2017 has been a big year for members of the LGBTQ⁺ community.
Same sex marriage was legalised in a number of countries, including Finland, Guernsey, Bermuda and Australia. A study by Cambridge University and Stonewall found that, despite progress still needing to be made, LGBT students felt more accepted at schools in comparison to years previous. In a historic appointment in India, Joyita Mondal made history when she became the country’s first ever transgender judge.
At the same time, however, there was widespread distraught over the rumoured ‘purge’ of gay men in Chechnya, Russia, in which a number of men were allegedly kidnapped and tortured by Russian authorities. In October, Kevin Spacey sparked outrage by awakening old, disgusting and inaccurate stereotypes towards gay men by coming out as homosexual alongside a response to sexual assault allegations. Donald Trump made headlines for all the wrong reasons again when he announced that his government would reverse changes made under Barack Obama to allow transgender people to serve in the military.
Evidently, this year has been a series of considerable ups and downs for those in the community. As allies we have a duty to educate ourselves on the issues faced by those who society continues to ostracise. Here are 11 transgender women who you should know about.
1: Munroe Bergdorf
Munroe is a British model, DJ and social activist who came to the public’s attention earlier this year when just days after she became the face of L’Oreal’s True Match Foundation and one of their leading figures in their diversity campaign, she was suddenly fired after responding to the news that an anti-racist protester had been killed by a white supremacist in Charlottesville, Virginia. Bergdorf has since used the blow as a platform to continue modelling and speaking out about the struggles facing POC and LGBT communities.
Where you can see more of her – Instagram: @munroebergdorf, Twitter: @MunroeBergdorf
2: Carmen Carrera
Since appearing on the third series of the much-loved Rupaul’s Drag Race in 2011, Carrera has juggled work in modelling and activism. She made a cameo appearance on CW’s Jane the Virgin and worked on a documentary concerning the transgender communities of South America. Now, she uses her voice to speak on issues facing trans and Latina women and gives her followers considerable body envy.
Where you can see more of her – Instagram: @camern_carrera, Twitter: @Carmen_Carrera, Snapchat: @carmencarrera
3: Sylvia Rivera
This incredible activist was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance and co-founder, with Marsha P Johnson, of the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), a project targeted at aiding homeless drag queens and trans women of colour. Her activism involved anti-war and second wave feminist movements of the 1960s and presence during the Stonewall Riots of 1969. After battling the substance abuse and homelessness, Sylvia passed away in 2002 and has, amongst many tributes that continue after her death, been coined ‘the Rosa Parks of the modern transgender movement’.
Where you can see more of her – see the dedication she had to her community in the documentary ‘The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson’, which is now on Netflix
4: Christine Jorgensen
A 1950s performmer, Christine Jorgensen was the first widely known person to undergo sex reassignment surgery in the United States, after which she was rocketed to fame when her transition became a front-page story in the New York Daily News. Her case sparked questions over the science of sex, the binary constraints of gender, and how the words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ meant different things. Jorgensen was famed for her wit and candor, and in the months before her death in 1989 said that she had given the sexual revolution a ‘good swift kick in the pants’.
Where you can see more of her – Susan Stryker’s Christine in the Cutting Room
5: Renée Richards
Renée Richards is an ophthalmologist and former tennis player. After disclosing her gender reassignment, multiple tennis associations announced a mandate that required female competitors to undergo genetic screening in order to ‘verify’ their gender. The American sued the United States Tennis Association for violating the New York Human Rights law by discriminating against her gender. In 1977 she proved victorious when the New York Supreme court ruled in favour of transsexual rights. That year, after enduring chromosome testing and being boycotted by the media, sports officials, and her fellow players, she entered the competition now known as the US Open.
Where you can see more of her – in her autobiographies Second Serve and No Way Renée: The Second Half of My Notorious Life and in the documentary film Renée (2011)
6: Lili Elbe
Lili Ilse Elvenes was a Danish woman and one of the first known recipients of reassignment surgery. Her wife was Gerda Gottlieb, an artist who asked Elbe to dress in women’s clothing in order to fill in for an absent model. Gottlieb became famous for her artworks featuring beautiful women painted in the art nouveau style. The inspiration behind these images, Lili died in 1931 after complications involving a uterus transplant, an experimental procedure at the time.
Where you can see more of her – her autobiography Man into Woman, The Danish Girl (2015) adapted from David Ebershoff’s novel of the same name
7: Nikita Dragun
This self-proclaimed ‘Mother of Draguns’ is a makeup artist, beauty guru and Youtuber. Dragun has documented her transition on Youtube and says her openness is about helping people going through similar experiences to her. She has built up her following on her social media platforms and now has just short of 800,000 subscribers on her channel
Where you can see more of her – Youtube: Nikita Dragun, Instagram: @nikita_dragun
8: Venus Xtravaganza
Venus was an American performer, who was a prominent figure on the ball scene of New York City, in which Latino, African-American, gay and transgender communities competed. She was an aspiring model and dubbed an ‘impossible beauty’ on the New York circuit. At the age of 23, Venus was found strangled in a hotel in New York. Her killer has never been found, but many suspect that she was murdered by a male partner who discovered she was not a cisgender woman.
Where you can see more of her – Paris is Burning Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary film, ‘Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion’ – scholarly article by Judith Butler
9: Amanda Lepore
This former Club Kid is a model, singer and performer. She has featured in many companies’ advertising campaigns and has worked with photographers such as David LaChapelle, Ruben van Schalm and Terry Richardson. Lepore is well known for her extensive plastic surgery and has made a career out of her unique appearance.
Where you can see more of her – Instagram: @amandalepore, Twitter: @Amanda_Lepore
10: Marsha P Johnson
Marsha P Johnson was a self-identified drag queen, gay liberation activist and, like Sylvia Rivera, founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and S.T.A.R. She is cited by many New Yorkers as being one of the vanguard fighting against the police during the Stonewall riots. Shortly after the 1992 Pride March Johnson was reported missing, her body later found floating in the Hudson River. Police initially ruled her death as a suicide, but friends and the local community insisted she was not suicidal and noted the considerable wound she had suffered to the head. They called for a proper investigation, but to this day the activist’s death remains a mystery. Unsurprisingly, Johnson continues to be honoured as a pioneer of LGBT rights.
Where you can see more of her – The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson (on Netflix), Pay it No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson Michael Kasino and Richard Morrison’s 2012 documentary, Stonewall (2015) and Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2016)
11: Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox is an actress and LGBT activist from America. She is a woman of firsts: the first openly transgender person to win a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer, the first to have a wax figure of herself displayed at Madame Tussauds and the first to appear on the cover of Time magazine. Her achievements are extensive and she has been praised for using her celebrity status to act as a pioneer for her LGBT peers and the transgender community.
Where you can see more of her –Orange Is The New Black, Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word (2014), The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again (2016)
HCX believes LGBTQ+ rights are one of the most important and under-discussed issues of our world. We hope these inspirational transgender women are just the beginning of an amazing journey towards a more just and equal society.