Lucy Hicks Anderson
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Lucy Hicks Anderson | |
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Born | 1886 Los Angeles, California , U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Socialite, chef, hostess |
Spouses | Clarence Hicks
(m. 1920; div. 1929)Reuben Anderson (m. 1944) |
Lucy Hicks Anderson (
Early life
Lucy Lawson was born in Waddy, Kentucky in 1886 as the child of Bill (b. 1849 in KY) and Nancy Lawson (b. 1851 in KY).[2][4] From a very early age, Anderson was adamant that she was not male, identifying as female in a time period before the term transgender existed,[5] and naming herself Lucy.[6] Doctors told Anderson's parents to let her live as a young woman, so they did, and she began wearing dresses to school and being known as Lucy.[7][8]
Marriages and time in Oxnard
At the age of 15, Anderson left school and did domestic work as a means to support herself.
Trials
In 1945, a sailor claimed that he caught a
During the her trial for perjury, she stated "I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman," and "I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am, a woman."[8] However, the court convicted her of perjury on her marriage license and sentenced her to 10 years of probation.[9] At the time, marriage in the United States was only considered legally valid if between a man and a woman, and as Anderson was considered a man, the marriage was declared invalid.[8] As a result, the federal government charged her with fraud for receiving the financial allotments wives of soldiers got under the GI Bill,[9] and initially also with failing to register for the draft, until she proved she had been too old to register.[8] In this trial, she and Reuben were found guilty and sentenced to a men's prison, where Anderson was forbidden by court order to wear women's clothes.[6][8]
Death and legacy
After being released from prison, Anderson was barred from returning to Oxnard by the police chief, who threatened further prosecution.[8] She and Reuben relocated to Los Angeles, where they resided quietly until her death in 1954,[6][8][11] at 68.[5]
The Handbook of LGBT Elders calls Anderson "one of the earliest documented cases of an African-American transgender person".[9]
One episode of the HBO TV series Equal is based on the life of Anderson.[14]
See also
- African-American LGBT community
- Transgender rights in the United States
- History of transgender people in the United States
Further reading
- C. Riley Snorton, Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (2017), chapter on Anderson
References
- ^ Lewis, Taylor. "Learn the Inspiring True Story of Black Trans Pioneer Lucy Hicks Anderson". Essence.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ a b "Hicks, Lucy L. [Tobias Lawson] · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ISBN 9781615371136. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "Lucy Hicks Anderson". Legacy Project Chicago. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
- ^ a b Leonard, Kevin (2007-06-27). "Anderson, Lucy Hicks [Tobias Lawson] (1886-1954)". The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ a b c d e Lester Fabian Brathwaite, The Fountainheads: Lucy Hicks Anderson, Mother of Marriage Equality and Transgender Rights Archived 2020-02-06 at the Wayback Machine, October 12, 2018, NewNowNext
- OCLC 1008768117.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Anita Sarkeesian, Ebony Adams, History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know Archived 2020-06-11 at the Wayback Machine (2018), page 31
- ^ ISBN 9783319036236. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ ISBN 1387846353), page 58: "She later moved to Texas, then to New Mexico, where she married Clarence Hicks, then to California" (also has 1886 birth year).
- ^ OCLC 1008757426.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ Roush, Matt (20 October 2020). "Roush Review: Giving 'Equal' Time to Gay-Rights Pioneers". TV Insider. Retrieved 2022-07-20.