Digital Transgender Archive

Elsie Hupp Oral History

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Elsie grew up middle class in the Midwest where the church was a big presence in her life. Though she encountered a progressiveness in various ways within the religious communities she was part of her in childhood, the fact that she was gender-questioning ultimately alienated her from the church. An important part of her socialization took place online, in the Myspace, DeviantArt, Twitch websites where she felt she had more control over interactions than IRL, especially if they became abusive due to her being a trans woman. Elsie speaks frankly about struggles that she has had both in school and her romantic history, as a sexual assault took its toll on both of those spheres in her life. She also talks briefly about her medical transition as a process that lead to her feeling more herself on estrogen than testosterone. Toward the end of the interview, Elsie connects her own empowerment and political development both to instances of police brutality that Black Lives Matter has foregrounded for the country, as well as her time studying at NYU and being involved in Geek Feminism Wiki, reading third wave feminist theory and reacting to Gamergate.

Item Information:

Identifier
3197xm373
Collection
Audio and Video Clips and Transcripts
Institution
NYC Trans Oral History Project
Creator(s)
Hupp, Elsie
Ramsay, Grace
Contributor(s)
Dolan, Michael
Publisher
New York Public Library
Date Created
Feb. 21, 2017
Dates Covered
1988 to 2017
Genre
Oral Histories
Subject(s)
Babycastles
Boy Scouts
DeviantArt
Elsie Hupp
Myspace
New York University
Twtich
Places
New York
Illinois > Cook County > City of Chicago > Chicago
Illinois > Cook County > Evanston Township > Evanston
Topic(s)
Childhood
Christianity
Eating disorders
Education
Feminism
Isolation
Mental health
MtFs
Oppression
Sexual assault
Therapies
Transitioning (Gender)
Resource Type
Audio
Digital Format
Duration: 1 hour 47 minutes 35 seconds
Language
English
Rights
Copyright undetermined
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