Self-determination for trans people is nothing new. Sir Ewan Forbes changed the sex on his birth certificate in the 1940s, announced his new name in the newspaper and legally married his wife. His cousin challenged the change for reasons of inheritance, but the judge ruled in Ewan’s favour.
I used to live a few blocks from the Silver Platter. This article fails to mention that the bar already changed hands a few years ago and hasn't been a queer space since then. The historic designation controversy kind of misses the point that we need living queer spaces right now, especially ones that embrace working class and trans clientele, not just plaques and protected buildings. But it's still sad to think about the Platter turning into just another bland, half-empty investment property for some billionaire schmuck who never even set foot in Westlake.
L.A. TACO:
"Westlake’s Oldest Gay Bar Set to be Demolished"
by Lexis-Olivier Ray
No cute bunnies or lambs in my files, I'm afraid. I do, however, have a lot of queer chickens. This is a painting of a hen-cock (c. 1900), a prize fighter, by English artist Herbert Atkinson. 🥚🐥🐔
Lovely colour plate depicting gynandromorph specimens in the collections of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Produced by German entomologist Friedrich Klug in 1829. 🦋 🐞
Just a reminder that, following the Royal Society event in Jan, my article 'Mendel's Closet: Genetics, Eugenics and the Exceptions of Sex in Edwardian Britain' has been made freely available until the end of Feb/LGBTQ+ History Month.
Gynandromorph bordered white moth from Charles Barrett's Lepidoptera of the British Isles (1901). 🦋
At 11am (GMT) next Wednesday (31 Jan) I will be discussing my article 'Mendel's Closet' as part of the Royal Society history of science seminar series. 🏳️🌈 🧬