that are almost unobtainable
French and Belgian (auto) biographies and Histories
Biographies with the pre-transition name in the title 
Advice Manuals 1957-1980
Advice Manuals 1981-2000
Advice Manuals 2001-2017
Non-Fiction Books on other topics by trans authors

There are many advice manuals for different types of trans person. This list is necessarily incomplete.

Inclusion in this list does not imply that I endorse the contents of any item.

In this third period, since 2001, there has been a pronounced explosion of trans advice manuals.   It in 1960-1970s it was likely that a trans person would read all the manuals available, in recent years years it has become impossible to keep up.    

(I have not included books on 'sissification' or 'forced feminity'.   I regard those as a different genre.)

Part III 2001-2017


2002


  • Veronica Vera. Miss Vera's Cross-Dress for Success: A Resource Guide for Boys Who Want to Be Girls. Villard.
  • Janice Morgan Stevens (Jean Marie Stine). Everything you wanted to know about sex changes ... and were afraid to ask: a primer for male to female transsexuals. Renaissance E Books.

2004


  • Jed Bland (ed) Transvestism and Cross Dressing: Current Views. Beaumont Trust.

2005


  • Alice Purnell. Transexed and Transgendered People: A Guide. Gendys Conferences.
  • Lannie Rose. How to Change Your Sex: A Lighthearted Look at the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do. Lulu.

2006


  • Paisley Currah, Richard M Juang & Shannon Price Minter (eds). Transgender Rights. University of Minnesota Press.

2007


  • Jennifer Seeley. The Transgender Companion (Male To Female): The Complete Guide To Becoming The Woman You Want To Be. CreateSpace.
  • Andrew Sharpe. Transgender Jurisprudence: Dysphoric Bodies of Law. Routledge-Cavendich.

2008


  • Deep Stealth (Andrea James & Calpernia Addams) Finding Your Female Voice: TS Voice Feminization. 9 DVDs, CD and PDF.
  • Kelley Winters and Dan Karasic. Gender Madness in American Psychiatry: Essays from the Struggle for Dignity. GID Reform Advocates.

2009


  • Mara Drummond. Transitions - A Guide to Transitioning for Transsexuals and Their Families. Lulu.com.
  • Joanne Herman. Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not. AuthorHouse.
  • Douglas Ousterhout. Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman. Addicus Books.

2010


  • Megan M.Rohrer and Zander Keig. Letters for My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect. Wilgefortis.
  • Anne VitaleThe Gendered Self: Further Commentary on the Transsexual Phenomenon. Lulu

2011



  • Anne L Boedecker. The Transgender Guidebook: Keys to a Successful Transition. CreateSpace.
  • Alex Drummond. Queering the Tranny: New Perspectives on Male Transvestism and Transsexualism. True Colours Publishing.
  • Alice Purnell & Jed Bland. Trans in the Twenty First Century: Concerning Gender Diversity. Beaumont Trust.
  • Martine Rothblatt. From Transgender to Transhuman: A Manifesto On the Freedom of Form. Martine Rothblatt.
  • Nat Smith & Eric A. Stanley. Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex. AK Press.
  • Stephen Whittle (ed). The White Book: A really indispensible manual for inhabiting a trans man’s being. Gendys.

2012


  • Richard Adler, Sandy Hirsch & Michelle Mordaunt. Voice and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Transsexual Client: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide. Plural Publishing Inc.
  • Meghan Chavalier. Your True Self: An Informative Guide for Transitioning Transgender Women. Kindle.
  • Trystan Theosophus Cotten (ed). Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men. Transgress Press.
  • Karine Espineira, Maud-Yeuse Thomas & Arnaud Alessandrin. La Transyclopedie : Tout Savoir Sur Les Transidentites. Lulu.
  • Jennifer L. Levi & Elizabeth E. Monnin-Browder (eds). Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, GLAD.
  • Racheal McGonigalThe Transgender Guide (Transsexual transition). Kindle.
  • M S Lynette Nisbet. Girl Talk. the Transgender Guide for Voice and Feminization. Robertson Publishing.
  • Carollyn Olson. Tricks of the Trade -- A Beginners Guide To Cross Dressing. Kindle.
  • Nick Teich. Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue. Columbia University Press.

2013


  • Joanne Borden. Transgender Complete, A Virtual Handbook . Kindle.
  • Kate Bornstein. My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. Routledge.
  • Des McCabe & Fiona McLeod. Transgender People - Practical Advice, FAQs and Case Studies (Best Practice Guides in Equality and Diversity - The Diversiton Series). New Activity Publication.
  • Isaac West. Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law (Sexual Cultures). New York University Press.
  • Tasi Zuriak. Top Ten Fashion Mistakes by Crossdressers And How To Fix them. Kindle.

2014


  • Leo Castana. The Transgender Men's Guide to Life: Decision-Making and Goal-Setting while Transitioning Towards Your True Gender. Kindle.
  • Leo Castana. The Transgender Men's Guide to Life: Coming Out and Socially Transitioning Towards Your True Gender. Kindle.
  • Jennifer Corbett. On Becoming a Woman: A Transsexual and Transgender guide for transitioning from male to female. Kindle.
  • Barbara Deloto & Thomas Newgen. Feminizing Men - A Guide for Males to Achieve Maximum Feminization. CreateSpace.
  • Laura Erickson-Schroth (ed). Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community. Oxford University Press
  • Christine Michelle Duffy. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace: A Practical Guide.
  • Ally Windsor Howell, with a forward by Phyllis Frye. Transgender Persons and the Law. American Bar Association.
  • Jenny Husk. The Ultimate Transgender Before and After Transgender Surgery Survival Guide for Transgender People with Transgender Issues about Transgender Equality. Kindle.
  • Robyn Kelly. One Woman's Story: A Trans-Activist Sourcebook. Kindle.
  • Snow McNally. The Transition Process. Kindle.
  • Carollyn Olson. More Tricks of the Trade -- A Beginners Guide To Cross Dressing. Kindle.
  • Karen M Scarpella. Sharing the Good News: A Positive Model for Coming Out as Transgender. CreateSpace.
  • Jans M Scherpe (ed). The Legal Status of Transsexual and Transgender Persons. Interentia.
  • Michelle Spicer. The Transgender Handbook, Lulu.
  • Dean Thornton (ed). Letters for my Sisters. Transgress Press. "If you could write just one letter to someone who is beginning their gender transition or to your younger, pre-transition self, what would you say?" 35 trans women answer.
  • Isabella van Vence. Frau sein kann Mann lernen: Das Crossdressing Handbuch. Kindle.
  • Zander Keig & Mitch Kellaway (eds). Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves. Createspace.

2015


  • Charles Anders. The Lazy Crossdresser. Greenery Press.
  • Anne L Boedecker. The Transgender Workbook: Your Journey to Womanhood. CreateSpace.
  • Joanne Borden. Transgender Complete: A Virtual Handbook. Kindle.
  • Felix Conrad. Autogynephilia - Everyman's Guide to Autogynephilia, Crossdreaming and Late Onset Transsexualism. Lulu.
  • Eli R Green & Luca Maurer. The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator's Guide To Increasing Knowledge, Reducing Prejudice & Building Skills.
  • Anna Kendrick. Transgender: the guy inside. Kindle.
  • Eleanor Nye. Sex Change - Male to Female: An Essential Guide for Understanding the Process of Gender Reassignment Surgery & Getting to Know the New You. Kindle.
  • Eleanor Nye. Sex Change - Female to Male: An Essential Guide for Understanding the Process of Gender Reassignment Surgery & Getting to Know the New You. Kindle.
  • Eleanor Nye. Gender Dysphoria: An Essential Guide for Understanding and Dealing With Gender Identity Disorder. Kindle.
  • Jami Kathleen Taylor & Donald P Haider-Markel (eds). Transgender Rights and Politics: Groups, Issue Framing, and Policy Adoption. University of Michigan Press.
  • Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolhart, Jayme Peta &Arlene Istar Lev. The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity. Instant Help.
  • Deanne Thornton & Andrea James (eds) Letters for My Sisters: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect. Transgress Press.
  • R O C Tree. Five Things You'll Face as a Pre-Op, Pre-T FTM. Kindle.
  • Claudia Valsecchi. I Fiori della Transizione - Fiori di Bach per il Percorso Transgender. Kindle. 
  • Alexander Walker & Emmett J P Lundberg (eds). Finding Masculinity: Female to Male Transition in Adulthood. Riverdale Avenue Books.
  • TGEU. Know Your Rights!: Activist’s Guide on Trans People’s Rights under EU Law.  PDF
  • TGEU. Know Your Rights!: Guide on Trans People’s Rights under EU Law. PDF

2016


  • Thomas E Bevan. Being Transgender: What You Should Know. Praeger.
  • Vernon Coleman. Men in Bras, Panties and Dresses: The Secret Truths About Transvestites. Kindle. 
  • Felix Conrad. How to Jedi Mindtrick Your Gender Dysphoria.
  • Felix Conrad. Is a Transgender Woman a Woman?.
  • Felix Conrad. Quantum Desire: A Sexological Analysis of Crossdreaming.
  • Trystan Cotton. Below the Belt: Genital Talk by Men of Trans Experience. Transgress Press.
  • Ally Windsor Howell. This is Who We Are: A Guide to Transgenderism and the Laws Affecting Transgender Persons. Ankerwycke.
  • Ally Windsor Howell. Transgender Persons and the Law 2nd Edition. American Bar Association.
  • Jayden James. Making the Most of your Natural Masculinity: A FTM's Guide To Begin Your Transitional Journey. Kindle.
  • Hannah Lane. Transgender Voice Workbook: A voice course for MTF trans people. Kindle.
  • Sky Logan. Transgender Transition: Introduction. Kindle.
  • Sky Logan. Transgender Transition - Quick Start Guidebook. Kindle.
  • Z Nicolazzo. Trans* in College: Transgender Students' Strategies For Navigating Campus Life and the Institutional Politics of Inclusion. Stylus Publishing.
  •  Andrea Pelleschi. Transgender Rights and Issues. Essential Library.
  • Katherine Reilly. The Road to Femininity: A New Life for a New Woman. Akakia Publications.
  • Drake Cameron Sterling. Top Surgery: Unbound: An Insider's Guide to Chest Masculinization Surgery. Sterling OmniMedia.
  • R O C Tree. Coming Out as Transgender. Kindle.
  • Veronica Vera. Miss Vera's Cross Gender Fun for All. Greenery Press.

2017


  • Walter Pierre Bouman & Jon Arcelus. The Transgender Handbook: A Guide for Transgender People, Their Families and Professionals. Nova Science Pub Inc.
  • Candis Cayne. Hi Gorgeous!: Transforming Inner Power into Radiant Beauty. Running Press.
  • Vernon Coleman. Men in Bras, Panties and Dresses: The Secret Truths About Transvestites. Kindle. 
  • Charlie Craggs (ed). To My Trans Sisters. Jessica Kingsley Publishers
  • Jo Green. The Trans Partner Handbook: A Guide for When Your Partner Transitions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Declan Henry. Trans Voices: Becoming Who You Are. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Mason Daxton. The Transgender Mans Guide to Passing: The book every transgender male needs after coming out. Kindle.
  • Ephraim Das Janssen. Phenomenal Gender: What Transgender Experience Discloses. Indiana University Press.
  • Matthew Mills & Gillie Stoneham. The Voice Book for Trans and Non-Binary People: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Authentic Voice and Communication. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

22 October 2017

Advice Manuals II 1981-2000

Bibliographies:

The original GVWW bibliography from 2007
Canadian (auto)biographies
Hoax biographies
(auto)biographies that are almost unobtainable
French and Belgian (auto) biographies and Histories
Biographies with the pre-transition name in the title 
Advice Manuals 1957-1980
Advice Manuals 1981-2000
Advice Manuals 2001-2017
Non-Fiction Books on other topics by trans authors
 
There are many advice manuals for different types of trans person. This list is necessarily incomplete.

Inclusion in this list does not imply that I endorse the contents of any item.

This middle period is notable for the scarcity of publications in the 1980s.   This is the period following Janice Raymond’s diatribe against any form of transgender.   Even writer sympathetic to trans persons such as Liz Hodgkinson and Dave King felt obliged to cite Raymond.   It was also the period after the closure of the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic, and the legal persecution of doctors such as David Wesser.   And, of course, the coming of AIDS. 

There is recovery in the 1990s.   Most of the authors are associated with the trans peer groups of that time. 

Part II 1980-2000


1980


  • Louis Sullivan. Information for the female to male cross dresser and transsexual. Ingersoll Gender Center. 1st Ed Janus Information Facility.

1984


  • Yvonne Sinclair. Transvestism within a partnership of marriage and families. Transvestite/Transsexual Social Group.

1986


  • Joseph Doucé. La Question transsexuelle. Paris: Luminière et justice.

1989


  • The Brussels Experience. Ingersoll Gender Center.

1990


  • Morgan Holliday & Peter Hawkins. The Morgan Mystique: Morgan Holliday's Essential Guide to Living, Loving and Lip Gloss. Holliday Productions.
  • Peggy J Rudd. Crossdressing With Dignity: The Case for Transcending Gender Lines. Pm Pub.
  • Joanne Altman Stringer. The Transsexual's Survival Guide: To Transition & Beyond. Creative Design Services.
  • Jennifer Anne Stevens. From Masculine to Feminine. Inland Book Co.

1991


  • Dallas Denny. Deciding what to do about your gender dysphoria: Some considerations for those who are thinking about sex reassignment. (AEGIS transition series).
  • Dallas Denny. Deciding what to do about your gender dysphoria: Some considerations for those who are thinking about sex reassignment. (AEGIS transition series)
  • JoAnn Roberts. Coping With Crossdressing: Tools & Strategies for Partners in Committed Relationships. Creative Design Services.

1992


  • The Trinidad Experience. Ingersoll Gender Centre.
  • Jed Bland. The Dual Role Transvestite: a Unique Form of Identity. Derby TV/TS Group.
  • Jed Bland. The Secret Wardrobe. Derby TS/TV Group.
  • Joanne Altman Stringer. The Transsexual's Survival Guide II: To Transition & Beyond for Family, Friends, & Employers. Creative Design Services.

1993


  • Jed Bland. The Gender Paradox: What it Means to be a Transvestite. Derby TV/TS Group.

1994


  • Jed Bland. Transvestism: Four Monograms. Derby TV/TS Group.
  • Dallas Denny. Identity Management in Transsexualism. Creative Design Services.
  • Sheila Kirk, M.D. Hormonal therapy for the male-to-female transgendered individual. IFGE.
  • JoAnn Roberts. Art & Illusion: A Guide to Crossdressing. 4 volumes. Creative Design Services.

1995


  • Sheila Kirk & Martine Rothblatt. Medical, Legal and Workplace Issues For The Transsexual. Together Lifeworks.

1996


  • Mildred L Brown & Chloe Ann Rounsley. True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism : for Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals. Jossey-Bass.
  • Vernon Coleman. Men in dresses : a study of transvestism/crossdressing. European Medical Journal. 
  • Vernon Coleman. Crossdressing: The Path to Male Emancipation. European Medical Journal.
  • Sheila Kirk, M.D. Masculinizing Hormonal Therapy for the Transgendered, Together Lifeworks.
  • Sheila Kirk, M.D. Feminizing hormonal therapy for the transgendered. Together Lifeworks.

1997


  • Alison Laing. Speaking as a Woman. King of Prussia, PA: Creative Design Services.
  • Alison Laing. Speaking as a Woman. VHS 45 mins.
  • Veronica Vera. Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls. New York: Main Street Books.

1998


  • Kate Bornstein. My Gender Workbook: How to Become the Kind of Man or Woman You Always Thought You Could Be...or Something Else Entirely. Routledge.

2000



  • Vicky Lee. The Tranny Guide. Enfield: Wayout Publishing Co. 336 pp 2000

21 October 2017

Advice Manuals I: 1957-1980

Bibliographies

Canadian (auto)biographies
Hoax biographies
(auto)biographies that are almost unobtainable
French and Belgian (auto) biographies and Histories
Biographies with the pre-transition name in the title 
Advice Manuals I: 1957-1979
Advice Manuals II: 1980-2000
Advice Manuals III: 2001-2017
Non-Fiction Books on other topics by trans authors

When I first started this encyclopedia in 2007 I included a bibliography of books up to that date. Since then the field has exploded and my bibliography became increasingly out of date – although I did include most of the new books for each year in my year-end review each year. I have now taken down the old bibliography, and bit by bit am rebuilding it.

Advice manuals Part I: 1957-1980


There are many advice manuals for different types of trans person. This list is necessarily incomplete.

Inclusion in this list does not imply that I endorse the contents of any item.

In this early period the genre is not defined. The book by Prince, Roberts and Salem are completely different, although some trans women would have read all all them, as there was nothing else at the time.

1957


  • Virginia Prince.  An Introduction to the Subject of Transvestism or Femmiphilia (Cross-Dressing). Foundation for Full Personality Expression.

1967



1971



1973


  • Michael Salem with Leo Wollman. How to impersonate a woman; a handbook for the male transvestite. New York, M. Salem Enterprises.
  • Michael Salem. How to Impersonate a Woman. VHS. US 60 mins. Michael Salem. The video of the book.

1979



  • Paula Grossman. A Handbook for Transsexuals. Broadview Enterprises Inc.

12 October 2017

Leynon (192? – 195?) performer

Leynon, from Mexico, was a well-known performer in US female-impersonation nightclubs in the 1950s. When Perry Desmond was hired for a first chance as a performer at New Orleans’ My-O-My Club in 1956, Leynon stepped in to help Desmond with make-up and costume.

Desmond records that she was viciously murdered in a transphobic hate crime in Mexico a few years later.


  • Perry Desmond & Dr. R. L. Hymers. Perry: A Transformed Transsexual. Impact Christian Books. 2004: 31-2.


Queer Music Heritage.