‘No, we're not going away’: Two trans activist lives in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1974–1987

Abstract

Utilising interviews conducted with two transgender women, Chanel Hati and ‘CJ’, this article will explore trans activism from 1974 to 1987. Though both were members of politically active trans communities with shared priorities around community building and trans pride, the intersections of race and class meant these communities operated in vastly different ways. Hati and her fellow trans sex workers practiced a politics of difference, while CJ's community, largely white and middle class, prioritised inclusion. This article will explore the relationships between these communities, highlighting their practices of resistance, as well as the implications of intersectionality on the historicising of these trans pasts.