Student & Campus Perspectives
There is very little documentation of a transgender presence at the University of Michigan prior to the 1990s. This is undoubtedly due to the dangers of being openly transgender in most of the United States for the bulk of the last century. However, trans visibility increased as the gay community and their allies grew more accepting of gender diversity and as sexual and gender minorities gained more civil rights in the last quarter of the 20th century. Here are some examples of the development of trans discourse on campus and the platforming of trans voices.
An example of trans discourse on UM campus pre-1990:
January 18th, 1967: Four UM students from the Cinema Guild are arrested by Ann Arbor police on obscenity charges for showing Jack Smith’s 1963 experimental transvestite film Flaming Creatures at a screening on campus. The film had been declared obscene in the state of New York for featuring an orgy scene that some feared would encourage homosexuality and transvestism. Similar arrests were made at several other universities across the country.
“...there was a danger that anyone who knowingly participated in the showing of the film might be arrested...The students apparently decided to show the film anyway.”
"The students must face the charges[,] although one might argue that they were too immature to understand the implications of their decision."
—(Prof. John E. Powers, March 28, 1967)
Dr. John Powers, a professor from the College of Engineering, wrote a letter to the editor expressing his opinion on the situation in March. He agreed that the students should face consequences just like any other citizen, but was disappointed that the University administration did little to advise the Cinema Guild and prevent the arrests.
This article does not indicate the original intent of the students, but the "Cinema Guild Incident" sparked local student protests against government-mandated censorship.
