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

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

• 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

• 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

• Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria. A documentary by Susan Stryker. ^{[3] [8] [9]}

Published work

• Ching, Tamara. "Stranger in Paradise: Tamara Ching's Journey to the Gender Divide." A. Magazine 3.1 (1993): 85-86 ^{[10] [11]}

Personal life

Ching lives in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, where she has lived since 1992.

References

1. "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Elder conference to focus on trans issues" . Retrieved 2015-05-30.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. 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.
3. Pasulka, Nicole (5 May 2015). "Ladies In The Streets: Before Stonewall, Transgender Uprising Changed Lives". NPR. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
4. "San Francisco and Prop K". www.dailykos.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
5. "Transgender Activists Honored in SF Mural | Transgender Law Center". transgenderlawcenter.org. 2012-10-31. Archived from the original on 2015-05-31. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
6. "Clarion Alley". Fedoras and Feathers. May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
7. "Hagiography (Tribute to Activists for the Transgender Community) – Clarion Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California". ipernity. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
8. "Screaming Queens | KQED". KQED Public Media. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
9. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, 18 Jun 2005, retrieved 2015-05-30
10. Eng, David L.; Hom, Alice Y. (1998). Q & A: Queer in Asian America. Temple University Press. p. 430.
11. Meyerowitz, Joanne J.; Meyerowitz, Joanne J. (2009). How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 325.