Tamara Ching Explained

Tamara Ching is an American trans woman 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. Throughout her teen years, she became a sex worker as a way of survival. 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^[3] during the November 2008 San Francisco general election, which did not pass.

Honors and awards

• Honored in a Clarion Alley mural portraying trans women activists in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Created in 2012 by Tanya Wischerath.^{[4] [5] [6]}
• Best Community Service by and Individual award, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
• Visibility Award and Volunteer of the Year, GAPA Community HIV Prevention Project
• Lifetime Achievement Commendation, CA State Senate
• Most Empowering Transgender Individual in San Francisco, Team SF

Interviews

• Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria. A documentary by Susan Stryker.^{[7] [8]}

Published work

• Ching, Tamara. "Stranger in Paradise: Tamara Ching's Journey to the Gender Divide." A. Magazine 3.1 (1993): 85-86^{[9] [10]}

Personal life

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

References

1. Web site: The Bay Area Reporter Online Elder conference to focus on trans issues. 2015-05-30.
2. Web site: Trans activists honored in Clarion Alley mural. October 24, 2012. San Francisco Bay Guardian Online. Donohue. Caitlin. May 30, 2015. September 24, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924124414/http://www.sfbg.com/pixel_vision/2012/10/24/trans-activists-honored-clarion-alley-mural. dead.
3. Web site: San Francisco and Prop K. www.dailykos.com. 2015-05-30.
4. Web site: Transgender Activists Honored in SF Mural Transgender Law Center. transgenderlawcenter.org. 2012-10-31. 2015-05-30.
5. Web site: Clarion Alley. Fedoras and Feathers. May 19, 2014. May 30, 2015. April 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190425185205/http://fedorasandfeathers.com/clarion-alley/. dead.
6. Web site: Hagiography (Tribute to Activists for the Transgender Community) – Clarion Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California. ipernity. 2015-05-30.
7. Web site: Ladies In The Streets: Before Stonewall, Transgender Uprising Changed Lives. NPR. 5 May 2015. 2015-05-30. Pasulka. Nicole.
8. Web site: Screaming Queens KQED. KQED Public Media. 2015-05-30.
9. Book: Q & A: Queer in Asian America. Eng. David L.. Temple University Press. 1998. 430. Hom. Alice Y..
10. Book: How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Meyerowitz. Joanne J.. Harvard University Press. 2009. 325. Meyerowitz. Joanne J..