# Red Jordan Arobateau

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**Red Jordan Arobateau** (November 15, 1943 – November 25, 2021) was an American author, playwright, poet and painter. Largely [self-publishing](/source/Self-publishing) over 80 literary works—often with [autofictional](/source/Autofiction) elements—Arobateau was one of the most prolific writers of [street lit](/source/Street_lit), and a proponent of transgender and [lesbian erotica](/source/Lesbian_erotica).

Born and raised in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), Arobateau moved to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) in adulthood because of its [LGBTQ+ friendly culture](/source/LGBT_culture_in_San_Francisco), where he [transitioned](/source/Gender_transitioning) and began living as a [trans man](/source/Trans_man). Most [indie](/source/Indie_publisher) and [LGBTQ+](/source/LGBTQ_media) publishing houses rejected his manuscripts. Arobateau worked odd jobs to finance his self-publications, and sold hand-stapled books in [lesbian bars](/source/Lesbian_bar), [feminist bookstores](/source/Feminist_bookstore) and on the [streets](/source/Street_literature). He spent most of his adult life in [poverty](/source/Poverty_in_the_United_States). Arobateau appeared in documentaries such as *[Before Stonewall](/source/Before_Stonewall)* (1984) and his writings were intermittently published in anthologies like *[Daughters of Africa](/source/Daughters_of_Africa)* (1992).

Arobateau's prose contained themes of [butch lesbians](/source/Butch_lesbians), [transsexuality](/source/Transsexuality), [streetlife](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/streetlife), [philosophy](/source/Philosophical_fiction), [social issues](/source/Social_issue) and [social justice](/source/Social_justice), and his poetry was [spiritual](/source/Spiritual_literature) and [religious](/source/Christian_poetry). Critical reception was mixed; his [progressive](/source/Progressivism) characters and [realist](/source/Reality) storylines received praise, while criticism was directed at his unrefined [writing style](/source/Writing_style). The life and works of Arobateau have been [analyzed](/source/Scholarly_method) in various areas of [social research](/source/Social_research), including [sociology of literature](/source/Sociology_of_literature), [transgender studies](/source/Transgender_studies), [feminist theory](/source/Feminist_theory), [identity](/source/Identity_(social_science)) and [black studies](/source/Black_studies). An early figure in the history and development of street lit, Arobateau inspired writers [Ann Allen Shockley](/source/Ann_Allen_Shockley) and [Michelle Tea](/source/Michelle_Tea).

## Life

Red Jordan Arobateau was born on November 15, 1943, in [Chicago](/source/Chicago). He was the only child of a Christian [Honduran immigrant](/source/Honduran_Americans) father and a mother of [African American](/source/African_American) descent. He was raised as a female.[1] Arobateau started writing when he was 13 to escape a [turbulent home life](/source/Dysfunctional_family);[2] his mother was [abusive](/source/Child_abuse) towards him.[3] When he was 15, he read a [pulp magazine](/source/Pulp_magazine) that had a brief mention of a lesbian character – feeling seen for the first time, he began to identify as a [butch lesbian](/source/Butch_lesbian).[1] Arobateau spent time on the streets, in [queer areas](/source/Gay_village) and [dive bars](/source/Dive_bar), and developed [alcoholism in adolescence](/source/Alcoholism_in_adolescence).[3] His parents divorced when he was 17 and he moved with his father.[1] Arobateau enrolled in a college but left after a year, stating that it was too much a "social affair".[4]

Arobateau's name was based on his given surname with an "A" added to the original form, "Robateau". [5] He took "Jordan" from his grandmother's last name for its [religious connotations](/source/Jordan_(name)) and relations to his [African-American heritage](/source/African-American_names). After his hair was dyed red, he conceived that the color represented "his attention to passion and eroticism as a writer";[1] thus he adopted "Red" as his first name.[4] Citing [persecutory](/source/Sexual_orientation_discrimination) policies of then-mayor [Richard J. Daley](/source/Richard_J._Daley), Arobateau decided to move out of Chicago.[4] He shifted to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) before moving to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) in 1967—where he spent the rest of his life—largely because of its [LGBTQ+ friendly culture](/source/LGBT_culture_in_San_Francisco).[2]

In 1969, Arobateau helped establish [Gay Women's Liberation](/source/Gay_Women's_Liberation), an organization dedicated to [lesbian feminist](/source/Lesbian_feminism) activism.[6] He taught self-defense and karate to its members.[7][8] Formerly an [atheist](/source/Atheist), Arobateau became a Christian and joined the [Metropolitan Community Church](/source/Metropolitan_Community_Church) after the death of his father in 1973. He operated a [storefront church](/source/Storefront_church) where he would preach [the gospel](/source/The_gospel).[8] His [conversion](/source/Conversion_to_Christianity) alienated some of his friends who were concerned about the social and political implications of a rise in [Christian fundamentalism](/source/Christian_fundamentalism) across [the country](/source/Christianity_in_the_United_States#20th_century). Arobateau [used drugs](/source/Substance_abuse) until his hospitalization, after which he had become [clean](/source/Sobriety).[4]

Arobateau began [self-publishing](/source/Self-publishing) in the 1970s, with *The Bars Across Heaven* (1975) being his first novel.[9] He worked different jobs to fund each publication, and had experience working as an office assistant, factory worker, karate teacher, nurse's aide, cashier and cook.[1] Arobateau could write a novel in a month; he would then make photocopies and staple the manuscript together with a book cover.[4] Relying [on the grapevine](/source/Grapevine_(gossip)), Arobateau sold his works in off the record lesbian channels, and limited physical distribution of his copies to [lesbian bars](/source/Lesbian_bar), [feminist bookstores](/source/Feminist_bookstore) and the [streets](/source/Street_literature).[2]

Prior to the publication of his short story "Suzie Q" in poet [Judy Grahn](/source/Judy_Grahn)'s anthology *True to Life Adventure Stories* (1978), every [indie](/source/Indie_publisher) and [LGBTQ+](/source/LGBTQ_media) publisher Arobateau approached had refused to publish his work.[9] Arobateau attributed those refusals to the prominence of sexual content in his works, which he claimed was relatively unacceptable even for feminist and LGBTQ+ publishers of the time.[10] His writings were occasionally published through publications like *[On Our Backs](/source/On_Our_Backs)*,[11] although he remained mostly self-published throughout his life.[12] By and large, Arobateau lived his adult life in [poverty](/source/Poverty_in_the_United_States) and on [unemployment benefits](/source/Unemployment_benefits).[13]

In 1984, Arobateau appeared in [Greta Schiller](/source/Greta_Schiller)'s *[Before Stonewall](/source/Before_Stonewall)*, where they discussed his life and challenges before the [Stonewall riots](/source/Stonewall_riots) of 1969.[14] He went on an 11-year hiatus before authoring *Lucy & Mickey* in the 1990s.[15] Around that time, Arobateau [transitioned his gender](/source/Gender_transitioning), underwent a [sex reassignment surgery](/source/Sex_reassignment_surgery) and began to identify as a [trans man](/source/Trans_man).[1] Arobateau's "Nobody's People"—an essay about [social alienation](/source/Social_alienation) felt by people of [mixed-race heritage](/source/Multiracial_Americans), including himself—was a part of *[Daughters of Africa](/source/Daughters_of_Africa)* (1992), edited by [Margaret Busby](/source/Margaret_Busby).[16] Arobateau wrote an erotic lesbian [retelling](/source/Feminist_revisionist_mythology) of "[The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces](/source/The_Shoes_That_Were_Danced_to_Pieces)" for [Michael Thomas Ford](/source/Michael_Thomas_Ford)'s *[Once Upon a Time: Erotic Fairy Tales for Women](/source/Once_Upon_a_Time:_Erotic_Fairy_Tales_for_Women)* in 1996.[17]

Excerpts from his books have been a part of several anthologies, including *Cum With Me Lucy* in *Off the Rag* (1996) by [Lee Lynch](/source/Lee_Lynch_(author)) and Akia Woods,[18] *Lay Lady Lay* in *Best Lesbian Erotica 1997* by [Jewelle Gomez](/source/Jewelle_Gomez) and [Tristan Taormino](/source/Tristan_Taormino),[19] and *The Nearness Of You/Sorrow Of The Madonna* in *Hot & Bothered* (1998) by [Karen X. Tulchinsky](/source/Karen_X._Tulchinsky).[20] Arobateau experienced [homelessness](/source/Homelessness_in_the_United_States) "for a while" until moving in with his then-wife in [Oakland](/source/Oakland). After getting divorced in 2003, he shifted back to San Francisco.[21] Arobateau's books were not circulated in Canada until at least 2004 due to tight [pornography laws in the country](/source/Pornography_in_Canada) that bar the entry of "obscene material".[22]

In 2007, Arobateau appeared in Martin Rawlings-Fein's *Clocked: An Oral History*, where he gave personal anecdotes in context of the history of the [transgender rights movement](/source/Transgender_rights_movement).[23] By that year, he had published 80 novels, plays, collection of short stories and poetry.[24] [Tom Waddell Health Center](/source/Tom_Waddell_Health_Center) in [Tenderloin, San Francisco](/source/Tenderloin,_San_Francisco) was the first primary care clinic in the US to offer [transgender health care](/source/Transgender_health_care) services; Arobateau was one of 12 patients to feature in its 2012 documentary, *Transgender Tuesdays: A Clinic in the Tenderloin* by Mark Freeman and Nathaniel Walters. He also presented the film at the 2012 [Transgender Summit](/source/Transgender_Summit).[25][26]

As of 2013, Arobateau had painted 60 paintings.[27] He was a part of [FTM International](/source/FTM_International),[23] and lived with his partner Dalila Jasmin,[28] a [belly dancer](/source/Belly_dancer) who often danced at Arobateau's book readings.[15] In 2019, Arobateau became the first person to move into [Marcy Adelman and Jeanette Gurevitch Community](/source/Marcy_Adelman_and_Jeanette_Gurevitch_Community) on [95 Laguna](/source/95_Laguna), an [LGBTQ+ friendly](/source/LGBT-friendly) senior housing by [Openhouse](/source/Openhouse) and [Mercy Housing](/source/Mercy_Housing).[21] He died on November 25, 2021, in San Francisco, aged 78; his [memorial service](/source/Memorial_service) was conducted at [Grace Cathedral](/source/Grace_Cathedral,_San_Francisco) on March 27, 2022.[29]

## Themes

History books tell us a lot about the lives of upper-class women such as [Gertie Stein](/source/Gertrude_Stein) and [Alice B.](/source/Alice_B._Toklas) but very little of the underprivileged [lesbian](/source/Lesbian) factory workers, [queer](/source/Queer) servants, and [tranny](/source/Tranny) seamstresses. There's a whole group of [dikes](/source/Dyke_(slang)) to whom these characters, these books may appeal.

— *— Red Jordan Arobateau*[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*, 1996.[3]*

Arobateau often depicted his experiences and those of people in his life through [autofiction](/source/Autofiction),[4] and his prose focused on themes of [butch and femme lesbians](/source/Butch_and_femme_lesbians), [transgender](/source/Transgender) people, [transsexuality](/source/Transsexuality) and [sex work](/source/Sex_work).[30] Arobateau wrote about "sexual activities of a human being in any given day to the same extent [he described] their other aspects", hence a significant portion of his writings explored [sexuality](/source/Human_sexuality) and [sexual activities](/source/Human_sexual_activity) of their characters.[10]

Arobateau's stories were set [on the streets](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/streetlife), in [ghettos](/source/Ghetto) and poverty. They portrayed [realities](/source/Reality) of those lives, which differed from works of other black lesbian writers of the time who generally wrote idealistic fiction and academic non-fiction.[4] Arobateau largely wrote his characters to [communicate with themselves](/source/Intrapersonal_communication), and he frequently switched between [first-](/source/First-person_narrative) and [third-person narrators](/source/Third-person_narrative); the third-person narrator—represented in the text by sentimental and sympathetic positions—was sometimes himself, and it advocated for a rise in emotional intensity, such as through [behavior known to be risky](/source/Risk-seeking).[31] In his works, drug use was used as a means to cope as well as a device to amplify various [sensations](/source/Sense) and [perceptions](/source/Perception).[30]

Based on Arobateau's personal experiences, struggles of a mixed-racial identity often formed the basis of his various fictional stories.[1] Arobateau's content reflected the [social isolation](/source/Social_isolation) he endured because of growing up "poor, black, and gay", and how he developed [maladaptive coping mechanisms](/source/Coping#Negative_techniques_(maladaptive_coping_or_non-coping)) as a result. His characters challenged [heteronormative](/source/Heteronormative) constructs of the society, and his storylines portrayed the [disfranchisement](/source/Disfranchisement) and [social marginalization](/source/Social_marginalization) of non-heteronormative characters.[30] [Motifs](/source/Motif_(narrative)) of contemporary [social justice](/source/Social_justice) topics such as [black feminism](/source/Black_feminism), [women's liberation movement](/source/Women's_liberation_movement) and different [LGBTQ+ movements](/source/LGBT_movements_in_the_United_States) would sometimes serve as backdrops for his plots.[4] His works conveyed [criticism of capitalism](/source/Criticism_of_capitalism), opposition of [Western embodiment](/source/Embodiment_theory_in_anthropology) and [historical revisionism](/source/Historical_revisionism) of [transgender history](/source/Transgender_history) that is more understanding of [gender dysphoria](/source/Gender_dysphoria); he used [aesthetics](/source/Aesthetics) to represent alternative [forms of embodiment](/source/Embodied_writing).[30]

Arobateau's storylines explored themes of [metaphysics](/source/Metaphysics) and [alchemy](/source/Alchemy). His prose presented the process of gender transitioning to be inseparable from [spiritual practice](/source/Spiritual_practice). He also relied on [spirituality](/source/Spirituality)—as opposed to [objective truth](/source/Objective_truth)—as an explanation for his characters' [being](/source/Being).[30] The focus of his poetry was largely on his [spiritual](/source/Spiritual_literature) beliefs.[1] After Arobateau's conversion, it increasingly incorporated [Christian themes](/source/Christian_poetry), which was particularly evident in his [call and response](/source/Call_and_response#African_cultures) poems.[4] In contrast, his prose depicted the intersection of religion with science as detrimental, especially in the relation to [transgender medicine](/source/Transgender_medicine).[30]

Arobateau painted in a [contemporary](/source/Contemporary_art) and [expressionist](/source/Expressionist) style, incorporating [symbolic](/source/Symbol) and surreal imagery into his works.[32][33][34] He painted [portraits](/source/Portrait_painting) and [animals](/source/Animal_painting), and on subjects of [spirituality](/source/Spiritualist_art) and [religion](/source/Religious_art).[35] Arobateau practiced [social artistry](/source/Social_artistry) through paintings, such as portraying [exploitation of labor](/source/Exploitation_of_labor) in *The Pig* (1969).[36] Arobateau often used "pig" metaphorically as a derogatory term in his prose to refer to things such as a self-critical internal monologue and [internalization](/source/Internalization_(sociology)) of [external pressures](/source/Social_influence). Stacey Cherie Moultry interpreted *The Pig* in relation to Arobateau's literary "pig", and said that the painting portrays "a seemingly congenial persona who works into one's good graces long enough to gain trust before administering unconstructive criticism."[37]

## Reception

In 1982, writer [Ann Allen Shockley](/source/Ann_Allen_Shockley) wrote one of the earliest reviews of Arobateau's writing. She briefly reviewed several of his works and provided a collection of his biographical details for a *[Sinister Wisdom](/source/Sinister_Wisdom)* article.[30] In her review of "Suzie Q", Shockley wrote that it "brought a new protagonist to [black lesbian fiction](/source/Black_lesbian_literature_in_the_United_States), springing to life the black lesbian street woman in all her hard glaring reality." Shockley further praised the storyline for its [progressive](/source/Progressivism) portrayal of black prostitutes "in the personalized role of being human", that she said were otherwise cast in mainstream "as a piece of meat to be exploited in pornography";[4] writing for the *[Gay Community News](/source/Gay_Community_News_(Boston))*, Andrea Loewenstein said that "Suzie Q" does so with "a rare combination of respect, sympathy, and realism."[31]

[LaMonda Horton-Stallings](/source/LaMonda_Horton-Stallings) wrote in a *[CR: The New Centennial Review](/source/The_Centennial_Review)* article that Arobateau and [Iceberg Slim](/source/Iceberg_Slim) had mastered "the skill of [transgressing](/source/Transgressive_art) gender and sexuality".[38] Reviewing *Lucy & Mickey*, Heather Findlay summarized that the novel was "deeply philosophical and powerfully erotic",[39] and [Lillian Faderman](/source/Lillian_Faderman) remarked that Arobateau was "the [Thomas Wolfe](/source/Thomas_Wolfe) of [lesbian literature](/source/Lesbian_literature)".[40] For a *[Maximum Rocknroll](/source/Maximum_Rocknroll)* article, Vince Larussa described *Autumn Changes*—considering it a representative of Arobateau's *[œuvre](/source/Complete_works)*—as "figuratively an unorthodox fairytale, philosophically a manifesto, and literally, 'a testimony of his first transition years intermixed with remembrances of things past.'"[41] Randy Turoff characterized *Dirty Pictures* as "engaging, passionate, and emotionally moving". He praised its depiction of sexual longing, betrayal and the power dynamics involved in race and class issues.[42]

Arobateau was self-critical of his writing, saying that he was aware that he "needs an editor to help refine [his] work".[4] In an article of *[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*, Stephanie Byrd was critical of his unfiltered writing style—in particular, of his poetry—and stated that he "struggles to put [his] 'vision' on paper". Byrd said of *Laughter Of The Witch* that "the metamorphoses that Arobateau chronicles in these poems is not easily accessed due to an overabundance of metaphor and imagery".[43] Discussing the readability of *The Bars Across Heaven*, Loewenstein said that its unconventional dialogue "works amazingly well within the context of the novel", but added that his [writing style](/source/Writing_style) makes it apparent that Arobateau "did not attend the school where many of us learned 'how to write'".[31] In her 2005 book *[Funk the Erotic](/source/Funk_the_Erotic)*, Horton-Stallings criticized Arobateau's prose for its poor quality. However, she emphasized the novelty of his transgender and transsexual characters, elaborating that "their intersection, or lack thereof, with a more mainstream transgender movement should also garner some attention for the novels' historical importance, if not for their literary merits."[30]

[Nisa Donnelly](/source/Nisa_Donnelly) defended Arobateau and said that his "raucous and raw and rough-hewn" writing was reflective of the qualities of his characters and storylines.[44] Lynch assessed Arobateau's writing as "[iconoclastic](/source/Iconoclastic) and [idiosyncratic](/source/Idiosyncratic)" in his 1995 review of contemporary LGBTQ+ literature for *[Lambda Book Report](/source/Lambda_Book_Report)*. He further opined that Arobateau "is the graffiti artist of lesbian literature, not respectable by a long shot, but chronicling for us the raw material of [his] world".[45] Noting difficulties Arobateau faced in getting his books published "as an erotic writer of street-class butch life", Thyme S. Siegel commended him for continuing to write and self-publish works in his unique style.[46]

## Research

Rather than focus on Arobateau's fiction about [transsubjects](/source/Trans_people_(disambiguation)) alone, it seems more useful to explicate how the author sustained and supported the fifty-year journey from woman to man through a writing life in which [transworld identity](/source/Transworld_identity) was housed in a [ghetto](/source/Ghetto) heaven important for [black transfutures](/source/Futures_studies) beyond [necropolitics](/source/Necropolitics).

— *— [LaMonda Horton-Stallings](/source/LaMonda_Horton-Stallings)*[Funk the Erotic](/source/Funk_the_Erotic)*, 2015.[30]*

Analyzing [semantic shift](/source/Semantic_shift) of the word "cum" in a *[Sexuality & Culture](/source/Sexuality_%26_Culture)* article, Sara Johnsdotter traced the first mention of "female cum" to Arobateau's *Hobo Sex* (1991).[47] Ute Rupp's ([University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley), 2001) [comparative literature](/source/Comparative_literature) doctorate discussed that writings of [Daniel Paul Schreber](/source/Daniel_Paul_Schreber), [Djuna Barnes](/source/Djuna_Barnes), [Kathy Acker](/source/Kathy_Acker) and Arobateau offer an unconventional reading of [the Symbolic](/source/The_Symbolic) in the [Name of the Father](/source/Name_of_the_Father), which in turn develops "new types of subjects, laws, reals, imaginaries, and similar psycho-somatic fictions" within [Lacanian](/source/Lacan) frameworks.[48]

Horton-Stallings credits the work of Arobateau and [Toni Newman](/source/Toni_Newman) for constructing a [transgender theory](/source/Trans_studies) of [subjectivity](/source/Subjectivity) which considers factors of "race, culture, and pleasure" – factors she said were overlooked by contemporary models.[30] In a [literature review](/source/Literature_review) published in *[American Quarterly](/source/American_Quarterly)*, [Mecca Jamilah Sullivan](/source/Mecca_Jamilah_Sullivan) indicated that the content and themes of Arobateau and Newman demonstrate how [sexual practice](/source/Transgender_sexuality) is a vital component of the [concept of self](/source/Self-concept), and that it provides "[narrative alternatives](/source/Sociology_of_literature)" to [transmedicalism](/source/Transmedicalism).[49] Julie R. Enszer discussed the issue of [lesbian erasure](/source/Lesbian_erasure) within the transgender community in *[Journal of Lesbian Studies](/source/Journal_of_Lesbian_Studies)*, citing experiences and works of Arobateau, among others.[50]

Holly Ann Larson's doctoral dissertation ([Florida Atlantic University](/source/Florida_Atlantic_University), 2003) was a [feminist](/source/Standpoint_feminism) [standpoint epistemological](/source/Standpoint_epistemology) discourse on how [financially weak women](/source/Feminization_of_poverty) and individuals like Arobateau tackle [structural gender biases](/source/Gender_inequalities). Larson concluded that those experiences led to development of [knowledge of resistance](/source/Procedural_knowledge) unique to them, and that individuals like Arobateau attempted to reclaim [agency](/source/Agency_(sociology)) by exerting [sexual capital](/source/Sexual_capital) in their writings.[51] In her doctoral dissertation, Naomi Extra ([Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University), 2021) explored a more inclusive understanding of [sex-positive feminism](/source/Sex-positive_feminism) and the early [sex-positive movement](/source/Sex-positive_movement); noting that development and early history of those movements mainly credited works of white women, Extra advocated for literary recognition of writings of black writers Arobateau, [SDiane Bogus](/source/SDiane_Bogus) and Shockley and their contributions. The dissertation also presented their work as a literary aspect of black feminism and medium for expression of sexuality by black women – areas that have been insufficiently researched according to her.[52]

[American studies](/source/American_studies) doctorate of Moultry ([University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa), 2019) focused on influences a mixed-race identity had on writers and artists of 1960–89, and how they reconciled their racial [hybridity](/source/Hybridity) when the [one-drop rule](/source/One-drop_rule) (legal and social practice of classifying individuals under only one race) was still in effect. Moultry categorized Arobateau's expression of hybridity as [liminal](/source/Liminality) (or ambiguous), and said that Arobateau "actively resists [normativizing](/source/Normativity) protocols" by not adhering to cultural stereotypes of the time.[37] For her [Doctor of Psychology](/source/Doctor_of_Psychology), Lauren Nicole Logan ([Alliant International University](/source/Alliant_International_University), 2010) conducted a [psychological research](/source/Psychological_research) into [minority stress](/source/Minority_stress) coping mechanisms of [masculine](/source/Butch_and_femme) [African-American lesbians](/source/African-American_LGBT_community), especially people like Arobateau who [identify](/source/Identity_(social_science)) as multiple minorities; Logan found that Arobateau and others utilized "social support, activities, [avoidance coping](/source/Avoidance_coping), drugs and alcohol, and [self-acceptance](/source/Self-acceptance)" to cope with the minority stress.[53]

## Legacy

At a time when Black, explicitly [queer artistic expression](/source/Queer_art) was virtually invisible in the mainstream, Arobateau's work was more than just [homoerotic](/source/Homoerotic). It challenged the [heterosexual](/source/Heteronormativity), [male-centric](/source/Androcentrism) vision of Black sexual pleasure and desire at the core of [street lit](/source/Street_lit)'s popularity, expanding the genre into otherwise off-limits realms.

— *— Naomi Extra*[Vice](/source/Vice.com)*, 2018.[2]*

Arobateau was one of the earliest writers and proponents of [street lit](/source/Street_lit), transgender and [lesbian erotica](/source/Lesbian_erotica).[54] A 2018 profile in *[Vice](/source/Vice.com)* described his content as "writing that helped pave the way for inclusive depictions of Black sexuality".[2] For his entry in *[Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Contemporary_LGBTQ_Literature_of_the_United_States)* (2009), Emmanuel S. Nelson summarized that "arguably Red Jordan Arobateau is the first and probably most prolific female-to-male transsexual writer of African American descent."[1]

According to Shockley, characters Arobateau depicted had been "largely ignored or glossed over in the whole of [Afro-American literature](/source/Afro-American_literature) by black female writers."[4] In *[To Write Like a Woman](/source/To_Write_Like_a_Woman)* (1995), [Joanna Russ](/source/Joanna_Russ) characterizes works such as Arobateau's fiction to be "a few of the marvelous things that exists outside the pale of the [dominators](/source/Patriarchy)".[55] [Michelle Tea](/source/Michelle_Tea) concluded that "if our culture wasn't sickened with so many *[isms](/source/-ism)*, he would be much more well-known, studied, and respected."[56] Shockley and Tea have mentioned Arobateau as one of their inspirations.[13][57]

Records and archival material, including Arobateau's self-published works, photographs, personal papers, audio-visual material, and artefacts can be found at the [Transgender Archives](/source/Transgender_Archives_at_the_University_of_Victoria) located at the [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria) Special Collections and University Archives in [Victoria, BC](/source/Victoria,_British_Columbia), Canada.[58][59]

## Bibliography

**Novels**

- *A Blackman is Not a Windup Doll*
- *A Hillbilly Girl is Like a Butterfly*
- *A Small Retrospect of My Art Paintings*
- *Acts Against the Power of Authority*
- *Ashcan Betty*
- *At an Early Age*
- *Autumn Changes*
- *Barrio Blues*
- *Blossoming of Gifts*
- *Boogie Nights/Party Lights*
- *Boy Center*
- *Can't Go on Another Day*
- *China Girl*
- *Come With Me Lucy*
- *Compassion*
- *Daughters of Courage*
- *Dirty Picture*
- *Electro Shock Doctor*
- *Empire!*
- *Ephemeris – The Book Of Time*
- *Flash! On The Hustler*
- *Fisherpeople*
- *Fleamarket Molly*
- *For Want Of The Horse The Rider Was Lost*
- *Garbage Can Sally*
- *Ho Stroll*
- *Hobo Sex*
- *How's Mars?*
- *I Am A Soul*
- *In The Strange Embrace Of A Prodigal*
- *Jailhouse Stud*
- *Journey* series
- *Ladies' Auxillary Of The Left/Champagne, Firecrackers, Gunshots & The Smoke From The Death Factory*
- *Lamentations In The Cool Of The Evening*
- *La Vida*
- *Lay Lady Lay*
- *Leader Of The Pack*
- *Light At Dawn*
- *Lucy & Mickey*
- *Man Gone/Starvax*
- *Mein Theory*
- *Missio Dei*
- *My Continuing Journey Into Artistic, Spiritual, and Revolutionary Thoughts*
- *Obedience to the Call of Art*
- *Outlaws!*
- *Passage* series
- *Prisoner Of Hearts*
- *Saints*
- *Satan's Best*
- *Stage Door*
- *Street Fighter*
- *The Bacchanalias Society Bash*
- *The Bars Across Heaven*
- *The Big Change*
- *The Black Biker*
- *The Blood Of Christ Against The Lies of Babylon*
- *The Clubfoot Ballerina/The Prima Dona*
- *The Great Heart Bank Robbery*
- *The Man From The Blax Galaxy*
- *The Nearness Of You/Sorrow Of The Madonna*
- *The Rich/The Poor In Spirit*
- *To The Man With His Hat In His Hand*
- *Tranny Biker*
- *Vengeance!*
- *Westpoint Of The Universe*
- *Where The World Is No*
- *White Girl*

**Short story collections**

- *Alexander D'oro*
- *Boys' Night Out*
- *Doing It For The Mistress*
- *Rough Trade*
- *Stories From The Dance Of Life* series
- *Street Of Dreams*
- *Suzie Q*

**Plays**

- *Carnivalla*
- *Daughters Of Courage*
- *Higher Ground*
- *How Don Juan Died*
- *In The Malestrom*
- *Inhabitants Of A Ghettoized Population*
- *Lavandarette Of My Solitude*
- *Our Dyke House*
- *The Love Lament Of Peter Pan*
- *The Maids*

**Poetry collections**

- *Laughter Of The Witch*
- *The Age of Om*
- *The Iron Woman*

## References

1. Nelson, Emmanuel S. (2009). [*Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States: M–Z*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wmhFCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA38). Santa Barbara, California: [Greenwood Press](/source/Greenwood_Press). pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-313-34863-1.

1. Extra, Naomi (February 22, 2018). ["The Groundbreaking Author Who Celebrated the Sex Lives of Poor, Queer People"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-black-trans-author-red-jordan-arobateau-queer-erotic-writing-urban-fiction-70s/). *[Vice](/source/Vice.com)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220404060147/https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3ww4y/the-black-trans-author-red-jordan-arobateau-queer-erotic-writing-urban-fiction-70s) April 4, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 7, 2022.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (1996). ["The Real Red Jordan Arobateau"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/218152514). *[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*. **2** (3): 3. [ISSN 1077-5684](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1077-5684)

1. Shockley, Ann Allen (1982). ["Red Jordan Arobateau: A Different Kind of Black Lesbian Writer"](https://www.sinisterwisdom.org/sites/default/files/Sinister%20Wisdom%2021.pdf). *[Sinister Wisdom](/source/Sinister_Wisdom)*. **21**: 35–39. [ISSN 0196-1853](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0196-1853)

1. ["In Re: Suzanne Ilsa Robateau"](https://trellis.law/case/cnc09546252/in-re-suzanne-ilsa-robateau). [San Francisco County Superior Court](/source/San_Francisco_County_Superior_Court). September 3, 2009. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220727050411/https://trellis.law/case/cnc09546252/in-re-suzanne-ilsa-robateau) July 27, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 27, 2022. – via [Trellis](/source/Trellis.law)

1. Rivers, Daniel (2018). ["Review Essay: New Histories of LGBT Activism and Identities"](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0424.12386). *[Gender & History](/source/Gender_%26_History)*. **30** (2): 528–39. [doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12386](https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12386). [ISSN 0953-5233](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0953-5233)

1. Hobson, Emily K. (2016). [*Lavender and Red: Liberation and Solidarity in the Gay and Lesbian Left*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KaowDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9). Berkeley, California: [University of California Press](/source/University_of_California_Press). pp. 49–52. ISBN 978-0-520-27906-3.

1. Grahn, Judy (2012). [*A Simple Revolution: The Making of an Activist Poet*](https://archive.org/details/simplerevolution0000grah/page/262). San Francisco, California: [Aunt Lute Books](/source/Aunt_Lute_Books). p. 262. ISBN 978-1-879960-87-9. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Carbado, Devon (ed.) (2011). [*Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual African American Fiction*](https://books.google.com/books?id=5wBuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR11). Jersey City, New Jersey: [Cleis Press](/source/Cleis_Press). p. 203. ISBN 978-1-57344-750-8.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (1997). ["They Say I Write Sex for Money"](https://books.google.com/books?id=OVXbAAAAQBAJ). *Whores and Other Feminists*. Nagle, Jill (ed.). Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire: [Routledge](/source/Routledge). [four] ch. 20. ISBN 978-1-135-20441-9.

1. Leckert, Oriana (June 14, 2019). ["The First Lesbian Porn and 10 Other Revealing Artifacts from Lesbian History"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/lesbian-history-archive-artifacts/). *[Vice](/source/Vice.com)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220611094928/https://www.vice.com/en/article/pajx3m/lesbian-history-archive-artifacts) June 11, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2022.

1. ["Remembering Red Jordan Arobateau (1943–2021)"](https://nightboat.org/remembering-red-jordan-arobateau/). New York, New York: [Nightboat Books](/source/Nightboat_Books). December 17, 2021. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220406020837/https://nightboat.org/remembering-red-jordan-arobateau/) April 6, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2022.

1. Shockley, Ann Allen (Autumn 1979). "The Black Lesbian in American Literature: An Overview". *[Conditions: Five](/source/Conditions_(magazine))*. Vol. 2, no. 2. pp. 133–42. [ISSN 2381-5620](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2381-5620)

1. ["Documentales y películas sobre la lucha por los derechos LGBTQ"](https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2019/06/28/documentales-y-peliculas-sobre-la-lucha-por-los-derechos-lgbtq/) [Documentaries and Films About the Fight for LGBTQ Rights] (in Spanish). *[CNN en Español](/source/CNN_en_Espa%C3%B1ol)*. New York, New York: [Warner Bros. Discovery](/source/Warner_Bros._Discovery). June 28, 2019. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210225152335/https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2019/06/28/documentales-y-peliculas-sobre-la-lucha-por-los-derechos-lgbtq/) February 25, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 8, 2022.

1. Donnelly, Nisa (August 31, 1995). ["Lesbian Writer Fights the System: Seeing Red"](https://archive.org/details/BAR_19950831/page/n39). *[Bay Area Reporter](/source/Bay_Area_Reporter)*. Vol. 25, no. 35. p. 40. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (1992). "Nobody's People". *Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present*. London, England: [Jonathan Cape](/source/Jonathan_Cape). pp. 593–603. ISBN 978-0-224-03592-7.

1. Jorgensen, Jeana (2008). ["Innocent Initiations: Female Agency in Eroticized Fairy Tales"](https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol22/iss1/2/). *[Marvels & Tales](/source/Marvels_%26_Tales)*. **22** (1): 30. Detroit, Michigan: [Wayne State University Press](/source/Wayne_State_University_Press). [doi:10.1353/mat.2008.a247495](https://doi.org/10.1353/mat.2008.a247495). [ISSN 1521-4281](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1521-4281). [JSTOR 41388856](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41388856). [OCLC 5543393679](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5543393679). [S2CID 49378296](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:49378296)

1. Lynch, Lee & Woods, Akia (eds.) (1996). [*Off the Rag: Lesbians Writing on Menopause*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeXU4kNQafkC). Norwich, Vermont: [New Victoria Publishers](/source/New_Victoria_Publishers). p. 93. ISBN 978-0-934678-77-3.

1. Gomez, Jewelle & Taormino, Tristan (eds.) (1997). [*Best Lesbian Erotica 1997*](https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cDAAAACAAJ). Jersey City, New Jersey: [Cleis Press](/source/Cleis_Press). pp. 97–100. ISBN 978-1-57344-065-3.

1. Tulchinsky, Karen X. (ed.) (1998). [*Hot & Bothered: Short Short Fiction on Lesbian Desire*](https://books.google.com/books?id=PmQrAQAAIAAJ). Vancouver, British Columbia: [Arsenal Pulp Press](/source/Arsenal_Pulp_Press). pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-1-55152-051-3.

1. Bajko, Matthew S. (July 31, 2019). ["SF Homeless Project: Residents Move into 2nd Phase of SF LGBT Senior Housing"](https://www.ebar.com/story.php?id=279641). *[Bay Area Reporter](/source/Bay_Area_Reporter)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220713004441/https://www.ebar.com/story.php?id=279641) July 13, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 13, 2022.

1. Rowan, Cole (Spring 2004). ["Tranny Biker"](https://vault.library.uvic.ca/concern/generic_works/d42ef2f2-3cce-4686-a011-739d32d7acdd?locale=en). *FTM Newsletter*. No. 54. San Francisco, California: [FTM International](/source/FTM_International). pp. 6–7. – via [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria)

1. ["FTMI Board"](https://vault.library.uvic.ca/concern/generic_works/f0580000-6f5b-44a1-895f-a9069b07cb00). *FTM Newsletter*. No. 62. San Francisco, California: [FTM International](/source/FTM_International). Spring 2007. p. 5. – via [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria)

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (2007). [*Book Catalogue 2008 Red Jordan Arobateau*](https://books.google.com/books?id=4QdsTA_qKVAC). Oakland, California: Red Jordan Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN 978-0-615-17308-5.

1. ["Why"](http://www.transgendertuesdaysmovie.com/why.html). *Transgender Tuesdays*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220611143923/http://www.transgendertuesdaysmovie.com/why.html) June 11, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2022.

1. ["Who"](http://www.transgendertuesdaysmovie.com/who.html). *Transgender Tuesdays*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220419173536/http://www.transgendertuesdaysmovie.com/who.html) April 19, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2022.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (2013). [*Greatness Is A Solitary Journey*](https://books.google.com/books?id=P16uBgAAQBAJ). Morrisville, North Carolina: [Lulu.com](/source/Lulu.com). pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-1-304-43527-9.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan; Red Jordan Press; Masquerade Books (1970–2017). ["Red Jordan Arobateau Papers"](https://oac.cdlib.org/search?idT=UCb110657214). Berkeley, California: [Bancroft Library](/source/Bancroft_Library). – via [Online Archive of California](/source/Online_Archive_of_California)

1. ["Memorial Set for Red Jordan Arobateau"](https://www.ebar.com/news/news/313856). *[Bay Area Reporter](/source/Bay_Area_Reporter)*. March 6, 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220702184225/https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=news&sc=news&id=313856) July 2, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2022.

1. Horton-Stallings, LaMonda (2015). [*Funk the Erotic: Transaesthetics and Black Sexual Cultures*](https://books.google.com/books?id=zr0-CgAAQBAJ). Champaign, Illinois: [University of Illinois Press](/source/University_of_Illinois_Press). pp. 29, 222–31. ISBN 978-0-252-09768-3.

1. Loewenstein, Andrea (July 12, 1980). ["Street Life: The Bars Across Heaven; Reviewed by Andrea Loewenstein"](https://archive.org/details/gaycommunitynews0750gayc/page/2). *[Gay Community News](/source/Gay_Community_News_(Boston))*. Vol. 7, no. 50. Boston, Massachusetts: [The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation](/source/The_Bromfield_Street_Educational_Foundation). pp. 2–3, 6. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (1999). [*Autumn Changes*](https://books.google.com/books?id=qiFPBwAAQBAJ). Vol. 2. Red Jordan Press. pp. 693–96. ISBN 978-1-312-30494-9.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (2008). [*A Small Retrospect of My Art Paintings*](https://books.google.com/books?id=IrOPpli2qZYC). Oakland, California: Red Jordan Press. pp. 8–28. ISBN 978-0-9818932-0-4.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (2008). [*Obedience to the Call of Art*](https://books.google.com/books?id=sPSsG_6hk8sC). Oakland, California: Red Jordan Press. pp. 39, 235, 403. ISBN 978-0-615-22144-1.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (2008). ["Red Jordan Arobateau Art"](https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/red-jordan-arobateau). Ottawa, Ontario: [Fine Art America](/source/Fine_Art_America). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220617092532/https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/red-jordan-arobateau) June 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 16, 2022.

1. Arobateau, Red Jordan (October 2, 2008). ["The Pig"](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-pig-red-jordan-arobateau.html). Ottawa, Ontario: [Fine Art America](/source/Fine_Art_America). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20151224080038/https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-pig-red-jordan-arobateau.html) December 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 16, 2022.

1. Moultry, Stacey Cherie (2019). [*Mixed Race, Mixed Politics: Articulations of Mixed Race Identities and Politics in Cultural Production, 1960–1989*](https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/9983777037502771) (PhD). Iowa City, Iowa: [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa). pp. 11–43. [doi:10.17077/etd.gv3h-3ext](https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.gv3h-3ext). [OCLC 1237301172](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1237301172)

1. Horton-Stallings, LaMonda (Fall 2003). ["'I'm Goin Pimp Whores!': The Goines Factor and the Theory of a Hip-Hop Neo-Slave Narrative"](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/51623). *[CR: The New Centennial Review](/source/The_Centennial_Review)*. **3** (3): 186. East Lansing, Michigan: [Michigan State University Press](/source/Michigan_State_University_Press). [doi:10.1353/ncr.2004.0008](https://doi.org/10.1353/ncr.2004.0008). [ISSN 1532-687X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1532-687X). [JSTOR 41949871](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41949871). [OCLC 365362678](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/365362678). [S2CID 144057686](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144057686). – via [Project MUSE](/source/Project_MUSE)

1. Moore, Patrick (1996). [*Iowa*](https://archive.org/details/iowa0000moor/page/296). New York, New York: [Masquerade Books](/source/Masquerade_Books). p. 296. ISBN 978-1-56333-702-4. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Bronski, Michael (1996). [*Taking Liberties: Gay Men's Essays on Politics, Culture, and Sex*](https://archive.org/details/takinglibertiesg00bron/page/494). New York, New York: [Masquerade Books](/source/Masquerade_Books). p. 494. ISBN 978-1-56333-456-6. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Larussa, Vince (March 2005). ["Review: Autumn Changes (My Unofficial Semi Autobiography), Part Four"](https://archive.org/details/mrr_262/page/n106). *[Maximum Rocknroll](/source/Maximum_Rocknroll)*. No. 262. § "Books", pp. 4–5. [ISSN 0743-3530](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0743-3530). – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Turoff, Randy (1996). "Review Essay: Lesbian Sex Writing". *[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*. **2** (4): 33–34. [ISSN 1077-5684](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1077-5684)

1. Byrd, Stephanie (1997). ["The Sapphic Muse"](https://www.proquest.com/openview/a21fa624361eb0d5cfda1aec36b6ff4b). *[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*. **3** (4): 23. [ISSN 1077-5684](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1077-5684)

1. Little, Paul (1998). [*The Essential Paul Little*](https://archive.org/details/essentialpaullit0000litt/page/296). New York, New York: [Masquerade Books](/source/Masquerade_Books). p. 296. ISBN 978-1-56333-629-4. – via [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive)

1. Lynch, Lee (July–August 1995). "Graffiti Artist of Lesbian Literature". *[Lambda Book Report](/source/Lambda_Book_Report)*. **4** (11). [ISSN 1048-9487](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1048-9487)

1. Siegel, Thyme S. (1996). ["The Real Shit"](https://www.proquest.com/openview/3226b2b2c0b97269cc83e5445984628a). *[The Lesbian Review of Books](/source/The_Lesbian_Review_of_Books)*. **2** (3): 3. [ISSN 1077-5684](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1077-5684)

1. Johnsdotter, Sara (2011). ["'The Flow of Her Cum': On a Recent Semantic Shift in an Erotic Word"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-011-9089-y). *[Sexuality & Culture](/source/Sexuality_%26_Culture)*. **15** (2): 179–94. Berlin, Germany: [Springer](/source/Springer_Science%2BBusiness_Media). [doi:10.1007/s12119-011-9089-y](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-011-9089-y). [ISSN 1095-5143](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1095-5143). [OCLC 724248989](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/724248989). [S2CID 144591947](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144591947)

1. Rupp, Ute (2001). [*Lacannibalize! How to Purloin Lacanian Inventions (With Schreber, Barnes, Acker & Arobateau)*](https://www.proquest.com/openview/9ee4d7cd84db50fd366e2fcbe5942832) (PhD). [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley). pp. 590–701.

1. Sullivan, Mecca Jamilah (2017). ["Erotic Labor and the Black Ecstatic 'Beyond'"](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/652578). *[American Quarterly](/source/American_Quarterly)*. **69** (1): 131–47. Washington, D.C.: [American Studies Association](/source/American_Studies_Association). [doi:10.1353/aq.2017.0007](https://doi.org/10.1353/aq.2017.0007). [ISSN 0003-0678](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-0678). [OCLC 7004353262](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7004353262). [S2CID 151499788](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:151499788). – via [Project MUSE](/source/Project_MUSE)

1. Enszer, Julie R. (2021). ["Lesbian Vitality: A Provocation"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10894160.2021.1953720). *[Journal of Lesbian Studies](/source/Journal_of_Lesbian_Studies)*. **26** (1): 113–19. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire: [Taylor & Francis](/source/Taylor_%26_Francis). [doi:10.1080/10894160.2021.1953720](https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2021.1953720). [ISSN 1089-4160](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1089-4160). [OCLC 9377231771](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9377231771). [PMID 34304726](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34304726). [S2CID 236430763](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:236430763)

1. Larson, Holly Ann (2003). [*Low-income Women's Standpoint: Recognizing Poor and Working-class American Women as Generators of Resistant Knowledge*](http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12046) (PhD). Boca Raton, Florida: [Florida Atlantic University](/source/Florida_Atlantic_University). pp. 69–70, 119–23. [OCLC 54672061](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54672061)

1. Extra, Naomi (2021). [*Sex-positive Black Feminism: A Literary Tradition, 1967–1988*](https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/66694/) (PhD). Newark, New Jersey: [Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University). pp. 60–120. [doi:10.7282/t3-g891-nh53](https://doi.org/10.7282/t3-g891-nh53)

1. Logan, Lauren Nicole (2010). [*Minority Stress and Coping Strategies of African American Masculine Identified Lesbians*](https://www.proquest.com/openview/77e763aae5a44bb1a3389257f1a59381) (PsyD). San Francisco, California: [Alliant International University](/source/Alliant_International_University). pp. 38, 51–84. [OCLC 698903997](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/698903997)

1. DeCrescenzo, Terry (1997). "A Look at Novelist Red Jordan Arobateau". *[Lesbian News](/source/Lesbian_News)*. **22** (12): 16–17.

1. Russ, Joanna (1995). *To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction*. Bloomington, Indiana: [Indiana University Press](/source/Indiana_University_Press). p. 65. ISBN 978-0-253-20983-2.

1. Tea, Michelle (April 20, 2018). ["What to Read When You Need to Understand How to Live"](https://therumpus.net/2018/04/20/what-to-read-when-you-need-to-understand-how-to-live). *[The Rumpus](/source/The_Rumpus)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220712205901/https://therumpus.net/2018/04/20/what-to-read-when-you-need-to-understand-how-to-live) July 12, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 12, 2022.

1. Preston, Devon (December 5, 2019). ["Spilling the Tea with a Tattooed Literary Icon"](https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/michelletea). *[Inked](/source/Inked_(magazine))*. Wilmington, Delaware: [Pinchazo Publishing Group](/source/Pinchazo_Publishing_Group). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210515073511/https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/michelletea) May 15, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 8, 2022.

1. ["Red Jordan Arobateau's Memorial Bio"](https://redjordanarobateau.remembered.com/). *redjordanarobateau.remembered.com*. Retrieved 2023-11-07.

1. ["Preserving trans histories"](https://mediacoop.ca/node/119117). *The Media Co-op*. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2023-11-07.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Red Jordan Arobateau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Jordan_Arobateau) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Jordan_Arobateau?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.