The empress is a man : stories from the life of José Sarria PDF
Preview The empress is a man : stories from the life of José Sarria
rom arrta Michael R. Gorman The Empress Is a Man Stories from the Life o f Jose Sarria This page intentionally left blank The Empress Is a Man Stories from the Life of Jose Sarria Michael Robert Gorman, MA J Routledge Taylor & Francis Group New York London First published by Harrington Park Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580 This edition published 2013 by Routledge Routledge Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group 711 Third Avenue 2 Park Square, Milton Park Mew York, NY 10017 Abingdon, Oxon 0X14 4RN © 1998 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover design by Monica L. Seifert. Cover photo by Brian Ashby. The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this book as: Gorman, Michael Robert. The empress is a man : stories from the life of Jose Sarria / Michael Robert Gorman, p. cm. ISBN 0-7890-0259-0 (alk. paper) I. Sarria, Jose. 2. Gay men—California—San Francisco—Biography. 3. Female imper sonators—California—San Francisco—Biography. 1. Title. HQ75.8.S27G67 1998 305.38'9664'097946l—dc2! 97-26364 C1P ISBN 1-56023-917-4 (pbk.) CONTENTS Preface xi Acknowledgments xv PART ONE: WE ARE FAMILY The Empire Begins 1 The Cemetery 5 The Disturbance 13 For Unto You Is Born This Day in the City of San Francisco 25 Kidnapped! 33 Enquiring Mind 45 A Voice for All Ages 49 The Mexican Dancer 53 The Baron 59 Hennano a Hermano 71 PART TWO: THEY SAY THAT IN THE ARMY The Boys from Texas 75 You’re in the Army Now 87 Andre and the Girls 97 Corsets in the Wind 103 PART THREE: THE BLACK CAT She Is Like, Out and About: A Regular USO Show. Mmm-Hmm Honey! You Hear What I ’in Saying? 113 Jimmy and the Black Cat 123 The Arrest 137 Pierre 143 God Save Us Nelly Queens 161 Nervous Queens in the Temple 165 Singing into the Silence 169 The American Legion Performance 173 I Am a Boy 179 The Feud 181 Blessings from the Black Cat 187 The Society for Individual Rights Anniversary 195 The Ice Queen 201 The Election 203 Rising to Heaven, or Thereabouts 209 Pearls! 213 PART FOUR: THE IMPERIAL COURT San Francisco 221 The Victorian Chapter 227 The Diva 235 Senator Emperor 243 Cinderella Did Drag 247 To Oz? 255 Get Me to the Church in Drag 259 The Great Idaho-Utah War 261 Mr. DeMille? 265 Bridges 271 Two Old Farts 275 His World 277 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael R. Gorman, MA, has worked as an editor, journalist, and columnist for three different gay newspapers in Sacramento, California, and is a strong activist in the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights. Michael is also a poet of some renown in northern California, the Sacramento gay community hav ing dubbed him “the Poet Laureate of Lavender Heights.” A former high school teacher of creative writing and folklore, he now teaches writing part-time at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. JOSE’S FAMILY TREES Biological Concepcion Chaparo ------ Ciebio Maldonado (Brother—Nemesio Chaparo) Rudicino Eltevina Anna Rosa Maria Dolores- - Julio Sarria (Half Brother—Hugo Sarria) Jos6 Adopted Maria Bruce Turk Philomena Steele Bengurel Willing Jesserina Mercandante- Charles G. Millen Augustus Teresa Leonore Josephine Antoinette (the child for whom Jos6 became an adopted replacement)
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