"ACELEBRATIONOFTRANSAWARENESSWEEK"

By Talia Cangialosi

Happy Transgender Awareness Week! During the 13th through the 19th of November, Transgender Awareness Week is a time spent bringing awareness to the transgender community as well as a time to educate those who know very little about the community. In celebration of this week, I’ve decided to write about the stories of lesser-known transwomen who have made a mark on history.

Lucyandersonhicks

Lucy Hicks Anderson was born 1886 in Waddy, Kentucky, ever since she could remember, she loved to wear dresses and tell her school her name was Lucy If not for her parents taking her to the doctor where they encouraged her parents to raise Lucy as the girl she was, she wouldn’t have grown into the strong woman we learn about today Eventually, Lucy married Clarence Hick and they would move to Oxnard California where Lucy began her career as a chef Not only was she a successful chef but she made a name for herself by throwing extravagant parties for the town’s upper class In fact, they loved Lucy so much that the one time she was arrested for selling liquor during the Prohibition era, her client bailed her out so that she could organize a dinner party he hired her for Although this was the last time Lucy got into trouble with the law, after her secret had been identified by her doctor he outed her to the community

Lucy was forced to face criminal charges with her second husband Reuben Anderson, a retired soldier, claiming they had committed perjury for lying on their marriage license as well as fraud for receiving money as the wife of a soldier While both were charged and served jail time, Lucy is the first trans woman to defend her identity in a court case, saying famous words that “I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman. I have lived, dressed, and acted just what I am a woman ” . Even though she had to serve time, afterward she and her husband moved out of Oxnard and spent the rest of their lives together in Los Angeles until her death in 1954. Lucy Hicks Anderson was a remarkable woman who never let anyone tell her how to live her life. She lived her life exactly how she wanted to and fought for her rights in court. While her story doesn’t have the happy ending she was looking for, she still made an impact on trans people everywhere and her legacy will live on with her courage in mind.