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Showing posts with label sportswriter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sportswriter. Show all posts

04 September 2015

Donna Gee (1949–) sports writer, journalist

Gerry Greenberg was raised by a Jewish family in Caerphilly, Wales. His mother died of polio when he was six, and he was then sent to boarding school until father remarried.

His first job at age 16 was with the Pontypridd Observer weekly newspaper, where he gave singer Tom Jones his first write-up. He married and they had two daughters.
"I was in denial in public, but privately became a woman at any opportunity. I kept a bag of [women's] clothes in the garden shed that I took with me on assignment, and would dress up in the privacy of hotel rooms. Even though I knew there were many others like me out there, I was paranoid about being caught."
One time in the 1970s, Gerry's wife dressed him up as a woman for fun, but realized that it turned him on. She went to the doctor, and said that he was gay. They did not talk about it again for many years.

Gerry worked for the Express newspapers until 1976 when he moved to Manchester to work for the Jewish Chronicle and the Manchester Jewish Gazette. He then became part of the team that launched the new tabloid paper, The Daily Star in 1978 (again an Express newspaper), which was designed to use spare capacity on the Manchester presses. Gerry became the Star's rugby correspondent.

In 1992 Gerry wrote England Rugby star Wade Dooley's autobiography.

In 1997 Gerry searched 'transgender' and 'Manchester' on the Internet and found a local group. Regular e-mail exchanges followed until Gerry's wife noticed, and when she realized what was going on, she gave him a spare lipstick. Together they attended meetings and socials for trans people.
"It was stressful being two people. In time, I realized that my ultimate dream was to become a woman".
Greenberg's boss found out from an anonymous e-mail in 1999. A rumour went around that a sub-editor was changing. A betting book was opened on the identity.
"If only I’d known I was listed as a 40-1 outsider, my winnings could have paid for my surgery!"
After an initial consultations with Russell Reid,    Gerry wrote to workmates while on holiday in Israel, and became Donna Gee. The daughters, now in their thirties were accepting as were the five grandchildren.

Donna worked as a sub-editor for Metro, and the northern sports desk of The Sunday People. She had full sex affirmation in 2003. She also had electrolysis, breast augmentation, a facelift, her adam’s apple reduced and an eye lift in her quest to be a proper female. In all she paid £25,000.

In 2006 Donna and wife retired to Spain, although still doing work for papers in Manchester and Israel. They initially told the neighbours in Spain that they were cousins, but the kids visited and the neighbours asked which one was the mother to which and it became easier to tell the truth which was accepted.

She is working on her own autobiography.
GrumpyOldGran   LinkedIn    ScribblingInTheSun
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24 November 2014

Catherine McGregor (1956–) soldier, cricketer, sports writer, political aide.

Malcolm grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland, in a Catholic family. He was eight when his father died, and shorty afterwards he tried on his mother's clothes. He was a successful boy, at humanities and at cricket, at a Christian Brothers high school. He always wanted to be a soldier.

He enlisted at 18, and chose to go into the infantry, where he met David Morrison. He was known for his drinking and getting into fights.

However after a promotion, he left and joined the New South Wales Labor Party, and became press secretary to Bob Carr, then leader of the opposition. At this time Malcolm encountered Tony Abbott, who was making a name for himself in the Liberal Party, on a rugby field. In 1985 McGregor sought medical help and was offered a diagnosis of being transgender. He started going out as a woman, but lost his nerve and drank instead. He managed to stop, but had a major falling out with the Labor Party.

Malcolm went to work with the Federal Liberal Party for the 1993 election where John Hewson lost, despite expectations, to Labor's Paul Keating. 18 months later McGregor was involved in the leaking of internal polling that showed how unpopular Hewson was, and this led to Hewson being replaced.

Malcolm "having burnt my bridges with both political Parties" then became a media political commentator, and also joined the Army Reserve. After 911 he rejoined the Regular Army.
At this time Malcolm found a woman that he loved, and they married. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was working as advisor and speechwriter for Lieutenant General David Morrison, who was now the Chief of the Army.

He had a second career as a cricket commentator for The Spectator.

In October 2011, McGregor read a magazine article about Westerly Windina in The Sun Herald, and this enabled him to tell his therapist that he was transgender.

In 2012 McGregor was awarded the Order of Australia, and discussed his gender issues with the chief, who refused twice to accept a resignation. McGregor's book, An Indian Summer of Cricket, came out under Malcolm's name, and in the final chapter she announces her impending transition. Tony Abbott reviewed it, and lauded her courage. She separated from her wife and transitioned as Catherine (Cate) "rhymes with mate'.


Cate & Tony in the ABC Radio commentary booth
In general both army and cricket associates were supportive, but there were a few negative remarks, which led to spats on social media until Morrison counselled her that such was not to happen again.

In 2014 Catherine was featured on ABC's Australian Story, introduced by her old mate Tony Abbott, now Prime Minister. Catherine transferred to the Air Force. She now writes about cricket for the Australian Financial Review. She is senior delegate for women’s cricket in the armed services, and helps select the Australian prime minister’s sides, as his representative, that play touring teams. Catherine is on good terms with her ex-wife.

*Not the academic at UVic, nor the NZ journalist, nor the actress.
EN.WIKIPEDIA     Pinnacle

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05 September 2014

Brigitte Boréale (1963–) broadcaster, sports journalist.

Brigitte is a presenter, journalist and television actress on Pink TV, the French gay channel, where she does sports programs.

She has had a few small parts in films. In July 2011, her daughter Morgane appeared on the reality television program Secret Story, where her secret was that "Mon père s'appelle Brigitte".
IMDB   FR.WIKIPEDIA
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07 August 2014

Christina Kahrl (196? - ) sports writer, activist.

Original November 2008; updated July 2014.

Chris Kahrl was raised near Sacramento.  Kahrl did a history AB at the University of Chicago in 1990, married a woman and was divorced, and did an MA at Loyola University in 2000.

Kahrl started on hormones in 2002, transitioned socially 2003, and professionally 2004.

Christina is a sports-writer for many US publications including Sports Illustrated, and Playboy. She is co-writer of the revered Baseball Prospectus website and book series, with its pioneering statistical analyses. She is also an associate editor of The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.

She counseled fellow sports writer Christine Daniels when the latter announced her own transition in 2007.  She is also friends with Bobbie Dittmeier, another trans sports writer.

In 2010 the HBO program Real Sports devoted a program to Christina, Bobbie Dittmeier and Christine Daniels, following Christine's suicide the previous year. 

In 2010 Ross forman quoted Christina: "I consider myself immensely fortunate because of the women who did have the courage to come out [ before me, ].  They made life so much easier for people such as me who transitioned [ after them. ] Sure, the challenges are still there, but there is so much more knowledge."  

 Since 2007 Christina has been active as a speaker for trans persons and against police harassment in the Chicago area.  She is also a board member for Equality Illinois.  In 2013 she was named to the bord of directors of GLAAD.   

In April 2014, Kahrl was a co-signer with 350+ others who protested against Calpernia Addams, Andrea James and many others who had come out in earlier decades.  She has also campaigned to make 'tranny' a slur word. 
 EN.WIKIPEDIA     GLAAD    
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Several articles mention Kahrl, Dittmeier,  Daniels as if they are the set of trans sportswriters.   This is to ignore Pip Wherrett, Patti Dawn Swansson, Juliet Jacques, Brigitte Boréale, Cate McGregor.  

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    11 February 2011

    Pip Wherrett (1936 - 2009) motorsports journalist, racing driver, broadcaster.

    Peter Wherrett's father was a pharmacist in West Ryde, Sydney, NSW, a secretive cross-dresser, a wife abuser, an epileptic.
     Peter learned to drive at age 12. In 1958 he complained to various newspapers about the lack of motorsport coverage, and was hired by The Sydney Morning Herald to do just that. In 1967 he set up Australia's first post-licence driver training school. He drove in the 1969 Bathurst 1000 race for Mazda, in 1970 for Ford, and in 1974,75 and 76 for Alfa Romeo.

    From 1973 to 1980 he hosted and co-wrote Torque, a popular television show about motoring. He was also a member of the cross-dressing Seahorse Society at this time. In 1981, Peter having complained about Mitsubishi's GH Sigma, Mitsubishi produced 1016 cars based on his improved design. In the 1980s he explored alternate energies for the television series The Balance of Power. In 1985 he was caught driving under the influence of alcohol. In the 1990s he was the motoring guru for Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.

    In 1997 he wrote a family history with his gay brother Richard, the theatre director, in which he discussed his and his father's cross-dressing. In 2006 Peter and his third wife divorced amicably. After a decade of not cross-dressing, he joined the Tranny Radio Chat Room and started socializing in the cross-dressing community again.

    As a woman at age 70, as Pip, she went to live at Lake Macquarie, NSW to be close to friends that she had made in the Tranny Radio Chat Room. Pip completed a book on cross dressing that he had been researching for some years, and continued as a woman until she died two years later. She described this as "my last great achievement". She suffered from prostate cancer, and collapsed at the 2008 Seahorse Ball, dying later in hospital.
    EN.WIKIPEDIA
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    Richard Wherrett staged Gordon Chater’s play, The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin, about a transvestite elocution teacher.
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    22 January 2011

    Patti Dawn Swansson (1950–) sports writer.

    Pat Doyle knew from his abusive father that he was not supposed to wear dresses, so he learned to to hide them. "It was suffocating. Imagine yourself six feet under, in a casket, and knowing that you're alive, but nobody else knows you're alive. They think you're dead."

    Pat and Patti, both
    He grew up to have three failed marriages, and became a respected sports writer for the Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, Calgary Sun, Winnipeg Sun and Winnipeg Tribune. He covered major sports events, including Super Bowls, Major League Baseball, the Stanley Cup playoffs, world championship boxing, the PGA Tour, professional tennis, and once hosted his own radio talk show in Winnipeg.

    At the beginning of the new century, Pat moved to Victoria, BC, and she started transition in 2008, with surgery in 2009. "I'm finally living, The transition was absolute joy. A beautiful, beautiful, beautiful thing."

    She is working at a couple of part-time jobs, and still does some sports writing. She has also written a book about her life.
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