Tag: transgender

  • Episode 5 – Amelio Robles Ávila

    Episode 5 – Amelio Robles Ávila

    Episode 5 – Amelio Robles Ávila

    In This Episode

    Colonel by rank, icon by choice.

    In this episode of Dot Femme, Dany Gonzalez and Claire Michelle ride into revolutionary-era Mexico to uncover the remarkable story of Colonel Amelio Robles Ávila — a trans man, military commander, and decorated veteran of the Mexican Revolution.

    From smuggling arms for Zapata’s army to carrying military correspondance across the wartorn countryside, Robles earned his place as a respected leader in the fight for justice. But his legacy is more than battlefield heroics — Robles lived openly as a man from the age of 24, was legally recognized by the Mexican government, and built a life of conviction and family on his own terms. His story stands as a testament to the revolutionary power of living authentically.

    We trace his journey from guerrilla commander to decorated war hero — and unpack what it means that his name is still engraved on school buildings… in the wrong gender.

  • Episode 4 – Leslie Feinberg

    Episode 4 – Leslie Feinberg

    Episode 4 – Leslie Feinberg

    In This Episode

    “Remember me as a revolutionary communist.”

    This week on Dot Femme, Dany Gonzalez and Claire Michelle head to 1970s New York City, rain-soaked streets and all, to explore the life and legacy of Leslie Feinberg — pioneering theorist, trans historian, and radical working-class voice in the queer liberation movement.

    From factory floors to underground gay bars, from Marxist organizing to gender theory that reshaped modern academia, Feinberg lived at the intersection of identity, labor, and revolution. We trace hir journey from teenage dishwashing jobs and gendered survival in a hostile economy to the groundbreaking success of Stone Butch Blues, and hir fierce commitment to justice that never wavered — not even in the face of chronic illness and state erasure.

    In Part II, we dig into Feinberg’s gender philosophy, including hir views on the ancient roots of transgender identity, the materialist history of oppression, and the revolutionary potential of trans solidarity. From Joan of Arc to matrilineal priestesses, from biblical backlash to the structural invention of patriarchy — we unpack how gender was weaponized, and why the trans struggle is inseparable from class struggle.

  • Episode 3 – Chevalier d’Eon

    Episode 3 – Chevalier d’Eon

    Episode 3 – Chevalier d’Eon

    In This Episode

    “The most extraordinary person of the age.”

    This week on Dot Femme, hosts Danielle Gonzalez and Claire Michelle journey to Revolutionary-era France to unravel the fascinating—and often unbelievable—life of the Chevalier d’Eon, a French spy, diplomat, soldier, fencer… and gender-nonconforming icon.

    From infiltrating the Russian court disguised as a lady-in-waiting, to drafting the peace treaty that ended the Seven Years’ War, to sparring in fencing tournaments as a woman in London—the Chevalier’s story blurs the line between myth and reality. We trace d’Eon’s complicated legacy: a political exile turned public curiosity, whose gender became the subject of betting pools and state negotiations.

    We’ll also explore the broader cultural footprint left behind—how d’Eon’s defiance of gender norms inspired trans communities centuries later, from the Beaumont Society to the once-proposed term “Eonism” in early sexology.

    🔗 Learn more about the Beaumont Society
    beaumontsociety.org

  • Episode 2 – Magnus Hirschfeld

    Episode 2 – Magnus Hirschfeld

    Episode 2 – Magnus Hirschfeld

    In This Episode

    “Justice through science.”

    This week on Dot Femme, hosts Danielle Gonzalez and Claire Michelle travel to turn-of-the-century Berlin to uncover the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld — physician, sexologist, and queer trailblazer.

    Born in 1868 on the Baltic coast to Jewish parents, Hirschfeld would go on to found the first gay and lesbian rights organization in the world and launch an unprecedented scientific study of gender and sexuality. From coining the term “transvestite” to pioneering early gender-affirming healthcare at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, Hirschfeld’s work challenged a society gripped by nationalism, misogyny, and fear of the “other.”

    We follow his story through the rise of Weimar queer culture, the backlash of far-right violence, and the ultimate destruction of his institute by Nazi youth — a loss of priceless research and a chilling precursor to the Holocaust.

    Learn how Hirschfeld’s radical vision of sexual intermediaries, intersectional advocacy, and scientific justice still echoes in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights today.