"Correspondence Is a Very Important Part of the Transvestite Lifestyle": Community, Discipline, and Care in Mid-20th-Century Trans Feminine Periodical Networks

From the 1960s onward, a complex ecosystem of trans feminine periodical networks blossomed throughout the Anglosphere. In the pages of these subcultural magazines, contributors established non-corporeal spaces of trans feminine intimacy and community. At the same time, trans femmes used these mediums to discursively construct categories of proper and pariah modes of trans femininity. This paper explores two aspects of these incredibly unhistoricized networks. First, how most subculture members defined their trans femininity as antagonistic to ‘gay’ modes of trans femininity that were epitomized by the subcultural denigration of the street-based sex-working drag queen. Secondly, I speak to the demographic, structural, and affective dimensions of these networks that ensured ready acceptance of subcultural norms. The socio-economic affluence of most members and their closeted nature contributed to their adherence to cis-heteronormative respectability. In turn, member’s common isolation from in-person trans feminine social life affectively influenced their ready assimilation to subcultural periodical norms.