Digital Transgender Archive

Lee Livingston Perine

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Lee Levingston Perine identifies as a black genderqueer and trans person and was assigned female at birth. They were 38 at the time of the interview. They have an older brother and a fraternal twin named Allison who is their best friend and biggest supporter. Perine was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. They are close with their family who are supportive. Their dad died when they were 15. Around 7 or 8 Perine began to feel different, trying to pee standing up, avoiding wearing dresses, and just generally feeling different from their peers. They felt more like a tomboy in high school, playing soccer and field hockey as the goalie. They went to Duke University for undergrad in Durham, North Carolina which was a bit challenging since many of the students were privileged in comparison. Perine came out at 19 in 1998 as gay. Their mom already knew when they came out to her and had a hard time with it, but she is doing a lot better with it now. Perine hesitated coming out to their mom because their father was a closeted gay man. They went to the University of Texas at Austin for graduate school. They have also lived in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attempting suicide, Perine had a conversation with their family and decided then to be themselves in the world. Their family is supportive even while their mom still struggles with her feelings about Perine being trans. In 2015, they changed their name and had top surgery in Washington D.C. Perceived to be a black man by others, Perine is followed in stores and people avoid talking to them, seeing them as a threat. They were married for 4 years to a woman and then divorced. They also have a son. Perine is thinking about starting testosterone and now live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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