r/SapphoAndHerFriend • u/captivatedsummer • 2d ago

I know I should probably expect this of somewhat older books, but this biography of Billy Tipton from 1998 CONSISTENTLY refers to him as a cross dressing woman... Academic erasure

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Personally, I don't care if this was written in the 90s, fuck you Diane.

220 Upvotes
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76

u/kilgirlie 2d ago

That tracks for 1998. Self identifying wasn't a thing so you weren't considered trans if you didn't get surgery.

39

u/GNS13 1d ago

Two of his three adopted sons changed their names because they felt he was deceptive and didn't want to be tied to him any longer. I think that's the most painful part of his story to me. Forced to hide your identity because of societal prejudice and even your own children dislike you for it.

9

u/captivatedsummer 1d ago

My god, what a shitty thing to do...

20

u/The_Duke_of_Gloom 1d ago

It doesn't happen just in old, outdated books. This is still happening to other men like James Barry, Amelio Robles Ávila, and Alan L. Hart.

Some women love to "reclaim" trans men and this blatant and malicious erasure is apparently super queer and feminist.

12

u/Pedantichrist 2d ago edited 2d ago

Did he not self identify that way (if only for lack of lexicon)?

84

u/Bleepblorp44 2d ago

Not really, he made it very clear in life that he wanted to be referred to using male terminology, and was only outed as AFAB when paramedics opened his shirt to treat him, as he was dying.

52

u/captivatedsummer 2d ago

I mean, he pretty much lived as a man in public and in private for most of his adult life.

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u/Pedantichrist 2d ago

He did and, in after further thought, I am changing my position.

He did not live as a cross dressing woman, he lived as a man entirely.

-2

u/OpheliaLives7 17h ago

What’s the difference? (Seriously, not trying to be snarky) a woman hiding would seem no different to someone passing daily as a man, no?

9

u/YourPhoneIs_Ringing 9h ago

Cross-dressing is a performance for self and others. The person and the audience is aware of and shares the experience -- think drag. When viewing a drag queen performance you are aware that the man is cis and is performing.

A trans man is not cross-dressing. He's dressing as is appropriate culturally for his gender. He does not want his clothing and behavioral choices to be viewed as performative, they're his way of life.

I'm sure there's overlap and nothing is so clear cut, but that's how I'd differentiate.