{{Short description|American writer and reporter (born 1981)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Thomas Page McBee | image = Thomas Page McBee (born 1981) in the video 'Una historia de violencia con Thomas Page McBee'.png | alt = | caption = In a 2019 interview | birth_date = 1981 | birth_place = Hickory, North Carolina, US | death_date = | death_place = | burial_place = | occupation = Writer, boxer | awards = | spouse = Jessica Bloom | children = | education = | signature = | party = | website = {{URL|https://www.thomaspagemcbee.com/}} }} '''Thomas Page McBee''' (born 1981)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2019-04-05|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.cccb.org/en/participants/file/thomas-page-mcbee/231191|access-date=2022-01-14|website=centre de cultura contemporània de barcelona|language=en}}</ref> is an American transgender journalist, television writer, and amateur boxer. He was the first transgender man to box in Madison Square Garden,<ref name=":0" /> which he discusses in ''Amateur''. His first book, ''Man Alive'', won a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web|date=2014-06-03|title=Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced|url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2014/06/winners-of-the-26th-annual-lambda-literary-awards-announced/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Lambda Literary|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite web|last=bent|date=2014-06-03|title=Full List of 2014 Lambda Literary Award Winners|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/06/full-list-of-2014-lambda-literary-award-winners-214124/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=IndieWire|language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == McBee was born in Hickory, North Carolina, in 1981<ref name=":0"/> and grew up outside of Pittsburgh.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=McBee|first=Page|date=2011-03-15|title=I want to be more than just a man or a woman|url=https://www.salon.com/2011/03/15/neither_man_nor_woman/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Salon|language=en}}</ref>
McBee has noted that he "knew [he] wasn't a girl before [he] knew much of anything."<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=McBee|first=Thomas Page|date=2012-08-07|title=Trans, but not like you think|url=https://www.salon.com/2012/08/07/trans_but_not_like_you_think/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Salon|language=en}}</ref> However, he also did not resonate with men's "jockeying power dynamics or aversion to hugs."<ref name=":5"/> In his late-twenties, he realized that although he "didn't connect with the cultural expectations of ''Being a Man'', [he] knew that [he]'d grown up and become one."<ref name=":5"/> He began hormone replacement therapy when he was 30 years old and at 31, he received a new birth certificate from North Carolina Vital Records, an experience he described as feeling like he had been "born again".<ref name=":5"/>
As of 2022, McBee lived in Los Angeles with his wife, Jessica Bloom.<ref name="Thomas Page McBee">{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.thomaspagemcbee.com/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Thomas Page McBee|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Media Innovation Center {{!}} Thomas McBee|url=https://mediainnovation.wvu.edu/innovators/innovators-in-residence/thomas-mcbee|access-date=2022-01-14|website=West Virginia University|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career == Aside from writing, McBee was a senior editor at ''Quartz'' and taught at City University of New York.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.catalyst.org/bio/thomas-page-mcbee/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Catalyst|language=en-US}}</ref> He has also served as an advisor at West Virginia University's Graduate School of Journalism.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" />
== Writing == McBee has written regular columns in ''The Rumpus'' ("Self-Made Man"),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://therumpus.net/author/thomas-mcbee/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=The Rumpus.net|language=en}}</ref> ''Them'' ("Amateur"),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.them.us/contributor/thomas-page-mcbee|access-date=2022-01-14|website=them.|language=en-US}}</ref> ''Bitch'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.bitchmedia.org/profile/page-mcbee|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Bitch Media|language=en}}</ref> ''Pacific Standard'' ("The American Man"),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Articles by Thomas Page McBee|url=https://psmag.com/author/thomas-page-mcbee|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Pacific Standard|language=en}}</ref> and ''Teen Vogue''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Page McBee |first=Thomas |date=2019-03-26 |title=What Kendrick Sampson Had to Unlearn in Order to Be a Man |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kendrick-sampson-masculinity-race-vulnerable |access-date=2022-01-14 |website=Teen Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref> His writing has also appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''T'' Magazine,<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/t-magazine/grand-canyon-travel-arizona.html |title=A Writer Returns to the Grand Canyon, This Time With His Mother's Ashes |first=Thomas Page |last=McBee |magazine=T |date=2022-05-12 |access-date=2026-04-17}}</ref> ''Esquire'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.esquire.com/author/245617/thomas-page-mcbee/ |title=Thomas Page McBee |magazine=Esquire |access-date=2026-04-17}}</ref> ''GQ'',<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.gq.com/story/among-the-mens-group-sacred-sons |first=Thomas Page |last=McBee |title=Among the Spiritual Bros |magazine=GQ |date=2021-02-02 |access-date=2026-04-17}}</ref> ''Glamour'', ''Playboy'', ''The Atlantic'', ''VICE'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=https://www.vice.com/en/tag/thomas-page-mcbee/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=VICE|date=2 April 2013 |language=en}}</ref> and other publications.
=== Television === In 2019 and 2020, McBee wrote episodes for Netflix's ''Tales of the City'' and Showtime's ''The L Word: Generation Q.''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Thomas Page McBee|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm10399660/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=IMDb}}</ref> He has also appeared on the documentary film ''No Ordinary Man'' and the mini-series ''The Art of Intersection''.<ref name=":3"/>
In 2021, McBee was a supervising producer on ''The Umbrella Academy'', where he architected a storyline in which Elliot Page's character transitions to male, mirroring the actor's real-world transition.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Geall |first1=Lauren |title=Netflix's The Umbrella Academy S3: fans are praising the show for its handling of Elliot Page's storyline |url=https://www.stylist.co.uk/entertainment/tv/the-umbrella-academy-season-3-elliot-page-viktor-storyline/674854 |website=Stylist |date=23 June 2022 |access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref> In 2022, he served as a writer and co-producer on the fourth season of ''The Umbrella Academy.'' He is currently developing several film and television projects, including a television adaptation for ''Amateur.''<ref name="Thomas Page McBee" />
=== ''Man Alive'' (2014) === {{main|Man Alive (book)}} ''Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man'' was published September 9, 2014, by City Lights Publishers. The book received starred reviews from ''Publishers Weekly,''<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man by Thomas Page McBee. City Lights, $15.95 trade paper (172p) ISBN 978-0-87286-624-9|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-87286-624-9|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}</ref> ''Kirkus Reviews'',<ref name=":23">{{Cite web|date=2014-09-28|title=Man Alive|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thomas-page-mcbee/man-alive-true-story/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> Lambda Literary Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kellaway|first=Mitch|date=2014-09-15|title='Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man' by Thomas Page McBee|url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2014/09/man-alive-a-true-story-of-violence-forgiveness-and-becoming-a-man-by-thomas-page-mcbee/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Lambda Literary|language=en}}</ref> and ''Library Journal''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roberto|first=K. R.|date=2016-06-01|title=Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man|url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/man-alive-a-true-story-of-violence-forgiveness-and-becoming-a-man|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Library Journal}}</ref> ''Man Alive'' won a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction.<ref name=":21" /><ref name=":22" />
=== ''Amateur'' (2018) === {{main|Amateur (book)}} ''Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man'' was published August 14, 2018, by Scribner. The book received a starred review from ''Publishers Weekly'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee. Scribner, $24 (224p) ISBN 978-1-5011-6874-1|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5011-6874-1|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}</ref> as well as positive reviews from ''Kirkus,''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-06-18|title=Amateur|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thomas-page-mcbee/amateur/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> ''The New Republic'',<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Livingstone|first=Jo|date=2018-08-28|title=A Trans Memoir Explores Masculinity In Extremis|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/150899/trans-memoir-explores-masculinity-extremis|access-date=2022-01-14|issn=0028-6583}}</ref> BuzzFeed,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rebolini|first=Arianna|date=2018-08-31|title=35 New Books To Get Excited About This Fall|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ariannarebolini/best-books-fall-2018-fiction-nonfiction-poetry|access-date=2022-01-14|website=BuzzFeed News|language=en}}</ref> ''Booklist'',<ref>{{Cite book|date=July 2018|title=Amateur|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Amateur-A-True-Story-about-What-Makes-a-Man-Thomas-Page-McBee/pid=9583722|access-date=2022-01-14|via=Booklist}}</ref> ''The Rumpus,''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-21|title=What to Read When You Want to Celebrate Pride|url=https://therumpus.net/2019/06/what-to-read-when-you-want-to-celebrate-pride/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=The Rumpus.net|language=en}}</ref> ''The Guardian'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guest|first=Katy|date=2018-10-26|title=Amateur by Thomas Page McBee review – a trans boxer's life lessons|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/26/amateur-by-thomas-page-mcbee-review|access-date=2022-01-14|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> ''Los Angeles Review of Books'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Glazner|first=Greg|date=2015-01-04|title=Becoming a Man: A Memoir of Sex, Gender, Trauma, and Transformation|url=https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/becoming-a-man/|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Los Angeles Review of Books}}</ref> and ''Shelf Awareness''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wheeler|first=Dave|date=2018-08-14|title=Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man|url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=740|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Shelf Awareness}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wheeler|first=Dave|date=2018-07-13|title=Review: Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man|url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3290|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Shelf Awareness}}</ref> ''Amateur'' was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction,<ref name=":122">{{Cite web|last=Boureau|first=Ella|date=2018-03-06|title=30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced|url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2018/03/lambda-literary-award-finalists/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Lambda Literary|language=en}}</ref> nominated for The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction,<ref>{{cite web|date=2 October 2018|title=The Baillie Gifford Prize 2018 announces shortlist|url=https://thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/2018-shortlist|access-date=3 October 2018|publisher=Baillie Gifford Prize}}</ref> and shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize.
== Awards == {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Work !Award !Result !Ref. |- |2014 | rowspan="2" |''Man Alive'' |Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction |Winner |<ref name=":32">{{Cite web|title=Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man (City Lights/Sister Spit)|url=https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780872866249|access-date=2026-04-17|publisher=IndieBound.org|date=9 September 2014 |language=en}}</ref> |- |2015 |American Library Association Over the Rainbow Project List |Top 10 |<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-10|title=Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness, and Becoming a Man {{!}} Awards & Grants|url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/man-alive-true-story-violence-forgiveness-and-becoming-man|access-date=2022-01-14|website=American Library Association}}</ref> |- |2018 | rowspan="3" |''Amateur'' |The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction |Shortlist |<ref name=":02">{{cite web|date=2 October 2018|title=The Baillie Gifford Prize 2018 announces shortlist|url=https://thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/2018-shortlist|access-date=3 October 2018|publisher=Baillie Gifford Prize}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" |2019 |Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction |Finalist |<ref name=":122"/> |- |Wellcome Book Prize |Shortlist |<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=2019-03-19|title=Wellcome prize shortlist celebrates books about masculinity and mental illness|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/19/books-about-masculinity-transphobia-wellcome-book-prize-shortlist|access-date=2019-03-20|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Filgate|first=Michele|date=2019-03-19|title=Awards: Wellcome Shortlist; Blue Peter Winners|url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3454|access-date=2022-01-14|website=Shelf Awareness}}</ref> |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website}}
{{Lambda Literary Awards}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Page McBee, Thomas}} Category:Living people Category:Lambda Literary Award winners Category:1981 births Category:Writers from North Carolina Category:West Virginia University faculty Category:American transgender sportsmen Category:American transgender writers Category:LGBTQ people from North Carolina Category:Transgender male writers Category:Boxers from North Carolina Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:21st-century American journalists Category:21st-century American male journalists