Going to Trinidad | Martin J. Smith

Going to Trinidad | Martin J. SmithBetween 1969 and 2010, the remote former mining town of Trinidad, Colorado gained prominence for an unlikely reason: it was where approximately six thousand people came to seek reprieve from gender dysphoria by receiving gender confirmation surgery. Surgeons Stanley Biber and Marci Bowers performed so many of these operations that the New York Times labeled the town "the sex change capital of the world." Author Martin J. Smith explores this overlooked

Between 1969 and 2010, the remote former mining town of Trinidad, Colorado gained prominence for an unlikely reason: it was where approximately six thousand people came to seek reprieve from gender dysphoria by receiving gender confirmation surgery. Surgeons Stanley Biber and Marci Bowers performed so many of these operations that the New York Times labeled the town "the sex-change capital of the world." Author Martin J. Smith explores this overlooked chapter in medical and transgender history, telling the story of Biber and Bowers as well as two of their patients. In an era where trans folks face prejudice on many sides, Smith's writing helps bring to light why these surgeries can help so many folks and why we should all seek to eliminate the discrimination faced by trans individuals everywhere.