Jean Vermette Oral History Interview

Jean Vermette, born in 1954, is a transgender woman from Skowhegan, Maine. At the age of three, Jean knew that her biological sex did not match her gender identity. When Jean came out as transgender to her wife in the 1980s, her marriage soon dissolved. After Jean filed for divorce, she spent five years transitioning. In addition to working as a self-employed electrician, Jean has dedicated her adult life to advocating for Maine’s transgender community. She created the Maine Gender Resource and Support Service and spent over fifteen years speaking publicly to Maine college students and medical professionals about the transgender community. Jean recognized the need for more support from doctors and therapists, so she took it upon herself to educate members of Maine’s medical community. In 2000, Jean received the Pioneer Award from the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance – an organization known today as Equality Maine. More recently, Jean has taken a step back from public speaking and is glad to see a younger generation of trans people making a difference in Maine’s LGBTQ community.

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View At: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/2/
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Item Information:

Identifier: 6395w7327
Collection: Audio and Video Clips and Transcripts
Institution: LGBTQ+ Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries
Creator(s): Vermette, Jean
Holland, Annie
Tryon-Nadeau, Olivia
Date Created: Nov. 19, 2016
Date Issued: Nov. 19, 2016
Genre: Oral Histories
Subject(s): EqualityMaine
Jean Vermette
Maharishi Maharesh Yogi
Maine Gender Resource and Support Service (Megress)
Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance (MLPGA)
Outright
Tiffany Club
Transsupport Maine
Places: Maine > Somerset > Town of Skowhegan > Skowhegan
Maine > Kennebec > City of Waterville > Colby College
Maine > Somerset > Town of Madison > Lakewood Theater
Topic(s): Catholic schools
College theater
Crossdressing
Gender affirming surgery
LGBTQ+ divorce
LGBTQ+ spiritual people
MtFs
Sexual revolution
Transgender relationships
Transsexual people
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Resource Type: Audio
Text
Language: English
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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