Transgender History Female Mimics International Magazine Archive Documenting Drag Performance and Transfeminine Culture 1993 to 1999

Female Mimics International

Archive

Christy, Kim (ed.). Female Mimics International. 1993–1999. These issues document transfeminine and drag culture in the United States during the late twentieth century, presenting photography, editorial writing, and reader correspondence that record community formation, performance, and identity outside mainstream media. The publication extends a print lineage dating back to Female Mimics (founded 1963), and provides direct evidence of how crossdressing and transgender communities circulated images, narratives, and personal ads prior to widespread internet use. The material is particularly strong in documenting aesthetic practice, social networks, and responses to illness and loss during the AIDS crisis.

Christy, Kim (ed.). Female Mimics International. MAGCORP and Leoram Inc., 1993–1999. Six issues in color pictorial wrappers.
[1] Vol. 19, No. 6 (No. 56). Cover feature “Miss Gay L.A.” with a theatrical drag spread; includes articles such as “Desire: Mysterious and Dark” and “Beautiful Eyes: Mirrors of the Soul,” emphasizing stylized performance and visual presentation.
[2] Vol. 22, No. 1 (No. 69). Cover composed in a multi-image format showing elaborately costumed performers; includes coverage of Copacabana’s farewell event, a profile of performer Bambi, and editorial commentary on new performers and continuity within the drag community.
[3] Vol. 23, No. 2 (No. 76). Features model Carnal Candy in a staged domestic setting; includes articles such as “Auntie V’s Panty Boy,” “Ladies from the 60s to the 90s,” and a retrospective on generational continuity in transgender and crossdressing expression.
[4] Vol. 23, No. 4 (No. 78). Memorial issue including coverage of performer Morelle De Keigh, with articles such as “Boy’s Will Be Girl’s” and a profile of Ms. Summer St. Cerly; editorial content addresses loss within the community during the AIDS crisis.
[5] Vol. 26, No. 6 (No. 98). Features cover model Venus; includes transformation and makeover features such as “Ebony Empress” and “Punk 2 Princess!” alongside a profile of performance venue Lucky Cheng’s, reflecting nightlife culture.
[6] Vol. 27, No. 3 (No. 101). Cover model Linda Campbell; includes photographic features on international performers, tributes to Frankie Quinn, and editorial reflection on femininity, performance, and health.

Produced during a period when transgender visibility remained limited and often marginalized, these issues show how specialized periodicals created networks of communication and representation through photography, personal writing, and advertising. The inclusion of reader letters, memorials, and performance documentation situates the publication within broader histories of LGBTQ community formation, health crisis response, and cultural production in the 1990s. Light edge wear and minor creasing to wrappers; interiors bright and complete; overall very good to near fine. A sustained record of transfeminine and drag culture in late twentieth-century print media, preserving voices and visual forms not widely documented in institutional publications.

Item #22344

Price: $650.00