Patrick Califia | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1954-03-08)March 8, 1954 (age 71) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | Pat Califia; Pat Califia-Rice; Patrick Califia-Rice |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
| Occupations | Writer,therapist |
Patrick Califia (born 1954), formerly also known asPat Califia and by the last nameCalifia-Rice, is an American writer of non-fiction essays aboutsexuality and oferotic fiction and poetry.[1][2] Califia is abisexualtrans man.[3] Prior totransitioning, Califia was a lesbian and wrote for many years asex advice column for thegay men's leather magazineDrummer. His writings explore sexuality andgender identity, and have includedlesbian erotica and works aboutBDSM subculture.[4] Califia is a member of thethird-wave feminism movement.
Califia was born inCorpus Christi, Texas in 1954 andassigned female at birth. He grew up in Utah in aLatter Day Saint family,[2] the eldest of six children.[5][6] His father was a construction worker and his mother a housewife. Califia has stated he did not have a good childhood, saying that his father was an angry and violent man and his mother a pious woman.[7]
Califia recalled one incident where he told his parents he wanted to be a train engineer, and they told him he couldn't because he was a girl. He replied that he wasn't a girl.[7]
In the 1970s, Califia's parents had him admitted to apsychiatric hospital, and he dropped out of theUniversity of Utah,Salt Lake City, due to his mental state. Califia came out as a lesbian in 1971 while attending college.[8][4] He began using the last nameCalifia,[citation needed] after the mythical female warriorAmazon.[9] Califia began to evade his parents, and became involved in thewomen's liberation andanti-war movements.[7] After getting involved inconsciousness raising in the area, he moved to San Francisco in 1973, bringing an interest insex education to work on theSan Francisco Sex Information switchboard.[10] After moving to San Francisco he began writing for a magazine and joined a lesbianseparatist movement. In 1975 he spoke in favor ofsadomasochism and found himself excluded from thelesbian feminist community.[7] He was not only excluded from his nuclear family by coming out as a lesbian but also lost his gay family when speaking his opinions.[7] Califia became increasingly involved inS/M activities not only with lesbians but also with gay men. He co-founded the first lesbianBDSM group in the United States,Samois, in 1978.[7][11][12][13]
Califia began attending theUniversity of Utah inSalt Lake City in 1971.[5] In 1981, he graduated fromSan Francisco State University (SFSU) with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology.[1][14][15] He has also said he has a master's degree.[16]
In 1980, Califia published his first book—Sapphistry: The Book of Lesbian Sexuality, a non-fiction work for lesbians which described, in a non-judgmental tone,butch-femme sexuality, andBDSM safety and practice.[17] Subsequently, he published work in lesbian, gay andfeminist magazines, including a long-running sex advice column inThe Advocate.[18]
Califia is "one of [the] earliest champions of lesbian sadomasochistic sex" whose "work has been taught on college campuses across the country and abroad."[2] He has a long history oftransgression, being afeminist, lesbian, andtransgender while also at times finding rejection from those communities "for various infractions."[2] He played what some observers termed a "notable role" in theFeminist Sex Wars of the 1970s/1980s.[2] The sides were characterized byanti-porn feminist andsex-positive feminist groups with disagreements regardingsexuality, pornography and other forms of sexual representation, prostitution, the role oftrans women in the lesbian community,lesbian sexual practices,sadomasochism, and other sexual issues. Califia rejected the "essentialist, feminist ideology—that women are better, more nurturing, more peaceful, more loving, more relationship-oriented and less raunchy in bed," instead advocating forBDSM, "the consensual integration of power, pain, domination and submission into sex."[2] According to theSan Francisco Chronicle, many feminists were won over to Califia's views on S/M not from his arguments, but from his erotic fiction: "they read Califia-Rice's S/M fantasies, got turned on and got over it."[2]
In 1979, as a student inpsychology atSan Francisco State University, his research was published in theJournal of Homosexuality.[19]
Califia co-foundedSamois, a lesbian-feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983, and shifted his focus to the lesbian experience ofBDSM.[20] The Samois Collective produced, with Califia's contributions, the bookComing to Power, published byAlyson Publications.[2][21]Coming To Power, according to Heather Findlay, editor-in-chief of lesbian magazineGirlfriends, was "one of the most transformative lesbian books, [foretelling] the end of a certain puritanism that had dominated the community. It was the first articulate defense of lesbian S/M, and that was the end of it."[2] Another book, theLesbian S/M Safety Manual, won the 1990Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year.[22]
In 1989, Califia andGeoff Mains received the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work from theNational Leather Association International.[23]
In 1992, Califia received the Woman of the Year award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[24]
Also in 1992, Califia founded the leatherwomen's quarterlyVenus Infers and published "Feminism, Paedophilia, and Children's Rights" in a special women's issue ofPaidika, a journal focused on scholarly studies about pedophilia and specificallypederasty. Califia stated in 1991 that he 'support[s]Paidika and enjoyed working with the editors of this special issue'.[25] Califia .[26] In 'Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex', Califia explained that he had criticized age of consent laws because they were inconsistent from state to state and applied disproportionately to gay men, and criticized 'the vague and far-reaching language of child pornography laws'; he stated that he had previously 'argued that the existing laws against sexual assault should be enforced whenever a minor complained of unwanted sexual attention or violence. I believed that if adults would listen, children were capable of telling us what kind of attention they wanted or when something harmful had happened to them.'[27] Califia also stated in 2000 that he had previously supported the pedophilia advocacy organizationNorth American Man/Boy Love Association, but clarified that 'I don't agree with NAMBLA, because their position is that age-of-consent laws should be repealed, and there are members of that organization who think it's OK for prepubescent children to have sexual relationships with adults, and I just cannot agree with that. I think it's developmentally inappropriate.'[28] This was one of many ways that Califia had reconsidered his previous stances on the age of consent and adult / child sex: 'I was naive about the developmental issues that make sex between adults and prepubescent children unacceptable,'; 'I've become much more cynical about the ability of adults to listen to children'; 'Perhaps because I am a parent now, I am less idealistic about the possibilities for an equal adult / child relationship'.[26] He explained the context of his views at the time: he 'knew several gay men who proudly called themselves boy-lovers', and in the late 1970s (Califia's early to mid 20s), he 'wished [he] could [have relied] on adults like them for guidance and erotic initiation when [he] was a teenager trying to come out.'[29] He also disclosed his own childhood experiences as a contributing factor to his previous views: 'Today, I believe that the libertarian position I took in these articles sprang from a painful family history that I was not ready or able to face. I grew up being terrorized by a violent father whose sexuality was an ongoing threat ... This history of child abuse, combined with my unconscious need to repress my own victimization, led me to normalize child/adult sex. The fantasy that such experiences could be loving or healthy protected me from feeling unloved, weak or violated.'[30]
In 1996, he was co-editor, with Robin Sweeney, ofThe Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader, a sequel toComing to Power.[21] Califia was writing aboutqueer studies andgender identity, and coming to terms with these issues on a personal level. At age 45, Califiatransitioned, taking the name Patrick.[31]
In 2000, Califia received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[24]
In a 2000 interview, Califia explained that the inspiration for his erotic writings varies; sometimes it is just about having fun, or it can be satire, or exploring a sexuality issue like HIV-positive peoplebarebacking with the intention of infecting the other person with the virus.[2] In the interview with Rona Marech, Califia is quoted as saying:
It's about me trying to put a human face on that and understand that from the inside out. ...It's about being thought-provoking, hopefully. And I like (presenting issues) that challenge the reader; that are maybe a little scary, maybe hard to think about. ...It's also a way to top a lot of people. In some ways, I get to do a scene with everyone who reads one [sic] my books.[2]
Janet Hardy, ofGreenery Press, admires Califia's tenacity, stating, "He's got a phenomenal mind.... He's willing to get a hold of a thought and follow it through to the end, even if it doesn't feel comfortable."[2]
Califia was nominated for theLambda Literary Awards for his short-story collection,Macho Sluts (1988), his novel,Doc and Fluff: The Dystopian Tale of a Girl and Her Biker (1990), and a compilation of his columns,The Advocate Adviser (1991).[7] He is working on a book that discusses the topic of FTM sexuality,[when?] and is working on a new set of essays surrounding the topic of BDSM.[when?] He has also written vampire books.[32]
Califia presented a paper for theAmerican Academy of Religion conference in Montréal, November 19–22, 2009,[33] on the gay marriage debate, and how arguments aboutmonogamy and S/M have been used to try to control the argument.
When Califia would travel to Canada, his pornographic works were often seized by Canadian customs, until he fought a court case to allow them to be accepted.[34] Afterwards, he wrote of his amusement at finding that anti-porn feministCatherine Itzin's bookPornography: Women, Violence and Civil Liberties was seized under the very law he had helped to establish, while Califia's books were recognized as acceptable by that law. Califia fought against anti-pornography legislation co-authored byCatharine MacKinnon.[2]
In 2013, he was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of theLGBT History Month.[35]
From 2001 to 2011, Califia was licensed in California as amarriage and family therapist (MFT).[36]
Califia is an inductee of theSociety of Janus Hall of Fame.[37]
Califia has a son, Blake Califia-Rice (born October 1999), to whom his ex-partner, Matt Rice, atrans man, gave birth.[38]
Califia has said that, since the 1990s, he has hadfibromyalgia.[39]
Califia has said he incorporates elements ofMormonism in his approach to life.[7] One tenet of Mormonism he said he believes in is "if the truth has been revealed to you and you don't speak out, you are culpable for any wrongs that are committed in those realms of life."[7]
In 1999, Califia decided to beginhormone replacement therapy as a part of his transition.[7] Califia had consideredsex reassignment in his twenties, but had been hesitant as there were many dangers to the surgery at that time.[7] He also hesitated because his career had been built around a reputation as a lesbian writer and activist. Califia had entered age-relatedperimenopause when he began his transition.[7] He has stated that being a man or a woman was never a good fit for him but sex reassignment seemed to be the most reasonable option.[7]
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