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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2000)
july 21.20Û0 • Just orni 15 li’lu H ü ivj^im ew s C ross P urposes Trans Evangelist Paula Nielsen credits religion for her survival during Portland's conservative past by Katy Davidson n a recent Tuesday morning, I sat across from Sister Paula Nielsen, nationally recognized Trans Evangelist, at a Lyons restaurant in Port land and ate pancakes while some four-eyed, grubby-handed grade schooler burned stare marks into the sides of our heads. “If someone in public doesn’t like the way 1 dress, they can kiss my ass!” Nielsen hooted like an or nery owl. As if waffles and omelets weren’t savory enough, her com ment gave the surrounding families something tasty to chew on. It was not the first time the pub lic has singled out Nielsen. Stand ing taller than 6 feet, garnished in thick makeup and toting a suitcase sized purse, she’s no dainty grand mother type. In grade school and ^ high school in the 1940s and ’50s, > when Paula was still going by her 2 original name, Larry, she was teased I for being a sissy, for being different. Nielsen was bom in Portland in 1938. When she was 12, an “innately effeminate boy” at the time, she accepted Christ as her personal savior at the Powellhurst Baptist Church. She said she never would have survived her tumultuous and turbulent years without her religious convictions and born-again experience. “God accepted me as I am,” she said. “If I didn’t have my religion, I wouldn’t have gotten through it.” In 1952, during Nielsen’s freshman year in high school, Christine Jorgenson (formerly George) became the world’s first known male- to-female “transsexual,” a term coined by her doctor, Harry Benjamin. That year, Jorgenson traveled to Denmark to undergo the first sex- change surgery. “When I read Christine’s story in the Sunday paper, I knew that was me,” Nielsen said. During the early ’60s, Nielsen moved from Portland to Oakland, Calif., then soon after to San Francisco, where she transitioned from male to female. She attended church and worked as a secretary at an insurance company, completely passing as a woman. “I didn’t feel like I was fooling anyone,” she said. “I was just being myself.” She points out that during those years, the only time it was safe for drag queens to dress up was Halloween or New Year’s Eve and that trans people could not legally change their names without proof of an operation. “Now, the trans thing is no big thing like it was hack then,” she said. While calling transsexualism “one of the most misunderstixxJ subjects there is," she ac knowledges the enlightenment that has come through years of education and work. She con siders the success of the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry a breakthrough in trans recognition; however, “the people that should really see it are the ones that won’t cross the street to go see it,” she said. Despite these advancements, “Only trans people can understand trans people,” she added. During the past few decades, the trans com munity has embraced the term transgendered be cause it is more inclusive, she said. “(The two terms) mean the same thing, but transgendered makes it more acceptable for you to be trans without getting an operation,” she NEED SOME EXTRA $$$? □rive with Ppirie Justrm & wW needs part-time delivery drivers. Pretty east work Kinda good pay Call Katy at 236-1252 Schedule your appointment today with: ¡f C h r i s t i n a S ig w a r t 5 0 3 -2 5 6 -3 7 0 0 REY REECE DEALERSHIPS 0LDS-ISUZU-V0LKSWAGEN-USED clsigwart@hotmail.com 122nd & East Burnside www.vwcitv.net p flin sppihcs OTHER REWARDING CAREERS • Paralegal Serx’ing your real estate needs for... CONDOS C reg C ray ( 760 ) said. “I like to use the word trans as an umbrella term.” After Nielsen had soaked up enough of San Francisco, she moved hack to Portland in the 70s. “As far as I’m concerned, Portland’s the only place to live,” she told me over breakfast. Now, having spent much of her long life in Rip City, Nielsen has a library’s worth of knowl edge about what once was a very conservative small town. She remembers Portland’s first gay pride celebration as “a few literature booths and a beer track at Waterfront Park.” Back then, the event drew almost 200 peo ple. Pride officials estimate this year’s festival drew almost 30,000. “I see gay pride day as a gay Fourth of July, a gay Independence Day,” Nielsen said, adding that she is put off by the divisiveness and mis understandings in the community. “Gay people are just like straight people. Everyone has their own agenda.” In 1989, Nielsen discovered a medium to combine her religion and her unique perspective on life: television. She launched Let’s Have Church , a cable access show in Portland, and began calling herself the D ag Evangelist. “I wanted a term that would make me differ ent than every other evangelist," she said. She later took up the moniker Trans Evangelist. About 10 years later, after becoming a pub licly recognized figure in Oregon, Washington and California and being interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corp. and Strange Universe, Nielsen broadcast her final program. Regardless, religion still plays a major role in her life. When she speaks, she assumes the deep and convincing voice of a preacher; her views are opinionated and unwavering. “I’m very conservative in some ways,” Niel sen said. “I believe prayer and the Ten Com mandments should he in schools. But I also sup port sensitivity training. It’s good to teach kids about gays and lesbians early on.” The 2000 Spirit of Pride Award recipient recently turned 62 and officially retired. Next up, she plans to create a biography and docu mentary of her life. “My purpose here isn’t done yet," she said. $42,000 median income • Medical Transcription Work at Home • Corrections Officer V acation H omes H otel P roperties A partment B ldgs . High Demand CALL 800 . 342.3465 833-5434 C ollege of L egal A rts TârbeJI, ^REALTORS« P o r t l a n d , O rego n 2 1 1 E. Palm Canyon Palm Springs, CA 92264 www.collegeoflegalarts.com A smart financial plan begins with just 7 numbers: 2 3 8 -6 0 3 6 Eric Brown District Manager 500 NE Multnomah Portland, OR 97232 503/238-6036 WADDELL REED The people with a plan fo r you. i K W L IT. 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