It’s Trans Awareness Week! This year, we’d like to share with you the stories of trans & gender diverse icons we find inspiring stories of resistance, resilience, and dreams. On day four of the Trans Week of Awareness, we’d like to introduce Carmen, an emblematic Māori trans woman. A Māori trans woman from Aotearoa New Zealand, Carmen worked as a showgirl, stripper and sex worker in both Sydney and Wellington. She gained notoriety for her shows featuring a snake, and for running for mayor of Wellington in 1977 on a platform of marriage equality and legalising brothels. She subsequently returned to Sydney and the sex work industry from the 1980s onwards. More so than working with clients, Carmen was spending her time looking out for the girls at the Cross. Carmen Rupe passed away in 2011 at age seventy-five. Text and image adapted from Noah Riseman’s ‘NSW Trans History’. Want to know more about trans history? Head to the link to discover our Trans Culture Gallery, and Noah Riseman’s book, ‘Transgender Australia’: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gm_RCtSk ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gHBMin3x
