Trans Bay: A History of San Francisco’s Gender-Diverse CommunityTrans Bay: A History of San Francisco’s Gender-Diverse Community

black-and-white photograph of people in fancy dresses and suits outside — Patrons at a drag ball circa 1966, Henri Leleu papers. *(Courtesy of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society)*

KQED’s Trans Bay spotlights transgender and gender-diverse artists and activists who have fought for change, built community and shaped culture, from the 1890s to today. These stories are grounded in the Bay Area, but their impact reverberates throughout the nation.

Edited by Nastia Voynovskaya, with support from Ugur Dursun. Special thank you to historian Susan Stryker, whose scholarship paved the way for our journalism, and archivist Devin McGeehan Muchmore of the GLBT Historical Society, who pointed us to the papers and photos that preserve these stories.

An Oral History of Trans Activism, From the Vietnam War to the AIDS Crisis

Jun 19

How San Francisco’s Two-Spirit Powwow Reclaimed an Indigenous Legacy

Jun 18

The Immortal Christopher Lee

Jun 17

88-Year-Old Audio Engineer Sandy Stone Survived Transphobic Backlash and Made History

Jun 16

In the ’70s, Gay Rights Activists Abandoned Their Trans Siblings

Jun 13

In the 1930s, a ‘Most Unusual’ San Francisco Club Became a Haven for Trans Women

Jun 12

The 19th-Century Trans Man Who Worked As a Reporter and Went to War

Jun 11

For Trans and Queer Divas in the Mission, HIV Prevention Was an Art

Jun 10

How the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Supercharged San Francisco’s Fight for Trans Rights

Jun 9

Trans People Have Always Existed and Always Will