Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Vanessa Sheridan

Download the full-sized image of Interview with Vanessa Sheridan

Vanessa Sheridan identifies as transgender and was assigned male at birth. She knew she was different from the age of 2 or 3 but didn’t understand what it meant at the time since she had no framework to understand it. She is the oldest of 4 siblings. She was born in Asheville, North Carolina and then moved to Bristol, Tennessee until she was 11 or 12. She then moved with her family to Orlando, Florida when her father got a job in the aerospace industry. She’s from a middle-class fundamentalist Southern Baptist home. She talks about Pulse in Orlando and the HB2 bill, which effectively excludes transgender people from using a restroom without displaying a birth certificate in the state of North Carolina. She was on the swim team and loved sports. She also was involved in music, playing the guitar, singing, and writing in bands all her life. She moved to Chicago, Illinois a few months before she was interviewed. She’s toured the country with a rock band called Easy for several years back in the 1970s. She’s also written three books, Crossing Over, The Complete Guide to Transgender in the Workplace, and Transgender Journeys. She is currently working on a new book on the concept of gender authenticity. She travels, training and speaking about trans awareness and the transgender community. She is the Director of Transgender Relations and Community Engagement at the Center on Halsted, which is the largest LGBT community organization in the Midwest located in Chicago. In 1987, she came out to her spouse who she’s been married to for 40 years. They struggled together but found good counseling and worked through it. She joined an organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota called the City of Lakes Crossgender Community. She hasn’t had any medical interventions and has never been on hormones or gone through any surgeries, never having the desire to physically change her body. Both of her parents have passed away. She never came out to her dad since they never really got along either. She came out to her mom before she passed away, which was emotional, but her mom was accepting. She has a son, but they are currently estranged due to her gender identity.

Item Actions

View At
https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll97:124?facets%5Bcollection_name_s%5D%5B%5D=Transgender+...
Share
Citation
Cite

Item Information: