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‘Hormones is not magic wands’

Ethnography of a Transgender scene in Oakland, California

Rebecca de Guzman

Amy A. Donovan

Calvin Boissiere

Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco

Male-to-female transgenderism is a highly theorized but under-researched topic area which is in need of ethnographic presentation and analysis. This article offers an ethnographic report on a community of African American male-to-female transgender adolescents and young adults living in Oakland, California, seeking to shed light on the culture, language, and behavior of its members. An ethnographer entered into this transgender world, interviewing and observing interactions, including numerous gender performances in a variety of settings. The article situates transgender within various sexual/gender types, using ethnographic and linguistic data to trace the development of the transgender person and to explore issues of performance, sexuality, concealment, disclosure, and stylized ‘reading’ that are used to police femininity and add wit to the transgender repertoire.

Key Words: transgender • homosexuality • sexuality • gender • adolescence • African American

Ethnography, Vol. 5, No. 2, 147-172 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1466138104044376


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