Tamara Ching
Tamara Ching is an American trans woman and San Francisco Bay Area transgender activist.[1] Also known as the "God Mother of Polk [Street]",[2] she is an advocate for trans, HIV, and sex work-related causes.
Early life and education[edit]
Ching was born in 1949 and grew up in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, California. She is multi-racial and has German, Hawaiian, and Chinese ancestry.[1] Throughout her teen years, she became a sex worker as a way of survival.[3] Ching was empowered to address the contemporary issues related to her experience as a sex worker. Suffering with diabetes and hepatitis C, she continues to do work within the transgender and sex worker community since the 1960s and strives to create a space for young trans people.
Activism[edit]
- Transgender and commercial sex work advocacy.
- Endorsed Proposition K[4] during the November 2008 San Francisco general election, which did not pass.
Honors and awards[edit]
- Honored in a Clarion Alley mural portraying trans women activists in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Created in 2012 by Tanya Wischerath.[2][5][6][7]
- Best Community Service by and Individual award, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club[6]
- Visibility Award and Volunteer of the Year, GAPA Community HIV Prevention Project[6]
- Lifetime Achievement Commendation, CA State Senate[6]
- Most Empowering Transgender Individual in San Francisco, Team SF[6]
Interviews[edit]
Published work[edit]
- Ching, Tamara. "Stranger in Paradise: Tamara Ching's Journey to the Gender Divide." A. Magazine 3.1 (1993): 85-86[10][11]
Personal life[edit]
Ching lives in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, where she has lived since 1992.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Elder conference to focus on trans issues". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ a b Donohue, Caitlin (October 24, 2012). "Trans activists honored in Clarion Alley mural". San Francisco Bay Guardian Online. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ a b Pasulka, Nicole (5 May 2015). "Ladies In The Streets: Before Stonewall, Transgender Uprising Changed Lives". NPR. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ "San Francisco and Prop K". www.dailykos.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ "Transgender Activists Honored in SF Mural | Transgender Law Center". transgenderlawcenter.org. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ a b c d e "Clarion Alley". Fedoras and Feathers. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "Hagiography (Tribute to Activists for the Transgender Community) – Clarion Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California". ipernity. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ "Screaming Queens | KQED". KQED Public Media. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, 18 Jun 2005, retrieved 2015-05-30
- ^ Eng, David L.; Hom, Alice Y. (1998). Q & A: Queer in Asian America. Temple University Press. p. 430.
- ^ Meyerowitz, Joanne J.; Meyerowitz, Joanne J. (2009). How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 325.