Douglas Thompson - Inside Out: The Extraordinary Legacy of...

2024, April Ashley, Douglas Thompson, English,

Full title: "Inside Out: The Extraordinary Legacy of April Ashley: The boy who became the most famous woman in the world" by Douglas Thompson.

It was the first biography of April Ashley, written by Duncan Fallowell and April Ashley herself.

"April Ashley was a trailblazing figure in the history of transgender rights and advocacy. Born in 1935 in Liverpool, Ashley was assigned male at birth, but knew from a young age that she identified as a woman. At the age of sixteen, April left home and began her journey of self-discovery, eventually transitioning and undergoing gender-reassignment surgery in 1960.

She became one of the first British people to undergo the procedure, which was illegal at the time in the UK. April's transition was met with both admiration and hostility from the media and the public. Despite facing discrimination and transphobia, she remained dedicated to promoting trans visibility and acceptance. In the 1960s, she moved to Paris and became a successful model and cabaret performer, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau.

She also appeared in films and on television, becoming a prominent figure in the entertainment industry. Throughout her life, April Ashley was a tireless advocate for the rights of trans people, speaking out on issues such as discrimination, health care, and legal recognition. She received numerous awards for her activism, including an MBE in 2012 for services to transgender equality. Today, April's legacy continues to inspire and empower trans people around the world. Her courageous journey and unwavering dedication to fighting for trans rights will undoubtedly be remembered as a vital part of the LGBTQ+ movement."

April Ashley (1935–2021) was an English model, actress, cabaret artist, and celebrity. Outed as a transgender woman by The Sunday People newspaper in 1961, she was one of the earliest British people known to have undergone gender reassignment surgery. After a short episode in the Merchant Navy, she started cross-dressing and she moved to Paris in the late 1950s, using the name Toni April. She joined the entertainer Coccinelle in the cast of the famous drag cabaret at the Caroussel Theatre.

At the age of 25, she underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1960, performed in Casablanca, Morocco, by Georges Burou. After returning to Britain, she started using the name April Ashley and became a successful fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines. Unfortunately, a friend sold her story to the media in 1961 and The Sunday People outed Ashley as a trans woman, which stopped her promising career. In 1963, she married Arthur Corbett, a British aristocrat, but the marriage soon ended, giving rise to a legal dispute that ended with the annulment of the marriage in the famous court case of Corbett vs Corbett.

She died at home on 27 December 2021, at the age of 86. In my opinion, she is one of the most inspirational transgender women in the history of our movement. Her story was presented in 'I Am A Woman Now' (formerly Casablanca Revisited), a 2011 documentary about the first generation of transgender women that underwent gender reassignment surgery in the Casablanca clinic of Georges Burou.

Available via Amazon

and Wikipedia

Photos via digitaltransgenderarchive