Tamara Ching

Tamara Ching is an Asian-American transwoman and San Francisco Bay Area transgender activist.^[1] Also known as the "God Mother of Polk [Street]",^[2] she is an advocate for trans, HIV, and sex work-related causes.

Early life and education

Ching was born in 1949 and grew up in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, California. She is multi-racial and has German, Hawaiian, and Chinese ancestry.^[1] Throughout her teen years, she became a sex worker as a way of survival.^[3] Ching was empowered to address the contemporary issues related to her experience as a sex worker. Suffering with diabetes and hepatitis C, she continues to do work within the Transgender and sex worker community since the 1960s and strives to create a space for young trans people.

Activism

• Transgender and commercial sex work advocacy.
• Endorsed Proposition K^[4] during the November 2008 San Francisco general election. which did not pass.

Honors and awards

• Honored in a Clarion Alley mural portraying transwomen activists in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Created in 2012 by Tanya Wischerath.^[2][5][6][7]
• Best Community Service by and Individual award, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club^[6]
• Visibility Award and Volunteer of the Year, GAPA Community HIV Prevention Project^[6]
• Lifetime Achievement Commendation, CA State Senate^[6]
• Most Empowering Transgender Individual in San Francisco, Team SF^[6]

Interviews

• Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria. A documentary by Susan Stryker.^[3][8][9]

Published work

• Ching, Tamara. "Stranger in Paradise: Tamara Ching's Journey to the Gender Divide." A. Magazine 3.1 (1993): 85-86^[10][11]

Personal life

Tamara Ching lives in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, where she has lived since 1992.

References

1. "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Elder conference to focus on trans issues". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
2. Donohue, Caitlin (October 24, 2012). "Trans activists honored in Clarion Alley mural". San Francisco Bay Guardian Online.
3. "Ladies In The Streets: Before Stonewall, Transgender Uprising Changed Lives". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
4. "San Francisco and Prop K". www.dailykos.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
5. "Transgender Activists Honored in SF Mural | Transgender Law Center". transgenderlawcenter.org. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
6. "Clarion Alley". Fedoras and Feathers. May 19, 2014.
7. "Hagiography (Tribute to Activists for the Transgender Community) – Clarion Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California". ipernity. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
8. "Screaming Queens | KQED". KQED Public Media. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
9. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, 18 Jun 2005, retrieved 2015-05-30
10. Eng, David L.; Hom, Alice Y. (1998). Q & A: Queer in Asian America. Temple University Press. p. 430.
11. Meyerowitz, Joanne J.; Meyerowitz, Joanne J. (2009). How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 325.