Carmen Rupe

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Photograph of Carmen Rupe (1960)

Carmen Rupe, born Trevor Rupe (10 October 1936 – 15 December 2011) was a New Zealand-Australian drag performer, brothel keeper, anti-discrimination activist, would-be politician, and HIV/AIDS activist.[1] She was a transgender woman.[2]

Life

Born in the small rural town of Taumarunui in the central North Island of New Zealand, Rupe had twelve siblings. She relocated to the urban centres of Auckland and Wellington. After doing drag performances while doing compulsory military training and periods working as a nurse and waiter, Rupe moved to Sydney's Kings Cross in the late 1950s.[3]

Taking the name of Dorothy Dandridge's role in Carmen Jones, Rupe became Australia's first Māori drag performer and from that time on lived as a woman. A whole range of work followed, including snake-work, hula dancing and prostitution. Carmen never formally worked at Les Girls but over the years did some extremely exciting, well received guest spots. She described how local police treated her: I was locked up in Long Bay prison about a dozen times. But it made me a stronger person today.[4] An arrest in New Zealand failed to produce a conviction, because drag was legal there, unlike Australia.[4][5]

In 1988 an autobiography was published, outlining her escapades "from school boy to successful business woman"."Having A Ball: My Life" was written with Paul Martin and published by Benton Ross. ISBN 9780908636433

Politics

In Wellington Carmen ran Carmen's International Coffee Lounge and the Balcony strip club. Despite the fact that the law criminialised homosexual acts, Carmen challenged the overt discrimination and prejudice against people in the gay and transgender communities.[6] She was not afraid to speak to the press and was summoned to appear before the Privileges Committee by Prime Minister Rob Muldoon for suggesting some MPs were gay or bisexual.[7]

In 1977 she ran for the Wellington mayoralty, with the support of local businessman Sir Bob Jones, with the slogans get in behind and Carmen for mayor[8] and a platform of gay marriage and legalised brothels, though neither of these are local-government matters in New Zealand.[4] Michael Fowler won re-election as Mayor.

Last years

Rupe returned to Surry Hills, Sydney where she lived the remainder of her life.[9] In 2003 she was inducted into the Variety Hall of Fame.[10] In 2008 she rode her mobility scooter topless at the head of the Decade of the Divas float at the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.[4] She was a prominent member of Agender, the New Zealand transgender group.[10]

Rupe died in St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney of kidney failure on 15 December 2011 after a fall and hip surgery earlier in the year.[11]

Legacy

Rupe has been cited as a role model by MP Georgina Beyer, the world's first openly transsexual Member of Parliament. Long time friend and ex Grey District Councilor Jacquie Grant MNZM wrote this moving tribute for Carmen and at her Tangi delivered an equally moving Eulogy. .[12][7]

The Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust was established in Sydney to perpetuate Carmen's legacy as a TransTasman GLBTI cultural icon through charitable work and community service.

In a heartfelt tribute, Sydney Mayor Clover Moore stated that "Carmen Rupe was an icon for Sydney's Transgender community and a tireless advocate for GLBT rights. She was a quiet achiever who spent decades as a volunteer with many organisations who provided support to some of our cities most vulnerable people .I knew Carmen and was saddened by her passing. She will be missed by the people she touched and the community she was such a strong part of. It is heartening that, in accordance with her wishes, the Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust has been established to raise awareness of some of the issues faced by our GLBT community. This is a fitting tribute to someone who dedicated so much of their life to helping others"

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown supports erecting a statue of Rupe in Wellington:[13] "I admired her strength in living her life on her terms and standing up against discrimination."[14]

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Poroporoaki: Carmen - Hon Tariana Turia". scoop.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "We knew her as Trevor Rupe from Taumarunui; we knew her as a loved member of the gay community, we knew her as an HIV/AIDS activist; and of course the world knew her as a flamboyant, incredible performer on stage." 
  2. ↑ "Carmen Rupe: Transgender Icon". Gender Centre Inc. 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Farewell Carmen Rupe - Gay News Network". gaynewsnetwork.com.au. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "LGBT community icon Carmen Rupe has died aged 75 in Sydney this morning, surrounded by friends and loved ones who had been keeping a bedside vigil for days." 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Carmen Rupe, legend, dies in Sydney". gaynz.com. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "Transgender goddess and glbt community icon Carmen Rupe has died in Sydney, aged 75, from kidney failure following months of poor health." 
  5. ↑ O'Keefe, Tracie; Fox, Katrina (2008). "Chapter 24: Madam Carmen - Carmen Rupe". Trans People in Love. Routledge. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-7890-3572-1. 
  6. ↑ "Colourful Wellington identity Carmen dies". stuff.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "GayNZ.com Georgina Beyer in tears over loss of Carmen". gaynz.com. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "Speaking later once she had 'regained my composure' Beyer said one of her proudest moments as an MP was when she and fellow gay MPs Tim Barnett and Chris Carter welcomed Carmen into Parliament to meet the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Carmen's previous visit to Parliament came when she suggested some MPs were gay or bisexual and was subsequently hauled before Parliament's powerful Privileges Committee by then Prime Minister Rob Muldoon." 
  8. ↑ Trust: A true story of Women and Gangs. Pip Desmond. 2009. Page 158
  9. ↑ "Jevan Goulter says Goodbye to Carmen". scoop.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "A Gender Variance Who's Who: Carmen Rupe (1935 - 2011) performer, mayoral candidate.". zagria.blogspot.com. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Farewell Carmen Rupe - Gay News Network". gaynewsnetwork.com.au. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Carmen and Georgina Beyer - Hōkakatanga – Māori sexualities - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "Carmen and Georgina Beyer are two of New Zealand's most well-known transsexuals, and both are of Māori descent. Carmen, New Zealand's first iconic drag queen, came to prominence in New Zealand and Australia in the 1970s. Beyer became the world's first openly transsexual mayor when she was elected mayor of Carterton in 1995. In 1999 she was elected to the Wairarapa seat, becoming the world's first openly transsexual MP." 
  13. ↑ "GayNZ.com Wgtn mayor supports statue of 'statuesque' Carmen". gaynz.com. 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011. "Carmen was an important person in Wellington and a power in terms of diversity and tolerance," says mayor Wade-Brown. "A statue or something similar to remember Carmen by is a fantastic idea which I am happy to investigate. She was a fabulously statuesque person so maybe a statue would be most appropriate." 
  14. ↑ "Transgender icon Carmen Rupe dies in NSW". news.smh.com.au. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011. 
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