[Magdalen] Christine Jorgensen

[Allan Carr]

The news about  Caitlin Jenner made me wonder when Christine Jorgensen
became the first person I had ever heard of going through surgery to effect
a transition from male to female. She travelled to Denmark and obtained
permission to take female hormones and then a series of reassignment
operations beginning with an orchiectomy (castration) on September 24, 1951.

In a letter to friends dated October 8, 1951, she wrote "Remember the
shy,miserable person who left America? Well, that person is no more , and,
as you can see, I'm in marvelous spirits."

In November, 1952, she had a penectomy. On December 1, 1952, the New York
Daily News published a story "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Bombshell" which
immediately caused a sensation, which I remember well. I was 21 and was
in my second year in the US Army.

Those were not accepting days, over sixty years ago. Nevertheless, she was
a courageous spokesperson for transgender people for the rest of her life.

She later had a vaginoplasty in the USA. In the 70s and 80s she toured
university campuses and other venues to speak about her experiences and
also worked as an actress and entertainer. She was charming, witty and
direct. She died in 1989.





-- 
Allan Carr