Friday 7 November 2008

Small town in the US made history by electing nation's first openly transgender mayor

On the same day that the US elected its first black president, history was made also in a small American town Silverton, Oregon, where residents elected the first openly transgender mayor in the United States.

Fascinating story!

Fox News reported the story; more details via TransWorldNews:

A small town in Oregon has elected who is believed to be the first openly transgender mayor in the United States. Silverton, Oregon residents elected Stu Rasmussen as mayor.

Rasmussen is a heterosexual man but says he likes to dress as a woman. He has breast implants, long red hair, and wears high heels and skirts. "I identify mostly as a heterosexual male. But I just like to look like a female,” he explains."Some guys' mid-life crisis is motorcycles or sports cars or climbing mountains or trophy wives or whatever. I always wanted cleavage, so I went out and acquired some."

Rasmussen, who has a girlfriend, served two terms as the Mayor of Silverton in the 1990’s but had not admitted to being transgender. He says he only “came out” a few years ago.

Despite worrying about how his appearance would affect the election, Rasmussen won by 13 points.

"The first 30 seconds they think, am I in a freak show? Is there a camera behind me? What's going on here? And then we get down to discussing whatever the issue is - city business or business or whatever - and they figure out this guy's different, but he knows what he's talking about,” he says.

*source of photo

No comments: