April Ashley - Pioneer
*Trigger warning: Contains references to suicide*
Today is the birthday of one of the most influential people to come out of Liverpool, and if anyone deserves a birthday shout out, it’s April Ashley. She’s a former model, campaigner for transgender equality and one of the first people in the world to undergo pioneering gender reassignment surgery.
April played an integral part in the movement for legal reform for trans people to be able to legally change their gender. With the healthcare of trans youth being debated yet again by politicians *cough* Liz Truss *cough* lets look back at the story of one woman who has been facing this ‘debate’ her whole life.
Born in Smithdown Hospital in 1935, April was one of six children and grew up in a poor working class household. She was often ridiculed, bullied and assaulted for her overt femininity. One time she was held down whilst a group of boys jumped on her legs to the point where she couldn’t walk for weeks. Ashley says she was made aware of her differences every single day but that it gave her “the strength to go on, and carry on now regardless of what people think of me”.
April was left to deal with the emotional and physical burden of this abuse on her own. Her father was away at sea in the Navy, her mother was embarrassed by her and her siblings were too ashamed to be seen with her as she was often referred to as a ‘pansy’ or a ‘sissy’.
At 15, April followed in her fathers and brothers footsteps and joined the Navy, feeling the pressure to behave like a boy and fit in. However this was short lived and an attempted suicide lead to her being dishonourably discharged. She was then sent to Ormskirk mental institution after a second attempt on her life, where she was subjected to electric shock therapy and male hormone injections.
In the early 1950’s April moved to London where she began to dress as a woman. By the late 50’s she had moved to Paris to join the world famous cabaret Carousel and began using the name Toni April. Here she met other trans women such as Jaqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy and Marie-Pierre Pruvot who gave her hope for her own future and claims she “never thought of suicide again”.
Ashley was now determined to save up enough money to have the gender reassignment surgery she never knew was possible. In 1960 at the age of 25 April had saved the £3000 she needed and travelled to Casablanca to undergo the seven hour long surgery and came back “the happiest person on the planet”.
On her return, she began using the name April Ashley and started getting jobs as a model, her striking appearance made her quite successful and she even appeared in Vogue as a lingerie model. However, her career was cut short by an article in the Sunday People which outed her as transgender. Her bookings for the next six months were cancelled overnight and companies no longer wanted to be associated with her.
In 1963 April Married Arthur Corbett, heir to Lord Rowallan, who she met whilst performing in Paris. At the time when they met, Corbett was already married but ended up getting divorced to be with Ashley. The honeymoon period didn’t last long and the marriage broke down. Corbett eventually filled for the marriage to be annulled on the grounds that April had been born male, despite knowing her full history prior to getting together.
The proceedings caused a media sensation and April’s private life and anatomy were debated constantly across the tabloids. The judge eventually ruled in favour with Corbett. After everything April had been through, she had now been denied all recognition as a woman. This ruling set a legal precedent that meant transgender individuals could not legally change their gender.
In the 1990’s to early 2000’s, Ashley took on the role of activist and started campaigning tirelessly for legal reform so trans people could correct their gender on government documents. It wouldn’t be until the passing of the Gender Recognition Act in 2004 that April Ashley would finally be legally recognised as female and issued with a new birth certificate. In 2012 she was appointed MBE for services to transgender equality.
So many people have fought and campaigned to get the basic legal rights the trans community deserves and April Ashley has been on the front lines. Her life has been public from the moment she was outed, she was harassed by the press and her gender identity was constantly ridiculed. But she used her platform to her advantage and paved the way for so many trans people to have legal recognition to be themselves.
Thank you April Ashley - a true Liver Bird!
