Viva logo

Just What I Am; A Woman

Lucy Hicks Anderson - An African-American Transwoman LGBT+ icon

By Katie McNeillPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
Like

We live in a world that is divided. Divided by the haves and the have-nots, the privileged and the struggling, the conformers and the changers, the born to survive and the born to thrive.

Lucy Hicks Anderson was not born privileged. In fact, she was born struggling with more hindrances than some of us face in our lifetimes. Lucy was African-American in a white-washed time, a woman in a man's world, and transgender in a cisgender America. Lucy Hicks Anderson was born to barely survive, yet she chose to thrive.

Lucy, though assigned male at birth, always knew that she was a woman and chose to live as such. Her family and doctor were very supportive of her truth. Their support and love was so necessary in the harsh culture of Kentucky in the late 1800s. Her bold adventurous personality eventually outgrew Kentucky and she traveled across the country. She spent some time in New Mexico where she married her first husband, Clarence Hicks, then divorced after nine years. After this, she settled in Oxnord, California at the age of 34 after she met her second husband and love of her life, Reuben Anderson, a soldier station in Long Island.

During her years of traveling, she became an extremely skilled baker and frequently held dinner parties and hosted multiple events. She managed to save up enough to buy property, which was rare for a woman and even rarer for a WOC. She was the proud owner of a boarding house front for a brothel that tripled as a speak-easy in Prohibition Age America. Though being an alcohol slinging Madame should have landed her in prison, it instead landed her hosting more events when only hours after an arrest, Oxnard's leading banker quickly bailed her out due to fear of his scheduled dinner party falling into disarray without her.

However, this all came to a screeching halt when one of her girls was accused of spreading an STI to a visiting sailor. Upon hearing the news, the women working at the brothel, including Lucy, were subjected to medical exams. A doctor soon discovered that Lucy was assigned male at birth. Upon hearing this, the District Attorney at the time took it upon himself to accuse Lucy of perjury for signing her marriage license as a female and continually 'impersonating a woman'.

During the trial, Lucy refused to lower her head and stated in a proud voice, "I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman" and "I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am; a woman." Though her words were bold, strong, and emblazoned with undeniable truth, the court did not sway and charged her with perjury and sentenced her to 10 years probation. Because her marriage license was declared invalid, she was also charged with fraud for collecting government money offered to the wives of soldiers as per the GI Bill. The court also attempted to charge her with avoiding the draft, but dropped that once she proved she was not an appropriate age at the time.

Lucy, as well as her husband, Reuben, were both found guilty and sentenced to a men's prison. To further attack Lucy's right to femininity and the chance to express her gender, the court forbid Lucy to wear any female clothing during her imprisonment. Lucy and her husband remained married and in love during their years in prison and upon release, expected to return home in peace. However, once they were no longer prisoners, they were threatened with further prosecution if they remained in Oxnard. They were instructed to leave and never to return to the place they had called home for so many years.

Lucy and Reuben packed up and moved to Los Angeles where the led loving quiet lives together until she passed at the age of 68 in 1954. While she was unable to see it in her lifetime, Lucy's strength and conviction set the groundwork for future LGBT+ community members. Her refusal to conform paved the way for amazing women like Marsha P. Johnson and events that changed the world such as the Stonewall riots of 1969. She unlocked doors for generations of transgender men and women before the word had even existed. Lucy Hicks Anderson is a female LGBT+ African-American icon who helped shape a new world.

lgbtqia
Like

About the Creator

Katie McNeill

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.