08/12/2025
If I asked you about Christine Jorgensen, would you guess she was
A- a trailblazing trans woman who made headlines as the first American to receive reassignment surgery
B- a trans activist and advocate who was helping to bring trans issues into conversation decades before it could be done safely
C- an Army vet who had more courage and bravery than even those who served alongside her
It’s a trick question, because if you guessed ANY of these, you’d be correct! Christine Jorgensen was an activist in the 1950s, when she went to Denmark to receive reassignment surgery, being diagnosed there for the first time as a tr*******al and not a homosexual. She was born in 1926 in the Bronx, and grew up to serve briefly in the US Army after initially being denied due to being “small and dainty.” She was subsequently drafted and stationed at Fort Dix. She always felt different from other boys, and knew herself to be not homosexual, though she was attracted to men; but a woman trapped in a man’s body. This was something that at the time, in the 1940s, one could not safely publicly share about oneself. After a 14 month long service in the clerical side of the Army, she was honorably discharged and turned to photography, and then dental assisting. Neither of these choices seemed to bring her the happiness she sought, and it was after reading a book called The Male Hormone when she started taking estrogen and decided transforming herself into the woman she felt like on the inside was the path she should take. She met with a doctor in Denmark who agreed to do the experimental procedure for free. At this point, she was undergoing hormone treatment, psychiatric evaluations, and surgical procedures. It was at this point that she also changed her name.
Upon returning to the US, there were controversial headlines as the front page of the New York Daily News read, “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Operations Transform Bronx Youth.” Overnight she became a shock to the entire press and public. There were those outlets and platforms that were supportive, encouraging, and asking questions to know more. And there were those that were not. She went on to live her life as an entertainer, performing in nightclubs. She never made it big in the industry, but wrote about her life and her story and captivated the hearts of many who could relate. She received thousands of letters from people who were reaching out in gratitude to hear about her because it made them feel less alone. As much as she wished she could have helped everyone who reached out to her, she did what she could as a role model and an activist and advocate by staying true to herself and her identity; being a role model to others. She later used her story to teach about gender identity in college lectures across the US. Her story was eventually made into a Hollywood film in 1970 called The Christine Jorgensen Story.
Christine died in 1989, from bladder and lung cancer. And although she can’t be here today to see the impact her journey has had on where the Trans community sits in society, we can as current members look back in solidarity, gratitude and honor for the path she paved in order for others to have a less difficult journey following behind.
