In gay and transgender activist circles, including those within the psychiatric and psychological community, activist Pat Califia is considered to be a key authority on the deconstruction of gender.

Califia is biologically female, but went through a series of transitions during her lifetime. She rejected her heterosexuality as a young girl and became a “butch lesbian.” Then, she chose a female-to-male transgendered identity and began sexual reassignment surgery in 1999. After sex surgery, she considered herself a bisexual. Eventually, she settled on the identity of a gay man.

She is a prolific writer and her activism is well known. She considers herself a gender outlaw and sexual anarchist and was founder of a Samois, a lesbian sadomasochistic club in 1978. Originally, she had belonged to the Daughters of Bilitis, one of the first lesbian groups in the country, when she moved to San Francisco in 1973.

A proponent of pornography and sadomasochism, Califia is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California, according to her biography in the online Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. She began writing a regular column for The Advocate magazine in 1981.

Califia and her partner, a female-to-male transsexual, became parents in 2000 when her partner Matt gave birth to a son. They have since separated.

The Progressive, a socialist magazine feature (Oct. 1, 1996) provided added details about Califia’s political and cultural beliefs about sex, pornography and gender.

Califia told The Progressive writer that her first step into sexual radicalism took place when she accidentally saw her father standing naked in his bedroom. She said that was the point at which she decided that she “couldn’t trust my own sense of what was right or wrong when it came to my body and the things that grown-ups call ‘sexual,’ and that I could have to study other people for cues and hide my own beliefs and my own behavior if I was going to make it into adulthood.”

Califia is a proponent of sadomasochistic sex. She says that the term is by definition, consensual and should be pursued. “…sadomasochism is not a form of sexual assault. It is a consensual activity that involves polarized roles and intense sensations.”

She also believes that young people should experience sexual freedom without being considered the property of their parents. She once supported age of consent laws and supported the work of the North American Man-Boy Love Association. She now says she is opposed to age of consent laws because many parents refuse to teach their children about sex. She opposes NAMBLA because she considers adult male sex with boys to be “developmentally inappropriate.”

Califia was asked by The Progressive to define what she viewed as a utopian society. It would be one where the workers controlled the economy and there would be full opportunities for men and women.

In addition, “if we had a utopia, then this kind of natural sexuality would emerge” that would free people from behaviors that are now called perversions. In Califia’s utopia, pleasure would be basic human right. “Pleasure returns our sense of wonder about the world. It’s one of the ways that we celebrate our most courageous and lovable selves. I can’t think of anything that gives people more energy or more heart or more hope when they need to face opposition and get through parts of their lives that are difficult and frightening.”

Califia’s sexual journey has been an intriguing one. First, she was a heterosexual girl; a “butch lesbian”; a transgender male; a bisexual; and now a gay male. One can only wonder what’s next on her sexual journey. And, one can only fear what influence her activism will continue to have on public policy, children, families and the fields of psychology and psychiatry.

Califia’s transformation into various sexual identities is a classic case of gender confusion on steroids.

Her theories on gender and sexuality are discussed further in Gender & Sexuality: Critical Theories, Critical Thinkers by Chris Beasley.

Additional Reading: A Gender Identity Disorder Goes Mainstream

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