User:Gabriellacarriere/Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgenson for the Tomorrow Show (1973 - 1981)

Christine Jorgenson (May 30, 1926 - May 3, 1989) was an American transgender icon of the Cold War era, as well as a famous actress and singer of the 1950's. Christine was born male (previously known as George William Jorgenson, Jr.), but as a child dressed and played like a girl. Approaching his twenties, from 1945-1946, George served in the U.S. Army before traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark, to undergo sexual reassignment surgeries and treatments provided and performed by Dr. Harry Benjamin.

After making her sex change public, Christine Jorgenson shocked the nation by being the very first American to have a successful gender-reassignment surgery. Before Jorgenson even left the hospital, the press got a hold of this big news, which rose her to stardom. Considering the time period, the news of a transgender person in America was controversial to say the least; however, both good and bad publicity was beneficial to Christine's new life as a celebrity.

Christine Jorgenson earned several achievements following her launch to fame, such as posing for magazines, doing interviews, advertisements, modelling, starring in various television shows/movies, a singing career, and last but certainly not least, writing her own book; an autobiography titled Christine Jorgenson a Personal Autobiography.

While the lack of acceptance of transgenderism during this time period was not improved overnight, Christine Jorgenson started a movement. This breakthrough in history gave hope to many, and was the beginning of a brighter world.

Early Life

George William Jorgenson, Jr. (born May 30th, 1926) was a male born to George William Jorgenson and Florence Davis Hansen in the Bronx, New York. George had a typical American childhood of the time period; he was baptized in the Lutheran Church, had an older sister by the name of Dorothy, and went to school. However, he knew that he knew that he was different from other children in the sense that he did not possess many of the same traits and interests as the other boys; he preferred to engage in more feminine interests and felt as though he was trapped in the wrong body. George served in the U.S. Army at 19 years old from 1945-1946 prior to secretly undertaking his gender-reassignment surgery in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1952, where he then became Christine Jorgenson.

Education

Christine Jorgenson (George at the time) attended Christopher Columbus High School, and prior to having the gender-reassignment surgery attended Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York, then the Progressive School of Photography in New Haven, Connecticut, and finally, the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School in New York City, New York.

Later Life

Howard Knox and Christine Jorgenson after being denied a marriage license

Christine Jorgenson was engaged to a typist by the name of Howard J. Knox and lived together in a house built for her by her father, George William Jorgenson, after her gender-reassignment operation in Massapequa Park, New York. Since transgenderism was highly uncommon during this time period, it was unheard of to be eligible for a valid marriage license if the gender on a birth certificate did not match the current gender of the individual who was trying to obtain one; due to Christine being legally stuck as a male, marriage to another man was not possible since gay marriage was also considered to be abnormal during this time period. It was reported by The New York Times that once Knox's relationship with Christine Jorgenson, a transgender woman, was made public, he lost his job in Washington, D.C.

Jorgenson was quite the activist in the 1970's and 1980's; she loved to share her experiences with others in order to spread awareness and acceptance of transgenderism by telling her story on various university campuses as well as writing her own book titled Christine Jorgenson a Personal Autobiography.

Death

Christine Jorgenson died on May 3rd, 1989 in San Clemente, California. She was a victim of bladder and lung cancer, but she left us with some wise last words: "The answer to the problem must not lie in sleeping pills and suicides that look like accidents, or in jail sentences, but rather in life and freedom to live it", and her legacy lives on.