Interview with Ani Koch

Ani Koch identifies as genderqueer, trans masculine, and nonconforming, and they were assigned female at birth. They grew up in Dubuque, Iowa with two older brothers. As a kid they were a tomboy, often playing with the boys. They played football growing up on the guys’ team. They were also on the student council in school and started one of the first GSAs, Gay Straight Alliances, in Iowa. Even while Koch was Homecoming Queen during senior year of high school, they were still teased and bullied in school for defying gender norms. People told them they were a lesbian so that is how they understood their gender before they knew about queer identity. When they began to develop breasts, they felt disgusted with the idea and wanted them gone. After someone asked them what their pronouns were, they thought about it and decided to start using gender neutral pronouns. They strongly embraced the term butch. They’ve struggled with bathrooms, people telling them they are in the wrong place, calling security, and trying to physically remove them. They are a drag performer and had top surgery 5 years ago at the time of the interview. Koch also had a hysterectomy because of a couple of medical conditions. They are married to their wife, and they are monogamous together living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They worked at Rainbow Health Initiative for years, starting as a volunteer and then later hired.

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Item Information:

Identifier: 5q47rn93q
Collection: Audio and Video Clips and Transcripts
Institution: Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, University of Minnesota
Creator(s): Koch, Ani
Contributor(s): Jenkins, Andrea
Publisher: University of Minnesota Minneapolis Libraries
Date Created: Jan. 6, 2017
Genre: Oral Histories
Transcriptions
Subject(s): Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
Rainbow Health Initiative
Places: Minnesota > Hennepin County > City of Minneapolis > Minneapolis
Topic(s): Bullying
Butches
Drag
Family members
Gender diversity
Gender dysphoria
Gender identity
Gender realignment surgery
Health care
Health insurance
Lesbians
Marriage
Masculinities
Monogamy
Social exclusion
Soft butches
Sports
Tomboys
Transgender people
Resource Type: Moving image
Text
Language: English
Related URL: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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