This trans woman was named ‘Woman of the Year’ in 1953
by Bea Mitchell for the Pink News –
Christine Jorgensen was a truly trailblazing American trans woman. A former soldier, she was the first person to become widely known in the US for having gender-affirming surgery.
Her story is a fascinating one, and shows how – almost overnight – she became a pop culture icon. She was also treated more sensitively than you might expect for a trans person who was born in 1926, and in 1953 was named a ‘Woman of the Year’ by the Scandinavian Societies of Greater New York.
Christine was born under the name George William Jorgensen Jr and grew up in the Bronx, New York. She described herself as a “frail, blond, introverted little boy who ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games.”
After graduating, Christine was drafted into the US Army for World War II. Following her time in the army, she gained permission to move to Denmark, where she had gender-affirming care, which began in 1951.
“Everyone is both sexes in varying degrees. I am more of a woman than a man. Of course I can never have children but this does not mean that I cannot have natural sexual intercourse – I am very much in the position right now of a woman who has a hysterectomy” – Christine Jorgensen
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