April Ashley: Paris Showgirl, Vogue Model & Trans Trailblazer

April Ashley: Paris Showgirl, Vogue Model & Trans Trailblazer

As the UK’s second person to go through gender reassignment surgery, April Ashley was a trans trailblazer, breaking new ground fearlessly and with humour and grace.


She wowed the crowds of Le Carrousel as a showgirl in 1950s Paris, graced the pages of Vogue and, when accepting her MBE for services to transgender equality in 2012, she stood every bit as gracious and regal as the Queen herself.


April's achievements seem even more remarkable in the context of a life story replete with real hardships, from an extremely tough upbringing in post-war Liverpool to her public outing in a national newspaper by a friend.


Behind the demure glamour she presented, who was April Ashley? And why is it so vital that her story his heard today? Kate is joined by author and journalist Charlie Craggs to find out.


This episode was produced by Stuart Beckwith, and edited by Tom Delargy. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.


If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.


Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(405)

Sex Advice in the 20th Century

Sex Advice in the 20th Century

What is ‘good’ sex? Why might you need to get your protractor out in the bedroom? And when was foreplay ‘invented’?In this episode, Kate is getting sex advice from Sarah Jones. From handbooks to hardb...

20 Dec 202243min

Alexander the Great's Sex Life

Alexander the Great's Sex Life

Did Alexander the Great and the Queen of the Amazons really have sex for 13 days solid? What do we know about his male lovers? And how did his sex life stand up to that of his dad’s?Kate is joined by ...

16 Dec 202245min

Trash

Trash

From reality television to theatre productions to foreign goods, the word trash has a long history of being used to deride things that are thought to have no value.To find out what this history is, an...

13 Dec 202237min

Banned History

Banned History

How much did Britain and its allies know about the Holocaust? Could the Bengal Famine of 1943 have been helped? And was Elizabeth I really the Virgin Queen? Lynsey Calver is a history teacher, and in...

6 Dec 202234min

Sex Myths

Sex Myths

Why were the ovaries once seen as inverted testes? What words might you use if you were trying to describe a condition 'down there' to your doctor? And why did people once believe that you couldn't co...

2 Dec 202248min

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

*This episode contains very strong language and adult content*A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desire? A criminally obscene novel?Lady Chatterley’s Love...

29 Nov 202245min

The History of the Clitoris

The History of the Clitoris

It’s so important that it’s been ‘discovered’ at least twice, but what is the clitoris and why has it previously been so hard to find?The clitoris is the human female’s most erogenous zone, and is res...

25 Nov 202243min

Mussolini's Favourite Daughter

Mussolini's Favourite Daughter

What do we know about the people who shared the surname Mussolini with the Italian fascist dictator?Edda Mussolini may have been Benito’s daughter, but she was also the wife of a convicted traitor, an...

22 Nov 202240min

Populärt inom Historia

massmordarpodden
kod-katastrof
motiv
historiska-brott
olosta-mord
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
rss-historien-om
rss-seriemordarpodden
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-historiska-brottslingar
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-brottsligt
krigshistoriepodden
rss-arkiv-stieg
palmemordet
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
oppet-fall
nu-blir-det-historia
militarhistoriepodden