Interview with Ar’lene D. Lafferty

Ar'lene D. Lafferty is a dedicated transgender activist, educator, and public speaker with over two decades of experience advocating for the rights and well-being of transgender individuals. Throughout her career, Ar'lene has been a passionate voice in the fight for equality, particularly in the areas of employment discrimination, restroom access, and social justice. Having transitioned in the early 1990s, Ar'lene has witnessed firsthand the challenges and barriers faced by transgender people in society, and she has used her own experiences to help others navigate similar struggles. She is a staunch critic of what she refers to as "The Jerry Springer Syndrome," a term she coined to describe the harmful portrayal of transgender people in the media and the ignorance perpetuated by individuals who are heavily influenced by misguided faith and political extremism. According to Ar'lene, these forces fuel the violence and discrimination that transgender people often face, and she has been a vocal advocate for challenging these harmful narratives.

 

In her activism, Ar'lene has also focused on the importance of legal and policy change. She is a strong supporter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and other legislative efforts aimed at ensuring equal rights for transgender individuals. She has highlighted the importance of state-by-state restroom laws, while also recognizing the need for nationwide protections. Ar'lene points to instances of legal victories, such as the prosecution of attackers in the case of a transgender woman in Maryland, as evidence that progress is being made. Ar'lene's work continues to focus on empowering transgender individuals, advocating for policy changes, and pushing for greater acceptance and equality in society. Her message is clear: while there is still much work to be done, the road to progress is being paved by those who are willing to stand up, speak out, and demand the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

 

Monika: Ar'lene, welcome to my blog! I have to ask right off the bat, how does it feel to wear that word, "icon"?

Ar'lene: Hello Monika and Darling Friends, Sisters and Brothers. I never thought I was a community "icon". Thank you for the honor! It makes me feel proud and willing to do more for our "Trans-family".

Monika: So, what's keeping you busy these days?

Ar'lene: These days, I'm writing my autobiography, a task that has proven highly difficult for me, since I have a lot of impasses to work through. All my reasons for those impasses will be revealed in the book.

Monika: Let's start from the beginning, where did you grow up?

Ar'lene: I was first raised in Chicago. At age fifteen (15), my family and I moved to Los Angeles after a vacation visit. We spent the first few weeks in Hollywood until my parents found an apartment in Sherman Oaks, a community in the San Fernando Valley.

You might say I became a 'Valley Girl.' I attended the famous U.S. Grant High School in Van Nuys, a school that many celebrities attended, including Tom Selleck (for one year), Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and members of the band Toto, to name a few. Many movies and television shows were filmed there, including Clueless, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Dick Clark's Where the Action Is, among others.

Monika: Take me back to your childhood for a moment. When did you first sense that being a boy, or a man, simply wasn't who you were?

Ar'lene: I was born with multiple physical health conditions, including genital deformities, a malformed abdomen, and a bladder that had to be removed as a baby. Today, with updated medical understanding, some doctors would classify me as intersex, though I could also be identified as transsexual, or both, as described by author Alice Dreger, Ph.D., of Northwestern University (through personal contact) and Dr. Derweesh, MD, a urologist at UC San Diego (one of my doctors).

For me, the question was never about feeling like a boy or a man, but rather, when I could become a young girl and begin my womanhood. At birth, my parents and doctors, lacking knowledge about my condition, raised me as a boy. However, I truly began my womanhood in my early twenties.

As a preteen, I was terrified after learning that other trans people at the time were subjected to "shock treatments" and even lobotomies. I discuss this further in my autobiography. In my teens, I also became aware that doctors at UCLA, such as Dr. Ivor Lovaas and (then not-yet-doctor) George Rekers, were conducting "reparative therapy." Years later, Rekers would become known for his involvement with the Family Research Council, a religious-based organization that promoted harmful and questionable practices.

Ar'lene at LA Trade Tech College.
(Newsweek).

Monika: School, college, university, for so many trans women these are some of the toughest years, often marked by discrimination. Was it the same story for you?

Ar'lene: No, I hid all my 'trans' feelings and attended a special education school in Chicago. At that time, the term 'trans' wasn't understood or even visible to students or faculty; only I knew something was different.

In high school, I suppressed it for my own safety. I attended a school known for its academics, with a 70% Jewish student population. Throughout high school and my first semester of college were my 'American Bandstand' years! Dick Clark and Charley O'Donnell picked me and my dance partner many times for the 'Spotlight Dance' and 'Rate-A-Record,' among others. I became a regular on the show. Dick was generous, giving out concert tickets and prizes on air.

I was there during the early careers of many future celebrities, including singers, bands, and groups like Sonny and Cher, the Mamas and the Papas, The Turtles, and others. One time, I was picked by Dick's hairstylist to showcase an updated style. While the stylist was doing my hair, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders stopped by the makeup room and chatted for a while. Did you know that before his band, he worked in a gas station? I spent almost four years on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.

Monika: Sounds like you had quite a flair for the stage, so acting was your thing back then?
Ar'lene: Yes, indeed. The fun part at Valley College was in the Theater Arts Department; I had a double major in 'Theater Arts and Motion Pictures.' I wrote a one-act play for the Advanced Acting class called 'To Which Sex,' which caught the attention of the instructor and students. It opened the door to the TG nightclub entertainment industry. Well, you can probably guess who I played. I received an 'A,' and it became my final grade in the class.

I returned years later, post-operatively, to LA Valley College to update my transcripts and take classes. They changed my records and were pleased to do so. There was no problem with my transition.

At Cosmetology School, there wasn't any issue with being 'T,' because I was still going by my male identity at the time. It was later, post-op, that I went through, believe it or not, LA Trade Tech in downtown LA, where I studied Electrology.

Ar'lene and new husband, 1st wedding.
(Newsweek)

Monika: And then what happened?

Ar'lene: Newsweek Magazine (November 22, 1976) published an article featuring pictures of my husband and me (Ar), as well as Jude Patton (Female to Male), about three to four weeks into the class.

At the time, I was a peer counselor at The Center (LGBT), also known as the Gay Community Service Center (GCSC), and the facilitator of LA's 'TS Rap,' a separate support group (not part of the GCSC). The article included some pictures from my wedding, taken by Newsweek's photojournalist, as well as additional pictures taken secretly on campus.

The actual interview was conducted before my class at trade school began. And WOW, when the article and pictures came out, a student from the Cosmetology Department (Electrology was part of that department) came up to me with a copy of Newsweek in hand, asking for my autograph. She then proceeded to show it around the Cosmetology Department and across campus. OMG! The flatulence hit the fan and blew it!

The head of the Cosmetology Department and my instructor tried to block me from using the women's lockers and campus restrooms at first, but I stopped that cold, because I was post-op, born in Illinois, the first state to change birth certificates. Mine had already been changed, along with all my identification, and I was legally married to a man. So I trumped them! Things eventually calmed down, but not without my instructor and department head handing out 'days off' as punishment for the class and school disruptions.

Monika: Let's talk about the transition itself. At what age did it begin, and how difficult was the process? Did you have support from family or friends along the way, and how did it affect your career or job situation?

Ar'lene: Most of that has been answered in previous questions, but as for jobs, I worked for the May Company Department Store in North Hollywood, mostly in Cosmetics. However, I couldn't work in my cosmetology field at the time. I moved to a new apartment away from home and began HRT. I couldn't work in cosmetology because my license didn't match; it needed to be updated after GRS/GCS (SRS, or Gender Confirmation Surgery).

After that, I took on odd jobs: a hospital nurse's aide, a waitress, a clerk at a drugstore (or chemist shop), a position at Riker Labs (a 3M Company), and even a stint as a 'Hollywood street person,' living off street income. Some might say it was just short of 'prostitution' due to employers' lack of understanding and the social security office outing me, a problem that was cleared up after my post-op.

I worked twice with Shirley Cash. Yes, she might be related to 'Johnny Cash.' She had a men's hair salon called 'Shirley's of Hollywood.' I worked with her twice: once a few years before my transition, and again a few years later, post-operatively. She said, 'The clientele will never know who you were,' and they didn't. They were none the wiser. Shirley was a wonderful boss; she paid for my wedding and my dress in 1976. We worked next to the studios (Universal, Warner Brothers, Disney, NBC, etc.), and many celebrities and their wives were our patrons.

Ar'lene's Evening Out on the Down
 in San Diego.

Monika: Passing as a woman, was that ever a struggle for you? And did you turn to any cosmetic procedures along the way?

Ar'lene: At age 20, my parents helped pay for my nose surgery. Then, post-op in 1978, I had a second surgery in 1979 to enlarge my breasts. Fast forward 22 years, my implants ruptured and were removed, but I had still developed a good cup size (C/D), so I didn't need new implants. No FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery), as I always wanted to maintain my natural feminine look.

Passing in public was never a problem, unless I let my voice get too tired, overly relaxed, or too comfortable around people. But today, it's much better under control. I took voice lessons in 2010 with a speech therapist (covered by my health insurance). Now I have a female voice that holds its tone and occasionally dips lower, but it still remains distinctly feminine!

Monika: We're living in an era where modern cosmetic surgery makes transitioning possible even in your 50s or 60s. Do you think that's truly feasible, and what advice would you offer to trans women at that stage of life?

Ar'lene: Hmm, yes! I knew it would happen! GRS/GCS (or SRS) has been performed for years, dating back to the Roaring Twenties. Lili Elbe had the first GCS at the end of 1930 but tragically died a few short years later, in 1931, in Denmark. We can't forget that, years later, also in Denmark, Christine Jorgensen underwent her transition in the early 1950s.

In the USA, no surgery was ethically allowed until the 1970s, except for Dr. Burou's patients (also in the 1950s-60s): Coccinelle, Christine Konda, and April Ashley, who had SRS in Morocco. After Christine Jorgensen's fame, GRS continued in Morocco until the 1980s. It was considered taboo in America overall. I did cross paths with Christine Jorgensen a few times. She was a close friend of Sister Mary Elizabeth (Joanna Clark), and remained her friend until her death.

Monika: So when did things start to change?
Ar'lene: In the 1970s through the early 1990s, there was a doctor in the USA who performed GRS/GCS (SRS), mainly in California: Dr. John Ronald Brown, MD. Dr. Brown's surgeries started off well but eventually descended into lunacy. He ended up in prison in California for amputating and mutilating a man's left leg, a man suffering from apotemnophilia. The man was found dead in a San Diego Holiday Inn, and his leg was discovered in the desert. Dr. Brown performed GRS and other surgeries in garages, hotels/motels, and other unethical locations. Over the years, his practices led to multiple deaths and unethical actions.

In the mid-1970s, doctors at several American universities began a program to open the door to a selected group of 'trans-patients' for GCS (SRS). UCLA-Harbor General, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins were among the institutions that participated, though the program likely ended in 1992. Around the same time, until his death, Dr. Stanley Biber, MD, in Trinidad, Colorado, became known for his work in trans-surgery, turning Trinidad into the 'Capital of Trans-Surgery.' Dr. Marci L. Bowers, MD, took over his practice until 2011 and now performs GCS in Northern California (San Mateo).

1976 Wedding – Ar'lene & Bob.

Monika: Was there a big wedding celebration? And where did the honeymoon take you?

Ar'lene: I had two weddings. The first was in Burbank, California, in 1976, with a small group of friends and family, and we didn't have a real honeymoon, just work instead. The second wedding was in Las Vegas in 1989. We extended the honeymoon into a big trip, spending three weeks in England, Wales, and Scotland.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

 

All the photos: courtesy of Ar'lene D. Lafferty.

© 2013 - Monika Kowalska

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