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Titel
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Transvestia and Jerry’s
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Beskrivning
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In the 1960s, there were no official spaces for trans people in Sweden. But through a personal ad in the magazine Raff, Eva-Lisa Bengtsson and Erika Sjöman connected and, in 1964, founded Transvestia – the country’s first club for trans people. It began as a mail-based network but soon became a physical meeting place for trans people, fetishists, lesbians, bisexuals, and others looking for community.
“The outside world might have called us bizarre,” Eva-Lisa later wrote, “but I feel a special tenderness for those who dare to whisper their innermost dreams only in my ears.”
A year after Transvestia’s final party in 1968, Jerry and Märta opened a basement venue on Folkungagatan. Jerry’s Ladies’ Club hosted Friday night parties and quickly became a new home for many from the Transvestia circle. Butch and femme expressions existed side by side without explanation. Jerry became a trusted and central figure to many in the group. After a chaotic New Year’s party in 1971, the club was forced to shut down.
