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“It’s easier to change a body than to change a mind.” – Roberta Cowell . Picture: Roberta Cowell (April 8, 1918 - October 11, 2011), London, United Kingdom, c. 1962. . Six years ago, as Matthew Bell of The Independent wrote in a 2013 article, “a 93-year-old woman died alone. She was found lying on the bedroom floor of her sheltered-housing accommodation in West London. The flat was so cluttered that the wardens struggled to remove her body. Half-a-dozen people attended the cremation, and news of her death did not spread beyond Twickenham. This is not how Roberta Cowell should be remembered. Yet, in a way, it was the ending she chose, after leading one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th century. Before withdrawing from the world, she had been a racing driver, a Spitfire pilot, and a prisoner of war.” . Roberta Cowell, a trans pioneer who was born ninety-nine years ago today, also was the first known person in Britain, and among the first in the world, to undergo gender affirming surgery. . In 1952, the media attention paid to Christine Jorgensen introduced the world to the concept of “sex reassignment,” although the press conflated the ideas of sex assignment, gender identity, and sexual orientation; consequently, stories almost always linked the stereotypical effeminacy of homosexual men with the “desire” to “become” a woman. Cowell's story threw a wrench in that narrative, however, as she had fathered children, raced cars, and was decorated in World War II, all of which fit stereotypes of traditional heterosexual masculinity. . In 1954, Cowell sold her story to Picture Post magazine and enjoyed some celebrity for a short period. . In the years that followed, however, Cowell struggled financially and, later in life, she became a recluse. Per her instructions, as Bell’s article references, Cowell's October 2011 death went unreported, and only a handful of people attended her burial. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #RobertaCowell

#lgbthistory #robertacowell #haveprideinhistory

#Repost @lgbt_history with @repostapp ・・・ “It’s easier to change a body than to change a mind.” – Roberta Cowell . Picture: Roberta Cowell (April 8, 1918 - October 11, 2011), London, United Kingdom, c. 1962. . Six years ago, as Matthew Bell of The Independent wrote in a 2013 article, “a 93-year-old woman died alone. She was found lying on the bedroom floor of her sheltered-housing accommodation in West London. The flat was so cluttered that the wardens struggled to remove her body. Half-a-dozen people attended the cremation, and news of her death did not spread beyond Twickenham. This is not how Roberta Cowell should be remembered. Yet, in a way, it was the ending she chose, after leading one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th century. Before withdrawing from the world, she had been a racing driver, a Spitfire pilot, and a prisoner of war.” . Roberta Cowell, a trans pioneer who was born ninety-nine years ago today, also was the first known person in Britain, and among the first in the world, to undergo gender affirming surgery. . In 1952, the media attention paid to Christine Jorgensen introduced the world to the concept of “sex reassignment,” although the press conflated the ideas of sex assignment, gender identity, and sexual orientation; consequently, stories almost always linked the stereotypical effeminacy of homosexual men with the “desire” to “become” a woman. Cowell's story threw a wrench in that narrative, however, as she had fathered children, raced cars, and was decorated in World War II, all of which fit stereotypes of traditional heterosexual masculinity. . In 1954, Cowell sold her story to Picture Post magazine and enjoyed some celebrity for a short period. . In the years that followed, however, Cowell struggled financially and, later in life, she became a recluse. Per her instructions, as Bell’s article references, Cowell's October 2011 death went unreported, and only a handful of people attended her burial. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #RobertaCowell

#robertacowell #haveprideinhistory #repost #lgbthistory

Roberta Cowell (April 8, 1918 - October 11, 2011), London, United Kingdom, 1962. Photo by Henry Bush. Among other things, Roberta Cowell, who died five years ago today, was a competitive race-car driver, a front-line Royal Air Force pilot and instructor, and a successful businessperson; she also was Britain's first known trans woman to undergo gender affirming surgery. In 1952, the media attention paid to Christine Jorgensen introduced the world to the concept of "sex reassignment," although the press conflated the ideas of sex assignment, gender identity, and sexual orientation; consequently, stories almost always linked the stereotypical effeminacy of homosexual men with the "desire" to "become" a woman. Roberta Cowell's story, however, threw a wrench in that narrative, as Cowell fathered children, raced cars, and was decorated in World War II, all of which fit into stereotypes of traditional heterosexual masculinity. In 1954, Cowell sold her story to Picture Post magazine and enjoyed some celebrity for a short period. In the years that followed, however, Cowell struggled financially and, later in life, she became a recluse. Per her instructions, Cowell's October 2011 death went unreported, and only a handful of people attended her burial. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #QueerHistoryMatters #HavePrideInHistory #RobertaCowell #TransIsBeautiful #Transcestors #RememberTheT (at London, United Kingdom)

#lgbthistory #haveprideinhistory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #robertacowell #lgbttheirstory #lgbtherstory #transcestors #rememberthet #transisbeautiful

Roberta Cowell (April 8, 1918 - October 11, 2011), Picture Post magazine, London, United Kingdom, March 13, 1954. Roberta Cowell's accomplishments included being a competitive race-car driver, a front-line Royal Air Force pilot and instructor, and a successful businessperson; she was also Britain's first known transwoman to undergo gender affirming surgery. In 1952, the media attention paid to Christine Jorgensen introduced the world to the concept of "sex reassignment," although the press conflated the ideas of sex assignment, gender identity, and sexual orientation; consequently, stories almost always linked the stereotypical effeminacy of homosexual men with the "desire" to "become" a woman. Roberta Cowell's story, however, threw a wrench in that narrative, as Cowell had fathered children, raced cars, and been decorated in World War II, all of which smacked of traditional heterosexual masculinity. In 1954, Cowell sold her story to Picture Post magazine (pictured), though she fell on hard times in the years that followed. Later in life, she became a recluse. Per her instructions, her October 2011 death went unreported, and only a handful of people attended her burial. Roberta Cowell would turn ninety-nine today. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #gay #bi #lesbian #trans #pride #robertacowell #transcestor #transisbeautiful #remembertheT #wevebeenaround (at London, United Kingdom)