One From the Vaults

Trans historian and executive producer of HBO's Legendary, Sydney Baloue, joins us to talk about the many histories of the vogue/ballroom scene, trans men in ballroom, and dance as a form of history and ancestral veneration. https://www.sydneybaloue.com/ https://legendsofvogue.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sydneybaloue/

What do witches, LSD, and aliens have to do with trans rights?? In this week's episode of One From the Vaults, we head to Miami Beach to tell the story of the largest international trans activist network of the 1970s and their larger than life leader, Angela Douglas. Sources: Triple Jeopardy by Angela Douglas (1983) https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/bh030020 https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/bh030019 https://zagria.blogspot.com/2015/07/history-of-tao-part-3-aftermath.html https://zagria.blogspot.com/2007/06/angela-douglas-1943-2007-musician.html#obituary The Transsexual Empire by Janice Raymond (1979) https://www.transadvocate.com/transphobic-radical-hate-didnt-start-with-brennan-the-sandy-stone-olivia-records-controversy_n_4112.htm https://zagria.blogspot.com/2015/07/history-of-tao-part-2-1972-82-tao-in.html https://www.aclufl.org/news/florida-was-once-trans-activist-hub/ Moonshadow and Mirage newsletters by TAO AJ Lewis’s essay in Trap Door https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRFcCfw2I_4

In this week's episode of One From the Vaults, I sit down with historian Jules Gill-Peterson — author of Histories of the Transgender Child and A Short History of Transmisogyny — to talk about the question of whether there is a history of anti-transgender discrimination, antebellum cross-dressing, and what's at stake politically in the friction between transsexual and transgender positions. You can follow Jules' substack, The Long Transition, at https://sadbrowngirl.substack.com/

One from the Vaults is back for a Tenth Anniversary Special! In this episode, we explore the life of tarot master, comic writer, and 1970s trans activist Rachel Pollack! Sources: 78 Degrees of Wisdom (1980) by Rachel Pollack “Pandora’s Bust” (1971) by Rachel Pollack The Body of the Goddess (1997) by Rachel Pollack Beatrix Gates (2018) by Rachel Pollack Conversations with Roz Kaveney (2018-present) Tranny Central (2024, 2026) by Jaye Hudson My Life with Dali by Amanda Lear https://rachelpollack.com/reviews/interviewwilkes.html https://archive.org/details/transsistersjou1995unse_1/page/46/mode/2up https://web.archive.org/web/20050626175809/http://vertigo.vurt.net/20qpolla.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20121207105925/http://www.angelfire.com/nm/spiritualwarrier/index.562.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060208223448/http://www.tarotforlife.com/Newsletter/TFLNewsletter_2.pdf https://www.tcj.com/one-of-the-things-they-definitely-are-is-queer-an-interview-with-rachel-pollack/ https://fantasticmetropolis.com/i/pandoras-bust https://theheroines.blogspot.com/2013/12/interview-with-rachel-pollack.html https://civilianreader.com/2014/06/25/an-interview-with-rachel-pollack/ https://natfluence.com/interview/rpollack/ https://theracket.news/p/my-aunt-rachel https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/17/rachel-pollack-obituary https://xtramagazine.com/culture/rachel-pollack-womens-spirituality-257312 https://web.archive.org/web/20230414000409/https://lgbthealth.org.uk/blog/interview-rachel-pollack/ https://www.upstatediary.com/rachel-pollack https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/380-spring-2009/rachel-pollack-willing-change-everything/ https://lilith.org/articles/debut-81/

A special episode LIVE from Camp Trans UK! Listen to the sounds of the wind in the trees and the smoke of a camp fire getting in my face as OFTV tells the story of the original Camp Trans. Works Cited: https://www.camp-trans.org/pages/ct-history.html http://eminism.org/michigan/faq-protest.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Womyn%27s_Music_Festival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Trans#2010_festivals https://www.transadvocate.com/how-terf-violence-inspired-camp-trans_n_14413.htm https://www.transadvocate.com/michigan-womyns-music-festival_n_8943.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20140117075803/http://zinelibrary.info/files/PABA6.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20101129014722/http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node%252F11968 http://transwomenbelonghere.blogspot.com/ http://transwomenbelonghere.blogspot.com/2013/05/envisioning-inclusive-michfest-thoughts.html

In this double-length episode, OFTV speaks to trans historian Abram J. Lewis about TAO (Transsexual Action Organization), about oral history work, and about how magic, witchcraft, and "unreason" intersect with the emergence of Gay Liberation and early trans organizations. AJ Lewis is a post doctoral fellow at Grinnell College in Iowa, and the co-founder of the NYC Trans Oral History Project, a partnership with the New York Public Library system.

This month OFTV presents a special interview with archivist Librada González Fernández of the Cubanecuir archive! Librada is a young trans woman based in NYC and Miami who is pulling together the stories and ephemera of queer and trans Cubans, both on the island and in the diaspora! She joins OFTV to talk Cuban queer history, the ethics of archival work, being a trans person working in history. You can follow the archive @cubanecuir on Instagram and Twitter!

To celebrate five years of One From the Vaults, this year I'll be presenting a series of interviews with artists, filmmakers, writers, and historians working on trans history. First up is the brilliant and beautiful artist Zackary Drucker, co-director of the new HBO docuseries The Lady and the Dale, which tells the wild story of 1970s icon Liz Carmichael!

This month's episode of OFTV follows the life of a gender non-conforming mystic who lead an early insurgency in the Haitian Revolution! Works cited: The Priest and the Prophetesse (2018) by Terry Rey Des hommes et des dieux (2002) Sex and the Empire That is No More (1994) by J. Lorand Matory Mama Lola: a Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn (1991) by Karen McCarthy Brown

In this episode of OFTV, we follow Steve Dain - teacher of the year, and later mentor to Lou Sullivan - in his fight for the right to keep teaching after his sex change! Works Cited: http://revolution.berkeley.edu/steve-dain-teacher-transitions/ https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/eastbaytimes/obituary.aspx?n=steve-dain&pid=96301343 https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/k930bx11b https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whatsexami https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//292479/online_extra:_emeryville_street_to_be_named_for_fired_trans_gym_teacher?fbclid=IwAR1o_L7_3dIykRc5kVijDviKC_ZsPvmInN0bLxQWMDz7kUJImLSmS2EFr-c https://www.ebar.com/news/news//277848 http://transgroupblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/rip-steve-dain-ftm-pioneer.html http://revolution.berkeley.edu/steve-dain-outcome-1978/#menu-main-nav

In our first episode for 2020, OFTV looks at the tumultuous life of early gender clinic patient, sex worker-turned businesswoman Patricia Morgan! Works cited: https://zagria.blogspot.com/2009/08/patricia-morgan-1939-sex-worker.html#.Xj_4lhP7SRs https://archive.org/details/drag414unse/page/n1/mode/2up https://www.newspapers.com/image/65480016/ https://archive.org/details/femalemimics13unse/page/4/mode/2up

In our very first HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, OFTV looks at the all-too-brief story of a Vicar, a ghost, and a veil! Join us this All Hallow's Eve for a chilling tale from trans history! Works Cited: https://archive.org/details/venuscastinafamobull/page/248 https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/history/somersets-most-unusual-ghost-storya-1208123 https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_woman_in_black_the_strange_story_of_a_crossdressing_ghost http://www.strangehistory.net/2016/05/04/transvestite-vicar-ghost-interwar-england/ https://zagria.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2019-09-21T11:59:00-04:00&max-results=4#.XbV_1UX7SRt https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Stryker-My-Words-to-VF.pdf

A sneak peek of the new bonus episode available to our Patrons over at Patreon.com/oftv.

In this episode, we take a look at artist, sculptor, and dollmaker Greer Lankton - muse to Nan Goldin and other downtown luminaries! Works Cited: https://www.documentjournal.com/2014/10/doll-parts-hilton-als-recalls-some-of-his-most-poignant-memories-of-artist-greer-lankton/ https://www.artforum.com/interviews/lia-gangitano-discusses-the-first-new-york-retrospective-of-greer-lankton-48864 https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-1980s-icon-greer-lankton-explored-glamour-gender-eerie-dolls https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/greerlankton/greer4.html&date=2009-10-25+23:30:47 https://web.archive.org/web/20110210012137/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_2_38/ai_57475775 http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/morton/morton1-26-07.asp

A sneak peak of the latest Patrons-only mini episode! Available at patreon.com/oftv.

In this episode of OFTV, we take a look at the life of burlesque queen Alexandra - The Great 48! Works cited: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/dallas-tx/geraldine-weise-8182441 http://www.lasvegasshowgirlmuseum.com/april-and-alexandra-interview Behind the Burly Q (2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTuGMbNUio0 http://www.queermusicheritage.com/fem-hummell3-3.html https://zagria.blogspot.com/2013/09/gayle-sherman-1940-performer.html#.XJe3hBP7SRs http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/m/APParticle.php?AID=24378&i=22&s=News

A sneak peak of our latest Patrons-only special bonus mini episode! This episode features the life of non-binary painter Gluck!

Indulge in a tale of ill-fated bad boy Harry Allen! Works Cited: https://zagria.blogspot.com/2018/08/harry-allen-1882-1922-musician.html https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/this-week-in-history-1906-the-notorious-nell-pickerell-returns-to-seattle https://crosscut.com/2014/06/nell-pickerell-transgender-youth-knute-berger

In this month's episode, we follow the fabulous life of AIDS outreach worker Adela Vázquez - from her childhood in Camagüey, through the Mariel Boatlift, and onto the streets of San Francisco! Works Cited: Sexile by Jaime Cortez https://www.auntlute.com/cuentamelo https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/cuentamelo-an-oral-history-of-queer-latin-immigrants-in-san-francisco/Content?oid=2826471&showFullText=true https://zagria.blogspot.com/2013/09/adela-vasquez-1958-sex-worker-performer.html#.W2C3QNhKiRs

A sneak peek our latest bonus mini-episode available exclusively to subscribers of our Patreon! Visit Patreon.com/oftv to sign up today!

In this episode, we look at the fabulously embellished life of known liar Rae Bourbon! Works Cited: http://www.coolcatdaddy.com/bourbon.html http://www.coolcatdaddy.com/bourbon-hookers.html http://www.coolcatdaddy.com/bourbon-doc-operat-ja.jpg http://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Rae%20Bourbon%20aka%20Ray%20Bourbon%22 https://www.queermusicheritage.com/drag-bourbon.html https://zagria.blogspot.com/search?q=ray+bourbon#.WxOoDlMvyRs

The Battle of the Femmes Fatale! Check out this new bonus episode for OFTV's patrons over at Patreon.com/OFTV.

In this short episode of OFTV, we take a look at a gonzo story from the headlines of 1975! Join us for the story of the best car never built! Works Cited: https://web.archive.org/web/20060618171208/http://www.automotivechronicles.com/articles/2005/dec/02/1975_05.pdf https://mises.org/library/complete-libertarian-forum-1969-1984 https://jalopnik.com/murder-transsexuals-and-the-price-is-right-the-story-464820740 https://zagria.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/elizabeth-carmichael-1937.html#.WtSqO9MbORs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8uvMlv7Pa8

In this month's episode, OFTV travels to 19th Century Hungary to investigate the life of an early trans man whom psychologists would later use to form their theories about lesbians. Works Cited: Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia Sexualis http://blog.wellcomelibrary.org/2014/01/a-lady-of-masculine-appearance/ https://muse.jhu.edu/article/53005 https://zagria.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/sndor-vay-1866-novelist.html#.WoM2VZO5uRs http://www.academia.edu/6948995/S%C3%A1ndor_Sarolta_Vay_a_gender_bender_in_fin-de-si%C3%A8cle_Hungary

Check out this special previous of the latest bonus mini episode of OFTV, available exclusively to patrons who donate $5 or more per month to our Patreon account over at Patreon.com/OFTV. This episode looks at the life of Mexican revolutionary, socialist, and trans man, Amelio Robles Avila!

OFTV's special two year anniversary episode covers the story of Ralph Kerwineo, whose life sat at the crux of cultural debates around gender, race, and eugenics in the United States during the 1910s. Works Cited: Emily Skidmore's True Sex: the Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the 20th Century (NYU Press, 2017). https://forgottenstories.net/2012/05/10/ralph-kerwineo-one-of-milwaukees-most-charming-women/ https://www.riabrodell.com/cora-anderson-aka-ralph-kerwineo/ http://the-toast.net/2014/04/21/suffragettes-sucked-white-supremacy-womens-rights/

In The Ballad of Dawn and John-Paul, we take a look at the turbulent romance of 1960s white trans woman writer Dawn Langley Simmons and her younger Black husband John-Paul Simmons in the Jim Crow South. Works Cited: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/15/dawn http://www.postandcourier.com/news/local_state_news/dawn-langley-simmons-story-still-makes-waves/article_2ba4d9b9-facf-5bc6-8c55-64415cbd4c89.html https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2009/10/dawn-langley-simmons-1922-2000-part-2.html#.WhsjgbQ-eRs https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/white-writer

Enjoy this sneak peak of the latest bonus mini-episode of OFTV, available exclusively for patrons over at Patreon.com/oftv.

In this episode of OFTV, we get mystical with the life of Georges Marasco - a trans man singer, lion tamer, poet, and stigmatic! Works Cited: http://vintagemedals.webs.com/hal.htm https://archive.org/stream/physicalphenomen007373mbp#page/n219/mode/2up https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2010/12/georges-marasco-1890-lion-tamer.html#.WezGwhNSyRs Paula Kane, Sister Thorn and Catholic Mysticism in Modern America

A sneak peak of this month's bonus episode available exclusively for patrons over at Patreon.com/OFTV. This episode tells the story of the first trans porn star, Jill Monro!

In this episode of OFTV, we'll take a look at the intertwined lives of two trans women as they move through the drag balls of the 1960s, the golden era of porn in the 1970s, and the underground performance art scene of the 1980s! Works Cited: https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2010/08/international-chrysis-1951-1990.html#.Wa1_k9OGORs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q%26A_%28film%29 http://www.hungdevils.com/index.php?/topic/18134-the-transsexual-erotica-archive-of-magazines-and-films-we-need-your-help/page-3 https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/photography/2011/02/12/kim-christys-lost-world?pg=1#article-content http://www.tgforum.com/wordpress/index.php/female-mimics-magazine-part-1-the-early-years/ https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2014/01/kim-christy-1950-usa.html#.Wa1_HNOGORs https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2013/11/sulka-1962-porn-star.html#.Wa1_EtOGORs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whitehouse

In this month's bonus mini-episode, we try to sift fact from fiction in the strange life of Desiré Dubounet and her EPFX machine that can supposedly cure cancer and AIDS. Available now for patrons over at Patreon.com/OFTV.

In this month's OFTV, we look into the mystery surrounding the elusive 1960s Toronto-based chanteuse, Little Jackie Shane! Works Cited: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/searching-for-jackie-shane-rbs-lost-transgender-superstar/article35057998/ https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2017/06/jackie-shane-1940-musician.html#.WWumidPyuRs http://hazlitt.net/longreads/i-bet-your-mama-was-tent-show-queen http://soundcloud.com/elainebanks/the-jackie-shane-story

A sneak peak of our latest bonus mini-episode, available exclusively for our patrons over at Patreon.com/OFTV!

In this special DOUBLE episode of OFTV we took a look at the life of Lou Sullivan - the first gay FTM and the man largely responsible for creating the FTM community as we currently know it. Works Cited: Brice D. Smith's Lou Sullivan: Daring To Be a Man Among Men Stryker & Whittle's Transgender Studies Reader

A sneak peak of the third bonus mini episode available exclusively for patrons over at Patreon.com/oftv! In this episode, we tell the story of the very first trans woman to ever receive hormones.

In this episode of OFTV, we take a look at the Black drag king at the centre of the Stonewall Rebellion. Long thought to have thrown the first punch, this butch spent her life defending the lesbian of the VIllage. Works Cited: Jewel Box Revue programs, 194?-1968, hosted at queermusicheritage.com The research of JD Doyle at queermusicheritage.com Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box, dir. Michelle Parkerson (1987, 1991) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_6W6hEzzFM A Stormé Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgCVNEiOwLs Stonewall Veterans Association http://www.stonewallvets.org/StormeDeLarverie.htm https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/nyregion/28storme.html?_r=2& http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2014/05/27/stonewall-veteran-drag-king-icon-storm%C3%A9-delarverie-dies-93 http://www.afterellen.com/people/77167-an-interview-with-lesbian-stonewall-veteran-storm-delarverie/3

Check out this sneak peak of the latest bonus mini-episode of OFTV available only for our patrons over at Patreon.com/oftv! In this episode, we go back all the way to the 1830s and cover one of the earliest documented trans people in the United States!

In this episode, we take a look at the hard life of the man with three names - a trans man who was forced into making desperate choices in a time before trans identities were readily available! Scandals! Murders! Lies! This story has everything. CW: brief discussion of rape. Works cited:http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/119068057 http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/item/54518 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/falleni-eugenia-12911 http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17470752 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Falleni

Sneak peak of our first bonus mini-episode, available exclusively for our patrons who donate $5 or more to us at Patreon.com/oftv.

Between 1849-1900, 34 cities in 21 states enacted anti-cross dressing laws in the United States. How and why did this happen? Join us as OFTV looks into the racist history of anti-cross dressing laws and tells the scandalous life story of one early trans man who resisted them! Works Cited: Clare Sears, Arresting Dress (2015) Zagria: https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2012/01/jean-bonnet-1849-1876-frog-catcher.html#.WM1c5xIrKRs

This week, OFTV covers early trans activist group COG - North America's first trans organization! Based in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, COG fought against police persecution and for access to healthcare in the late 1960s. Works cited: Susan Stryker, Transgender History Susan Stryker, Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria (documentary) Joanne Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed Suzan Cooke, Woman Born Transsexual. https://womenborntranssexual.com/2009/05/27/ Kirkham and Sagarin, Transsexual in a Formal Organizational Setting (1969) Elliot Blackstone, “MTF Transgender Activism in the Tenderloin, 1966-1975”

This episode focuses on the life of Sir Lady Java! A Black trans civil rights pioneer and performer who fought for the right to work! Works cited: http://transgriot.blogspot.ca/2010/12/sir-lady-java-trans-civil-rights.html https://zagria.blogspot.ca/2013/02/sir-lady-java-1943-performer-activist.html#.WHKC9rYrKRs http://forge-forward.org/2016/02/17/bthm-sir-lady-java/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIXMx0uJxgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue8sSq0FE4w http://www.ebony.com/news-views/trans-trailblazers#axzz4VC9doWmQ

Did trans men exist before the 20th Century? On this week's episode, we go all the way back to 1746 to explore the life of "female husband" Charles, or George, or Mary, or Molly Hamilton! Works cited: http://www.pascalbonenfant.com/18c/newgatecalendar/mary_hamilton.html Baker, S. (1959). Henry Fielding's The Female Husband: Fact and Fiction. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 213-224. Henry Fielding's The Female Husband: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fielding/henry/female-husband/ The work of Alex Sharpe: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2015/12/dark-truth-behind-convictions-gender-fraud

OFTV takes a look at a horrific moment in Canada's trans community that became a turning point in the country's trans history. This episode explores the 1996 triple homicide of Brenda Ludgate, Shawn Jr Keegan, and Deanna Wilkinson, and the community response that followed. Works Cited: http://accozzaglia.ca/ententasmagic/journal/knowledge/10-dead-trans-women-in-toronto/ http://accozzaglia.ca/essay/research/feminism/introducing-hostile-homewood/ http://accozzaglia.ca/essay/research/feminism/sensationalizing-disempowerment/ Queerstory.ca http://www.walnet.org/csis/news/toronto_96/triplemurder.html

OFTV brings our mini-series on the trio of trans Warhol muses to a close with glamour and tragedy of Candy Darling! Works Cited: WarholStars.org Holly Woodlawn: A Low Life in High Heels Craig B Highberger - Superstar in a Housedress Beautiful Darling (documentary)

Part two of our three part series on the trio of trans Warhol muses who inspired Lou Reed's classic song, Walk on the Wild Side! This week, we take an elevator look at the life of Jackie Curtis.

OFTV brings you the first in a three part series on the trio of trans Warhol muses! Holly Woodlawn, trans Puerto Rican Superstar! Works Cited: Superstar in a Housedress, film and book, by Craig Highberger WarholStars.org A Low-Life in High Heels, by Holly Woodlawn https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2007/sep/26/art.theatre

One from the Vaults - trans history podcast looks at the successful life, bizarre death, and continuing afterlife of gospel quartet singer Wilmer Little Axe Broadnax! Works Cited: http://transgriot.blogspot.ca/2013/07/black-trans-history-wilmer-little-axe-m.html http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2014/11/male-and-female-in-christ/ http://ubleproject.tumblr.com/post/29515613795/a-tenor-passes-wilmer-broadnax https://www.facebook.com/UbuntuBiographyProject/posts/578832502280542 http://articles.philly.com/1993-02-05/news/25955189_1_manslaughter-perfect-candidate-battered-woman-syndrome http://transguys.com/profiles/wilmer-little-axe-broadnax http://queermusicheritage-theblog.blogspot.ca/2015/01/willmer-little-axe-broadnax-gospel.html http://www.allmusic.com/artist/golden-echoes-mn0000953229 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Blind_Boys_of_Mississippi

In this episode of OFTV, we'll try to make sense of the confusing life story, or stories, of Canada's "first" transsexual, Dianna Boileau! Works Cited: http://zagria.blogspot.ca/2010/09/dianne-boileau-1930-secretary.html http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/03/27/the-woman-who-was-trans-before-her-time.html Boileau and Cochrane, Behold! I am a Woman! (1972) Let Me Die a Woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADL8Zeotr3c Full CBC interview with Dianna Boileau: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/dianna-canadas-first-sex-change-patient