April Ashley & Me

by Katherine Cummings

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

I first became aware of April Ashley when the story broke bout her divorce proceedings. I was still sixteen years from my own transition but my heart went out to April Ashley, who was fighting a courageous battle on behalf of all of us who might one day want our gender fully recognised under the law.

When Ormrod J. brought his findings down and changed the lives of many transgender people who had proceeded to marriage after reassignment, as well as condemning those yet to reach those hurdles, I was passionately indignant on April's behalf. If I had known how to contact her, I would have done, but I was aware that she would be inundated by messages from her real friends and from the press and crazies of all descriptions.

A few years later her book (April Ashley's Odyssey by Duncan Fallowell and April Ashley) was published and April herself came to Sydney on a signing tour. I tried to meet her then, but when I saw how the crowds were harassing her I held back and the opportunity passed.

A few years ago, long after I had become Katherine, I found myself in Hay-on-Wye (I had to buy two extra suitcases before I left town, I bought so many second-hand books). I knew April had gone to live in Hay-on-Wye and tried to find her, but alas, she had moved on and nobody seemed to know where she had gone. In the following years I was in San Diego three times (I was even negotiating for a job with the university there at one point) and April was living there, but of course I didn't find that out until much later.

A Canadian friend of mine mentioned April's website and I took the step of contacting her and sending her my book. We have become friends since then although I try not to bombard her with email.

When the decision was made to ask April if we could use her on the cover of this issue her acceptance was immediate and un-self-conscious. There was only one catch. She had been involved in a recent series of television interviews (including ones with her former colleagues at the Carrousel, Bambi and Coccinelle) and had no time to prepare anything for me, nor to select photos she would like used. She asked me to look after it for her, as she was off to London for more interviews.

Talk about a lady on the go! She has such energy and charm I think we will be running her again on the cover of Polare when she turns 100 ... if Polare and I survive! And ... oh! to be in England now that April's there!

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.