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Della Aleksander

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Della Aleksander (1923–2001) was a teacher and campaigner for trans rights.[1][2] She was a co-producer of an episode of the current affairs programme Open Door, which was the first to feature trans women. She was a member of fascist organisations, such as the League of St George.

Biography

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Born in 1923,[3] in 1970 she went to Casablanca for gender alignment surgery.[4] She described how it wasn't until she took hormone therapy that she felt herself to be transexual.[5] In 1971 she established Gender Research Association International Liaison (GRAIL).[4]

Moonshadow 1973, 12: p.5 reports on Open Door and Aleksander

Aleksander launched a magazine entitled Two for One, which addressed trans issues.[6] She was a member of the Transsexual Liberation Group (TLG).[2] In 1973 she co-produced and co-presented an episode of the current affairs programme Open Door, which gave four trans women from the TLG a platform to discuss NHS care and societal attitudes to trans issues.[2][4][7][8] The programme was first broadcast on 2 June 1973.[8] The other women on the programme were Rachel Bowen, Jan Ford and Laura Palet.[9] Aleksander wrote a comment piece for Gay News after the programme, myth-busting some trans issues.[10] In 1974 she spoke at The First National TV TS Conference held at the University of Leeds.[11]

Aleksander was associated with far right politics, and in 1995 Searchlight described her as "one of postwar Britain's best-known Mosleyites".[1] She was a pupil of Roger Scruton's at Birkbeck College and was a member of the League of St George.[12] As a member of the league she met with white supremacist David Duke in 1978 in Belgium, along with other British fascists.[13] She died in 2001.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Searchlight (235–246 ed.). Searchlight Publications. 1995.
  2. ^ a b c Caslin, Sam (2024-01-15). "Trans feminism and the women's liberation movement in Britain, c . 1970–1980". Gender & History. doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12767. ISSN 0953-5233.
  3. ^ a b "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZF-5GFK : 27 October 2021), Della Joan S Aleksander, 2001.
  4. ^ a b c Ekins, Richard; King, Dave (2006-10-23). The Transgender Phenomenon. SAGE. pp. 3, 44. ISBN 978-1-84787-726-0.
  5. ^ Brierley, Harry (2013-10-22). Transvestism: A Handbook with Case Studies for Psychologists, Psychiatrists and Counsellors. Elsevier. pp. 14, 235. ISBN 978-1-4831-8219-3.
  6. ^ Saunders, Nicholas (1971). Alternative London. N. Saunders. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-9501628-1-2.
  7. ^ Megarry, Daniel (2018-07-31). "Watch a historical BBC documentary about trans women from 45 years ago". GAY TIMES. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Lydia (2018-07-27). "Trans women discussed trans rights on the BBC 45 years ago - here's what it looked like". PinkNews. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  9. ^ "BBC - History of the BBC, Open Door". BBC. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  10. ^ Aleksander, Della (1973). "Sex Change - From the Inside". Gay News. p. 8. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  11. ^ "GENDYS Journal - The First UK Transgender Conferences, 1974 and 1975". 2023-05-12. Archived from the original on 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  12. ^ "Right Wheel". The Observer. 12 April 1983.
  13. ^ West, E. James (2021-01-02). "Hunt the Wizard! Race, Immigration, and British Tabloid Coverage of David Duke's 1978 Tour". Contemporary British History. 35 (1): 100–124. doi:10.1080/13619462.2020.1856081. ISSN 1361-9462.
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