#transgender-history

#transgender-history

The collection shows how Fernandez used photography to explore and express her gender, identity, and personal life from the 1950s through the 1980s. Materials include photobooth strips, Polaroids, and personal snapshots, often capturing moments with partners, friends, and members of the queer communities she was part of. They offer a glimpse of everyday trans life across several decades, reflecting both private relationships and broader social worlds.

The restaurant, open 24 hours, was popular with trans women and drag queens; they were not welcome in many of the nearby gay bars. Some of them were sex workers, and they could be arrested not only for that but for cross-dressing. One night, a police officer tried to arrest one of Compton's trans patrons on some charge or other, and she responded by throwing hot coffee in his face.

Caldwell stated, 'I thought, 'my career is over,' I was more worried about my husband than I was worried about myself.' Her fears were misplaced as she found support instead of rejection.

To fuel her love of racing, Cowell would sneak into the pits of the Brooklands race circuit, dressed in overalls to help the mechanics.