Patrick Califia
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Patrick Califia (formerly known as Pat Califia; born 1954 near Corpus Christi, Texas) is a writer about women's sexuality and of erotic fiction. He is also a bisexual transman and prolific author of essays and poetry.
Califia was born female, into a Mormon family. She came out as a lesbian in 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and changed her name to Pat Califia, taking the surname Califia after the mythical Amazon. After getting involved in consciousness-raising work in the area she bought herself a one-way ticket to San Francisco in 1973, bringing an interest in sex education to work on the San Francisco Sex Information switchboard.
Her first book was Sapphistry, a non-fiction work that described butch-femme sexuality and BDSM safety and practice without being judgmental. Further work was published in lesbian, gay and feminist magazines. Research work she did while taking a degree in psychology at San Francisco State University was published in the Journal of Homosexuality in 1979.
With the founding of SAMOIS, Califia's interests moved into the lesbian experience of BDSM and contributions to the book Coming to Power published by Alyson Publications. In 1996 Califia was co-editor (with Robin Sweeney) of the sequel The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader. Califia founded the leatherwomen's quarterly Venus Infers in 1992.
During this period Califia was also writing on queer studies and gender identity, coming to terms with personal issues. It was at this time that Califia made the decision to transition to a male gender role. Califia undertook testosterone hormone therapy and changed his name to Patrick.
Since the 1990s, Califia has suffered from fibromyalgia, which has caused nerve damage in his legs and hands and reduced his ability to type or write. He is currently (2006) in private practice as a therapist (he is a licensed marriage therapist and family therapist in the state of California). He continues to publish his work and attend leather community events. He also has a son with former partner Matt Rice.[1]
Califia's most recent book is Boy in the Middle, a collection of erotic stories. He is currently working on a number of other projects including a book on FTM sexuality.
His pornographic works were often seized by Canadian customs until he fought a court case to allow them to be accepted. Afterwards he was amused to find anti-porn feminist Catherine Itzin's book "Pornography: Women, Violence and Civil Liberties" was seized by the very law she had helped to establish, even while Califia's books were now recognised as acceptable by that law. [Public Sex]
Contents |
[edit] Booklist
[edit] Non-Fiction
- Pat Califia: "A Personal View of the History of the Lesbian S/M Community and Movement in San Francisco". in: Coming to Power: Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S/M. Alyson Publications, Boston, 3rd ed Oktober 1987, ISBN 0932870287
- Sapphistry: The book of lesbian sexuality, Naiad Press, 1988, ISBN 094148324X
- Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism, Cleis Press, 1997, ISBN 1573440728
- Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex , Cleis Press, 2000, ISBN 1573440965
- Sensuous Magic: A Guide for Adventurous Lovers, Masquerade Books, 1998, ISBN 1563336103
- Speaking Sex to Power: The Politics of Queer Sex, Cleis Press, 2001, ISBN 1573441325
- Forbidden Passages: Writings Banned in Canada, Cleis Press, 1995, ISBN 1573440191
[edit] Fiction
- Macho Sluts, Alyson Publications, 1989, ASIN B000J0UPMY
- No Mercy, Alyson Publications, 2000, ISBN 1555835422
- Doc and Fluff: The Dystopian Tale of a Girl and Her Biker, Alyson Publications, 1996, ISBN 1555833691
- Doing It for Daddy: Short Sexy Fiction About a Very Forbidden Fantasy, Alyson Publications, 1994, ISBN: 155583227X
- Melting Point: A Collection of Erotic Short Stories, Alyson Publications, 1996, ISBN 1555833802
- The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader, Alyson Publications, 1996, ISBN 1555832814
- Mortal Companion, Suspect Thoughts Press, May 2004, ISBN 0971084696
- Boy in the Middle: Erotic Fiction, Cleis Press, 2005, ISBN 1573442186
